I can smell the dessert air just looking at these pictures from last year and it is not too long before I put my endurance to the test on April 5 – 6 for NMBS #2NOVA National, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Fountain Hills, Arizona. This will be race number one on my list for this season.
I am excited to race and especially with others whom I don't know. I will try my hardest to race above my comfort level and I am looking forward to the challenge! I have had the opportunity to ride the Red Rocks in Sedona these past several years (which happens to be some of my favorite riding) on our mountain bike vacations and I loved every moment of it. The loose rocks, tight single track lined with cacti, ledgy boulders and big sky make for an exciting ride and the views that are awesome. So I am hoping the course will not be too unfamiliar to me and my skill level. I am not sure what to expect from the course which sits outside the Phoenix area but I am sure it will be fun. I was really surprised to hear about some of our other friends that will be racing too which will make it all the more fun and a great start to this year’s race season. So until then…I have something to focus on and get myself even more motivated.
11 comments:
It not words of encouragement but I did the 12 hours of Oleta in January and I was totally out of my element. Between the spider roots, coral, and hudereds of hairpins many of which were blind cause me to come to early demise. How does this apply to you? prepare for what you can't see. I thought a Florida course would be much like the reforestation camp in green bay, it was more like blue mounds sp.
I did that race last year as my first expert race. It was a lot of fun and not too technical at all. It is definitely a fast power course with not a lot of climbing. I did run out of fluids even with a camel bak and hand ups. 30 miles in 90 degree heat makes you thirsty. Have a great time, we sure did!
Hey guys thanks for the encouragement and the heads up about the water thing. Hopefully I'll have a water boy that day. Sound like my kinda course!
"not too technical at all"
Your kind of course huh? Meaning easier. Ha!
Good luck with the race, I am sure you will do well! While you are at it, make sure you enjoy your vacation. Don't give a second thought to -20 degrees and snow up the you know what! Have FUN!:)
Yes, my kind of course, SUPER FAST! and I won't forget the slime either.
Can't wait for AZ, we will be down all week and out riding!
I wish I was going, well ride fast!
my kind of course too, not too technical! I raced on that course the year that Cactus Cup moved from WestWorld to McDowell Mtn. Park. Weirdly enough, it rained that day and I had mud spots all over me, in the desert!
My memory is that one of the biggest challenges, for me, on a course like that was trying not to brush (or fall into) the cholla cactii that line the course. There is a reason they used to give you a comb in your schwag bag at registration - so you could easily remove all the needles that would imbed themselves if you got too near a cactus! I remember feeling like lycra was a cactus magnet.
I keep coming back to your blog just to see the pictures of those Sedona trails. Thanks for posting them. I love AZ. They make me want to go to the race in April!
Where are all the TREES?? I need trees. :-)
Good luck out in AZ...bring us back some warm weather.
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