Last weekend was a double header, with the first race of the weekend at Rocky Mountain Raceway. I was loathe to come out and do it, as the old course had a ton of pavement, which for me usually means getting spanked by the roadies.
This year, however, was completely different. The first thing I noticed pulling in to the parking lot were the rocks.
They were large, layered deep, and there were a lot of them...
Riding through the gravel was an exercise suitable for a Zen monk, as you had to let go of any expectations of what the bike would do, relax, and turn the pedals over. Luckly, the reward of suffering the rocks was going through the moto course, complete with bermed turns, whoop-dee-dos, and an over-under section.
While initially terrifying at speed in traffic, it turned out to be one of the funnest race courses we've done. I ended up taking 5th place in the race.
The next day was at Wheeler farm, which typically features longs laps, broken up with some hairpin turns, single track sections, some short steep climbs, and the closest thing we have to a run up in Utah. I usually have a decent ride at wheeler, and given I often have a strong day the second day in a double weekend, I was hoping for a good ride. I was not disappointed, getting third place in the race, which is my first podium finish ever in the series -- I'd retire at this point if it wasn't so damn fun win or lose.
The team I am riding with (RMCC/Cyclesmith) currently leads the series team points. I've had several top 5 finishes this year, but the team has been riding so strong that it's a stretch to be one of the top 7 guys contributing points to the cause. All in all a good problem to have.
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