Colorado is pretty rad; mountains, afternoon thunder storms, rivers for creekin’ and some really nice people. It was a last minute decision to travel to Colorado Springs for the final of the US Cup series but it ended up being a really good one.
When I was younger, bike racing was ALWAYS an adventure. Myself and my teammate Zach hitch-hiked between Canmore and Edmonton Canada Cups. Another time, I traveled from Bromont to St. Felicien, Quebec by myself by walking, hitch-hiking and busing my way there. In St. Fe I stayed at a bed and breakfast and convinced the owner to give me a ride to the course in his Chrysler Intrepid that didn’t have back seats (basically a pick-up truck). In Bromont, I stayed at a friend of a friends house and ended up staying with the entire New Zealand mountain bike team. We went to the water park and a few of us almost got kicked out. Cliff jumping in Mont-Sainte-Anne is another memorable one as well. The point is bike racing and adventure…and fun have always gone hand in hand for me. As I have gotten better, I have had more support and I think maybe just a bit of that adventure side of things has gotten away from me.
#adventurebeginshere
So this trip to Colorado, was by mistake, with no planning, an opportunity to get back to that a bit. It was super simple travel wise but it was an adventure in other ways. I met lots of new people on the trip, Mitch Hoke took care of myself and many others big time with transportation and organizing host housing. I rode in two new places, got to see some rad trails and some new towns. I drove a scooter around Boulder, with another cyclist (Tom Sampson), wearing bike helmets, to get groceries. We went swimming in Boulder Creek and for a second I thought I was going to get taken with the current, I got my game face on an made it to shore. I met a guy named Jesse that has lost 60 lbs, lives in a van, and has done the entire US Cup in the Pro category, cool guy! Overall, a really fun trip.
The racing was great too. I was very happy with how I was able to perform under very challenging race conditions. It was really hot (35 deg C with no shade on course) and it was really high (~2000 m). I started very well, and rode a good pace the whole race to finish 25th, just inside the points for this UCI HC race.
Check out a few photos from the weekend.
One of those afternoon thunder storms rolling through Boulder, Colorado.
High above Colorado Springs just before dropping into a trail called Captain Jacks, it was SO MUCH FUN.
It almost looks fake
Giving it my all and looking good, thanks to Norco for the Revolver (I supplied the ammunition) and Oakley for the JawBreaker in a colorway that contrasts so hard it actually matches.
