Thursday, July 31, 2014

Two more stops into my East Coast trip and I have been pleasantly pumped with the way things have turned around. Here's a couple race reports; one from nationals and one from the final round of the Pro XCT series in Williston, VT.

Coming in to the US National Championships I took the week relatively easy, keeping fresh and positive after the rough race in Wisconsin. I knew if I was able to ride strong throughout the whole race then I would be able to finish strong like I had as a junior. Riding at my own pace for the first two laps I was comfortable in 5th/6th place as I approached the half way point. With two laps left I could barely see fast-man Casey Williams at the top of the grassy switchback climb (~45seconds). That got me excited! I knew I was riding strong on the longer, less steep climb and decided that would be where I could reel him in. Half way through the final lap of the race I powered by Casey into 4th place and tried to put as much time into him before the descent and short punchy climbs of the second half of the course. Unfortunately I had gone way too deep trying to catch him and went into the descent a little cross-eyed from the effort and was unable to respond when he attacked in the final climb of the race. Did my best to hang in for a sprint finish but ended up losing about 10seconds by then end of the race. All in all very happy with the 5th place finish, big improvement from last year's 10th and still room to improve by the time next year comes around!

Short track went okay at the National Champs, with the U23 and Elites in the same race it was always going to be fast and hard. I had a good start until a little tangle-up with Mitchell Hoke on lap one but rode through until starting to fade around lap 3 and seeing lots and lots of people go by. Finished up 26th which leaves me wanting more in these short races in time to come!

During the week following Nationals I spent a night in Boston, checking out Newbury Street, Fenway Park, and the Parlee Bikes HQ and Factory with intern/friend Rob Auchincloss. Following Boston I found some more friends in New Hampshire who work at Highland Bike Park and spent a day riding the rad trails there on a loaner DH bike followed by riding a baby moto for the first time. One thing to say: these guys are doing it right, and thank you for putting a roof over my head for the week!

This past weekend racing the Catamount Classic Pro XCT in Vermont was another exciting race to finish the national XC season in the US. The course suited my riding style pretty well, with a lot of open grassy fields needing lots of power and a few mildly technical sections in the trees. It was always going to be a hard race starting at the back of a 60 man field, but I had fellow Skyhawk Mike Sampson to keep me company and CX champ Jeremy Powers to try and ride with on the flats. I decided to take it easy off the start and ride into the race, finishing strong as people started to fade. This race plan worked well, keeping consistent with lap times I continued to move up through the field throughout the race. Eventually finishing in 16th I am stoked that I was able to put together a good race and excited to make it into the top 20 of a Pro XCT. Still room to improve for next year!

Short track followed about the same protocol as the cross country, starting at the back of about 40 guys it was a slog the whole way. Ended up riding a strong race after a pretty shocking start finishing again in 16th place, just ahead of birthday boy Mike Sampson. Welcome to your 20's!

This week has been spent in the great land of Quebec, Canada, trying to get by with year 9 French class and growing a pair to ride la Beatrice (rock garden in the Mont Sainte Anne XC course). It's been a great week of recovery and relaxing with a bit of training and go-kart racing with Coach Rotem, Payson, and Levi.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! These people have played a huge role in making this East Coast trip possible:
 - Dirty Harry's bike shop for helping me out when mum and dad told me I needed a new helmet
 - Lauren Catlin for being my feeder through Wisconsin and Nationals, and sunglass lender after I broke mine with my helmet in Wisconsin
 - Grandmas and Grandpas on both sides for coming out to Nationals and cheering and supporting all the way, you guys are great!
 - Mr and Mrs Noonan for providing me with such a wonderful home to stay in during Nationals
 - Joe, Andrew, Lauren and Chad for showing me the Highland way of life
 - Chris, Noah, Sarah, Billy, Aaron, Nick, Elisa, Crystal, Vanessa, Brad, Tom, and Mikey for welcoming me into the floor sharing life of the North East
 - And of course Mum and Dad, Corey at Ultimate Ride, and everybody else who is always there for support and smiles!

Now is time to do a tiny bit more recovery to race the Eliminator here in Mont Sainte Anne tomorrow morning, wearing USA kit and #72. Have to make it through the timed qualifying round in the top 32 (out of 72) to be seen on RedBull TV at 5pm Quebec time. Go hard or go home

Next blog to come with more exciting news and hopefully photographs :)

Cheers,
Ryan


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Racing, Riding, NO INTERNET, Happy Birthdays

It's been a little while since I said I'd post a race/life report but I swear I really have been busy!

Since my last post I had a very rude awakening to the realities of altitude, riding a very good first lap and a half before my heart and lungs decided that was all they could do with the oxygen they were given. After the short track on Sunday (which went just about the same as the XC the day before) I packed up and headed down to Durango for a short week of training and catching up with friends before the big trip towards the east side of the USA.

The week in Durango included some hard mountain bike rides and some easy ones followed by time at/on the Animas river doing stand up paddle boarding and tubing. It was a great time to relax and finish organizing travel details for the six weeks of racing to come.

The first race of my current trip was in Portage, Wisconsin at a little ski resort called Cascade Mountain. It was a relatively long lap with punchy climbs and grassy ski slope traverses, not overly technical unless it rained... Which it did. My race started out well, from the back row I made my way up to around the top 20, riding in a group of four guys and feeling good to recover a little for the last couple laps and maybe make up some more spots. This plan went pear shaped as it started to rain on lap 4 of 6 and my mud riding skills from Alice Springs really began to show. I would get passes on a singletrack, try to hold the rider's wheel, and fall over. It went like this for the rest of the race, sliding and crashing all over the place, eventually finishing in 33rd. Definitely a lot of things to take away from this weekend, the main conclusion is that I need to ride more mud.

The place we stayed in Wisconsin was a cool old farmhouse with cows, corn, a snapping turtle, but no internet. Sorry Cruz and Elena, happy belated 21st to you!

Since Wisconsin, Levi Kurlander (Ska/Zia/Trek MTB team) and I have been treated to wonderful grandparent service with my grandparents in Pittsburgh, PA where they DO have WiFi! I am writing this from their living room before we head out to the next stop, USA National MTB Championships at Bear Creek Mountain Resort, PA. It's the morning of my 21st birthday and I am very excited for the next few weeks, not because I can drink legally, but because I feel that my legs are finally deciding it's time to switch on - I guess we'll have to see!

Sorry for the lack of pictures this time, will do my best to add some from nationals.

Cheers,
Ryan