Northstar June 29th - July 1st
June 29th: Opening day for Northstar. After a year layoff, Northstar finally reopened the mountain to bikes.
Along with my buddy, Robert Grappo, we managed to make it up on the opening day of Northstar. It was a good day and there were a few changes to some familiar trails. After the obligatory warm up run, we got over the newness of Northstar and rode our brains out.
Robert crashed, his bike stopped shifting correctly and he flatted. Luckily this all came at the end of the day so we cleaned up and headed back to Roseville to fix his bike.
June 30th: My wife and I drove back up to Northstar as we planned on staying the night in the village. All went smoothly and the riding was good. Robert and I went about riding the race course and trying to find the quickest lines. There were no 'super secret' fast lines and I worked on my cornering and staying smooth.
July 1st: Race day! After shaking off the alcohol induced fog from the night before, Robert and I registered for the race and went up the mountain. We both got a few warm up runs before race time.
The race went smooth for me as I tried to stay loose, kept breathing and concentrated. I know I could have had a better run. I turned in a 5:14 race time which was good for a 1st place finish in my class.
I have already registered for my next race, which is the Cougar Mountain Classic held at Infineon Raceway Sonoma, CA. July 6th - July 8th.