Harding TT

Saturday was the HardingTT.  The Harding Truck Trail is one of the most challenging climbs in Southern California at 9 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation gain. For Orange County riders and racers it is definitely the climb to earn local bragging rights. After climbing it countless times I have actually never done it all out for time until a week ago. I had a great day then, and knew I should come back out for the Harding TT the following week. It was a perfect day for riding, and with a bit of a storm earlier in the week there was actually a bunch of snow and ice on the last 2 miles of the course to keep things interesting. After a good 54 minute effort I was 3 seconds short of the course record in the end, but took the win for 2013 and a great step training wise with some bigger races quickly approaching. The guys from Saw Sports and Linked Cycling run a great, fun event and it was a great day all around. A big thanks to my wife and daughter for always supporting me!

As if the HardingTT wasn't enough I got in an awesome 5.5 hour endurance ride in today and even snapped a couple photos along the way...

For those of you that don't know me as well - for the 2013 season I will be focusing on the biggest California and National endurance races with the support of Stage 21 (stage21bikes.com), Cytomax, and Oakley. After racing cross country for almost 15 years, I've done more than enough laps around 5-9 mile courses and now really enjoy the epic, big lap and point to point endurance courses. With the birth of my daughter last summer, training and racing at the pro level requires more hard work than ever, but I truly enjoy the journey. In some ways focusing more on endurance races in a great fit, because the body can only take some many of those huge efforts in a year, so I race less times per season and have less weekends away from home. My motivation comes purely from making the most of the gifts the Lord has given me. Above all I'm thankful for my health and the opportunities that I have to ride and race at the level I do. See you on the trails!

-Dana