June 18, 2013
What a great place to race. The folks at Swain Resort are a pleasure. They love DH riders and racers and it shows. The place is all love and it feels like they let it become your home. Especially if you camp there. It’s sorta like you own a piece of the place or something. Fireworks, fire pits, beers, bikes it’s all good.
We camped. Hooked up with Amy and Vaughn Friday night. Shot some fireworks, drank some beer and burned some wood. Loads of water run off coming down the mountain but too dark for a course walk by the time we got there Friday night. Saturday morning we set up the team tent. Got the bikes dialed in and took a ride up the lift. Run off was pouring down the lift line like spring water in a Coors Light commercial. The top of the mountain was super saturated. Inches of water covering the entire area. All of it running down the trail system underground and popping up wherever it wanted to pool. And when it surfaced, man did it puddle deep.
As practice wore on, the course got faster and faster with lots of muddy sections still in the mix. It was fun as hell to ride. Stuller and I threw on the Wet Screams and we were hooking up pretty nice in the slop. Swain built two sets of new doubles that almost everyone was riding around due to mud and faster, cleaner lines to the outside. Shame. Those doubles looked super fun.
Cut the Wet Screams down around the camp fire the night before. They were rolling way to slow in the pedal sections. Very few were using them but I practiced with them all weekend so I didn’t want to make a change last minute. Plus, it was calling for thunderstorms. I figured with the knobs trimmed, I would have the best of both worlds. As soon the lifts started running, it started raining. It stopped, but started again for the end of Cat 2 30-39 (my race). I went last so I had the most rain and the wettest course out of my group. It was fun racing in that mud and rain. I was front and rear wheel drifting into corners and just trying to keep the bike up in general. Never went down, clean run. I was fortunate enough not to have the worst of the conditions. Cat 1 mens, women’s and Pro’s got the worst of it. See pics below.
We had three jerseys on the podium this weekend. Super proud of the whole team.
I felt way faster than last year. My personal goal was to best my time by a significant number of spots. I did just that and improved by three spots even in the mud and pouring rain. I’ll take it. Amy and Mike got to practice late and didn’t get enough time to settle in. As if that wasn’t enough, she went down on her run once or twice. Gotta say though, she race-run BOOSTED it over that moto double at the bottom. Steezed out in the pouring rain covered in mud. It looked great. She picked up the second place podium in Cat 1 women’s. Joe took his first podium and we added him to the team page now that we got a pic of him. He also looked great coming off the moto double. His dirt jump background shows. Lastly, Justin took 3rd in Cat 2 30-39. He had a great run and edged out Kyle Sharp by .22 secs for the win! So damn close! Kyle is a great guy and offered a hand shake and his congrats to Justin after the race.
Smoke stacks, bikes, and a clown.
Day 1. Dialing in the bikes before practice.
My bike after practice on day one.
Watching race runs in the pouring rain.
Joe Shack, race run, boosting the lip.
Amy with some race run mud and steeze.
Number 999 coming home.
Amy after her race run. Covered.
Joe and Zoe on Father's Day.
A muddy Mulally after his race run.
Barely any paint visible on this v10.
Did I mention it was muddy?
Justin Stuller, Cat 2 Men's 30-39 3rd Place.
Joe Shack, Cat 3 Men's 30-39 3rd Place.
Amy Leishear, Cat 1 Woman's 2nd Place.
JellyBean's for a team dinner.
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