STATE!!

What an emotional roller coaster of a day.

Tuesday was the Section 3 Nordic Ski meet for Jordan and the Burnsville team. The Burnsville team has come a long way since the beginning of the season. In addition, Sharmila Ahmed, the lone senior on the team made her way home from competing in Sweden just in time to compete in the section meet.

The team felt confident that they had a shot for the top spot in the section, but it is always tough to know where all the teams stand because of the lack of head to head racing. St. Paul Highland Park will be tough as they have 5 seniors on the team that did fairly well at last years section final.

Jordan was the sixth skier to go out on the classic leg (15s intervals). Going by on the first section she looked relaxed and calm and had the skiers in front of her in her sights. By the first long climb she had passed at least one skier, before cresting the hill. We would not see her again until a near the end of the race. As we focused intently on the final downhill in the distance we could see what we thought was a Burnsville skier bombing down the hill. About 30 seconds later we saw that it was Jordan pushing strong up the long gradual climb towards us. As she crested the hill next to us and headed toward the finish she had a sizable gap to the next skier. The remaining Bursville skiers finished in the order that they went out.

We went back inside to relax grab some lunch and impatiently wait for the result to be posted. After what seemed like an eternity the results were up and Jordan was sitting in 17th place. Jordan made the comment after the race that after she had passed the first skier that it was hard to stay focused on pushing hard for the remainder of the race. She was clearly upset so Andrea and I gave her time to gather her emotions and calm down a little. She knew that she would probably need to finish in the top 1o to make it to state and didn't want to rely on the team to get her there. A close look a the classic results revealed that she was only 25 seconds out of 10 place. If she had a solid skate race she could pull it off. After she calmed down a little I explained to her how close the group was in front of her and she understood what she needed to do.

Although the team skied extremely well, they were down by 26 points to Highland Park after classic. Jordan now knew that her only realistic chance of going to state was to "kill it" on the skate. After a few encouraging words from a few parents and the coaches Jordan prepared for the next race. As Jordan went out to warm up and get staged for the start, Andrea, Grandma, and myself walked out on the coarse to view the start and the first part of the race.

Sharmila was the first off the line and quickly settled into fast pace. Vivian was next, needing to close the 39 second gap to second place in front of her. Jordan would go out 3:09 back from the leader just behind a group of 5 or 6 skiers. We watched as Jordan left the line and you could see that she had the large group in her sights. Within the first couple hundred meters she had caught the group and already passed a couple of skiers. She would pick off a couple more by the start of the long climb and slowly build a slight gap by the crest of the hill. As before as soon as she crested the hill she would not be seen again until the long downhill at the end of the race. The first skier to bomb down the hill would be Sharmila with a commanding lead. To our surprise Vivian had moved up to second place with another large gap to third ahead of the two Highland Park girls. We counted the skiers as the flew down the hill, 5, 6, 7,... and flying down the hill in the number 10 spot was Jordan with a decent gap to 11. We knew that baring a fall she should be able to hold onto that position to the finish. As she pushed up the last climb we could see that she was gaining on the Highland Park girl in front of her. Coach Harvey gave her encouragement and pointed to the Highland Park skier in front of her and told her to chase her down. Although Jordan gave it her all the gap was too much to make up and she finished solidly in 10th place just 1o seconds behind Highland Parks #3 skier. Tori, Burnsvilles #4 skier was about a minute back and clawing her way up the final climb. She was blocked by two skier just in front of her and unable to get by. She made one final charge near the finish but unable to get past. The three remaining Burnsville skiers (Christa, Jane, and Kjersten) finished strong to round out the team.

The team ultimately would wind up a mere 2 points shy of the team title. I don't like to do "what ifs" but if Jordan could have passed the Highland Park girl they would have tied in points and would have won the "tie breaker" based on total time. Also, if Tori would not have gotten blocked out and passed the two skiers who finished only 2 seconds in front of her they would have one. I hope everyone has put those two scenarios out of their minds, because all the girls put forth everything and had nothing left at the line.

One final note: Things are looking great going forward for the Burnsville Girls Nordic Ski Team. The top 6 skiers for next year are: Three 10th graders, two 8th graders, and One 11th grader.

