Idyllwild Challenge

Awesome weekend of racing in Idyllwild. I say it everytime, this is the best course I have raced on. This year we were treated to even more great trails with the Sunday time trial and super d. I felt fresh and raced well the entire weekend. A small mistake by another rider let Manny get a gap at the very beginning of the XC and 2.5 hours later the gap was close to the same - i was 1:30 back for 2nd place. It's amazing how we can race that long on all kinds of trails and finish that close. I really wanted to win this race, but can honestly say I left it all out there and was really happy with my race even though it's the 3rd time I've placed 2nd there.

We put lots of time on the rest of the field so the overall win was going to be between Manny and I on Sunday. I knew making up 1:30 in a couple 15 minute races woud only happen if he flatted or crashed, so my goal was just to win both events. He edged me out again in the TT, but I was able to return the favor in the Super D (also time trial format) and a tough effort at 15 minutes all out. The campground is also beautiful and I really recommed this race to everyone. On top of the great racing the promotors also donated some of the entries to World Bicycle Relief this year! It doesn't get much better than that.

Now rest! Whenever I take a few days off my body goes into crazy recovery mode and I'm more hungry, tired, and grumpy then a regular training week. I have all kinds of things to catch up on this week, but hopefully I truly do take time to rest, there's a lot more great racing to go after this summer!