Change of Seasons

I will not make any excuses for the lack of posts. I will try a little harder to keep things up to date.

Since my last post the remainder of the mountain bike season has finished, we have flow through another year of XC running for Jordan and are nearing the end of the Nordic ski season with the Section finals less than a week away.

Devon and Wyatt are in full swing of basketball this winter and they both are having a great time. Devon is on another really talented team and they have won all 4 games that they have played. Wyatt is getting a little frustrated because at his age they only practice and despite talk of having some scrimmages they haven't been any.

Jordan is in the full swing of the Nordic ski season and Burnsville just finished their conference championship yesterday at Murphy Hanrehan park. The team did remarkably well considering they had to do without their top skier who is in Sweden on the J1 team. The team finished in a forth place and only 3 points out of third. Jordan had a very good day and skied with a great deal of confidence. The first race of the day was skate which is probably her better of the two techniques. She laid down a very strong 12th place finish ahead of a tight group of skiers that she is normally behind. The team laid low for a couple of hours at a parents house nearby before heading back to finish up the pursuit with classic. Jordan's goal was to try to maintain her place during the race. The pursuit is fun for the spectators and the races because it is easy to determine where everyone places. Jordan had another strong race and held on to 13th place holding off a hard charging 14th place at the line. They took the top 18 skiers for "All Conference" Great Job Jordan we are proud.

Next up is the Section 3 meet next Tuesday at Battle Creek. The team has a very good chance to make it to the state meet. With any luck Sharmila will make it back from Sweden. Either way Jordan has a great shot at making it as an individual skier.

Stay warm!

MNMBS#6: Single Track Attack

After an interesting lead-in to the race with the crazy weather that literally blew through the Elk River area the night before, lead to perfect conditions race day.

Packing up in the morning was quick and easy. We have done this so many times now that things run smoothly as long as the kids do there part to keep us on time. The drive from Savage to Elk River took less than an hour and we were set up and everyone registered by 8:30.

A quick check of the tires and the boys were to the line for the kids comp call ups. Devon was positioned front row with younger brother Wyatt positioned just behind. The race was perfectly laid out by Rich Zilla and the Dirk Wirx crew. They cut a new section off single track to allow the kids to take advantage of both sections 1 and 2 giving them a course the perfect lenght.

At the work GO they were off, Devon got a really good jump and quickly worked throught the gears to stay with the leaders. Wyatt, spun as fast as he could but with only one gear he started to fall behind on his way down the road. We would see them again as the passed the open area between sections 1 and 2. Devon was pushing strong and was making quick work out of the single track. Wyatt was about 5 minutes behind Devon and riding with a huge smile on his face when he passed.

Buck Hill

It seems like it has been a long time since we raced at Buck Hill, for me anyway. The last time we were there I wasn't feeling 100% so I decided to watch instead of race. I am glad I did, as I wouldn't have done myself any good.

Last night at Buck I felt better on the bike than I have in a long time. The speed is coming around nicely and I am able to push "hard" for the 1 hour duration of the race.

If you race at Buck and want to get a good starting position at the line you better come early and camp out. Unfortunately, I realized that I didn't have a full water bottle and started heading back up the hill to get a full one as all the racers were lining up. Fortunately, Andrea was coming down the hill with fresh bottle for Jordan and I. I was able to line up in the front row, although it was way off to the right side and it made for an interesting start.

At the gun I tried to get past the banging bars and make it towards the road to smooth things out a little. I was in the middle of a fairly snarled mess, but was able to hold my position and find smoother ground. As we proceeded up the first grassy rise I backed off a little to catch my breath and played it safe around the wood chip hairpin turn. Up the first climb I settled into a nice rhythm, not trying to push to hard anticipating a log-jam entering the single track. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone funneled into the woods without stopping and the pace was very good. I pushed a little harder up the next climb and settled into a nice pace through the flat tight turns. I found myself in a nice group of riders that were going the pace I wanted and settled in.

Each lap I was able to pass a couple of riders up some of the steeper/extended climbs and hold my own in the single track. On lap 4 I had a great battle with Kevin Supple. I had passed Kevin lap 2 or 3 I can't remember, but he pushed hard on the last lap and was able to bridge the gap before the large drop near the end of the lap. Kevin went around me at the base of the service rode and I pushed hard to hang on his wheel up the gravel incline and onto the grass. As we hit the wood chip hairpin turn before the final climb to the finish I was even with his back wheel. I dropped two gears in the back and pushed as hard as I could towards the finish edging him out by a couple of feet. Thanks for pushing me at the finish it feels great now, but it hurt like crazy.

My heart rate his 196 on the last sprint. I have hit 196 a couple of times in the past but never after 1 hour of racing.

Next stop Hillside Park for the next MNMBS race. The legs should be nicely recovered by then.

Freewheel Frolic

The first MNMBS series race is in the books and lets just say that it was an interesting day. The entire week leading into the race the forecast called for a nice sunny weekend. The day decided to turn out less than spectacular and the weather forecasters (all of them) simply "blew it". On the way to Harmon park the sky looked a little strange and there was a feeling that something might get started, but since I put my trust in others I didn't think much of it.

We had to make a quick stop on the way to pick up Taylor at a sleepover. It took us a little while to figure out the somewhat incomplete directions that google maps provided and we were running a little behind. Parking spaces were limited at the elementary school, so I dropped off all our stuff and parked a ways down the road. Andrea and I have registration down and all six of us were ready to go in less than 10 minutes. After placing number plates on Devon and Wyatt's bikes they had a few minutes to get lined up. They both had very good starts and were all smiles as they came through on the prologue lap. They would not be seen again until the end of the race. Devon came in a few minutes ahead of Wyatt with a finishing time of 18:43 8th place overall and 3rd in his age group. Despite the fact that his bike weighs over 35lbs he pushed a very strong pace and gets stronger each time out. Wyatt finished at 20:44 19th overall and 2nd in his age group. Each year the kids comp race gets larger and larger this year there were 41 racers. This is the future of the the sport.

Taylor lined up and was off at 9:30 in the Citizen race. As she came through going into her second and final lap she was in a zone and didn't seem to hear us cheering her on. In comparison the Citizen race would be a long one with two full laps. Taylor would be on the course for over an hour with a finishing time of 1:03:06. She was happy that she was not the last to finish and came in just behind Steve Weisbrod (Grey Squirrel).

As the sport start time approached they announced that some severe weather was moving into the area. The decision was made to postpone the start of the race for fear of lightning. As the front came through and the rain came down, the start got pushed from 11:30 to 11:45 then 12:00. The sky finally cleared and the rain stopped and just as the last drops fell the race was started at 12:45. Both Jordan and Andrea were bummed with the rain and concerned that it would be a mess on the course, in fact Jordan bailed on the race. I was a little frustrated that she was not even going to give it a try. Andrea lined up with the other sport ladies at the back of all the heats. She didn't have the best good start and found herself near the back of the pack do to a shortened prologue. As I went back to the find out what the kids were up to I see Andrea walking her bike back to the officials tent. She said that the course was an absolute mess and went down three time in the first short section of single track. I am sure it was after 140+ sport riders were sent out only minutes after the rain stopped.

By the start of the Expert/Comp race the course had dried up nicely and was only slick in a few spots. After the call ups I positioned myself near the center of the pack. At the start I was able to hold my own and managed to enter the single track in the top 20. I worked hard on the first lap to pass a few riders that went out too hard and faded and established a nice pace with a small group of riders. I was passed by a few riders part way through the race that started in the wave behind me. For the first time in a long time I felt like I was racing again and was able to keep up a respectable race pace for the duration. I pushed strong on the last half of the lap, but was unable to catch the riders in front of me and fined a respectable 13th overall and 3rd in my age group.

Next race Afton:

I have never seemed to do well at this race, but I will give it my all and see what happens. Training has been a little slow early this year as I have been more concerned with staying healthy than pushing to hard.

New MTB Team for 2010

The Horner family will be flying the banner of a new team for the 2010 MTB season. We are extremely excited to be a part of the Maplelag/Paramount team. Jay Richards and the team members are what MTB racing is all about.

For all the LCR "sisters" out there, we will always be part of your team and of the wonderful MTB community as well.

Maplelag Weekend

Looking forward to a very exciting weekend for training/racing at Maplelag resort this coming weekend. Myself, Jordan, Taylor, Devon, and Wyatt will be making the trip to Maplelag for a short notice race at one of the funnest courses.

We hope to be on the road early Saturday morning and make it up to Maplelag around lunch time.

Might need to rename the Blog

Going forward it looks like mountain biking is not going to be the only thing we spend the majority of our time on. This fall our oldest daughter began running cross country and this winter she is on the nordic ski team. I already have other blogs that don't get used so there is no sence creating yet another one for running and skiing.

Crested Butte was the Highlight of our Summer

This pretty much sums up our racing this year. When we get around to it maybe we will start planning for next year. Oh, we have a plan, it is all about the execution.

A fun get-away (Crested Butte - 4 kids)

The 17+ hour drive from the flatlands of Minnesota to Crested Butte has rewarded us with spectacular views and much needed mountain riding. There are so many choices of trails that it is hard to decide which ones to do.

So far we have ridden "Snodgrass" and the classic "401 Trail". Tuesday we plan on riding "Deer Creek", "Upper Loop" and "Upper Upper Loop". Wednesday we will move over one valley and ride "Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman's Gulch". Finally, Thursday before we leave will bring us yet another valley closer to home (Taylors Valley) to ride "Doctors Park" before heading home.

The riding is making me tired and I will try to provide a longer update tomorrow, so I will leave you with some pictures of our trip so far.

More House Renovations

More house renovations. If you are interested in what we have been up to instead of the biking we should be doing visit http://horners-world.blogspot.com/

Neither one of us have been on our bike in a week. Either Afton is going to hurt a lot or we will be skipping it, haven't decided yet - I have until 10pm tonight.

That Time of Year

The trails are opening up and just in time. I have bee itchin to ride some dirt for a long time and nature has cooperated recently with a dry spring. Hopefully I can get the kids out tonight at Murphy for a little ride.

Last night I pushed a fairly good endurance ride around Savage and Shakopee. Jordan went out for the first 30 min and easily kept up with my low endurance pace. Not to bad for rarely riding her bike expect for races. I need to get her out more early this season as the sport races will be much more challenging especially the length. The remainder of the rides was fairly fun, I kept the HR up because I haven't been on the bike enough and need to play a little catch-up. The legs felt good for the 1 hour push before backing it down to a steady pace.

We will see how the training progresses, but for now I am happy to just get the kids out and ride on some dirt for a change.

See ye all at the trails.

Looks like I will be riding Expert again this year.

For the past 4 or 5 months I have been debating on whether to race Expert or Comp SS in the 09 MNSCS series. Last year I purchased an 08 Fisher Rig and I absolutely love riding it.
I was able to race the single in a few races last year, but as most of you know the courses in the MNSCS series are not very forgiving to a SS. In fact, the only race I ever dropped out of, other than mechanicals, was the Afton race on the Rig. I have been toying with the idea of gearing up the Rig as a 1x9 but that would leave me without the single which I love.+

I then started looking for a used or closeout 08 Paragon, because it is the geared version of the Rig.
Last year I was drooling over the new Superfly because I have always wanted a full carbon fiber frame. The list price for 09, however, shot up to over $4000 and I quickly realized it wasn't going to happen. However, situations change at times and it looks like I will be rollin on the big wheels with gears this year.

I will have no excuses for my poor performance this year. I guess I will have to start putting in some training.

See you at the races.

House Renovations

If you are interested in our projects as of late. Visit our other blog "Horner's Home Page" at http://horners-world.blogspot.com/

Like Most Blogs!

Like most blogs that revolve around biking, the posts have been few and sporadic. I am starting to get a little more focused on training for next year.

Andrea and I might try to get out to Murphy a couple of times this weekend and try some snow riding. I am not sure the cover in the woods, but the snow that fell was fairly light and fluffy so it should be alright. I has been cold enough so the ground should be solid, but hopefully not slick.

I hope all is well and I will try to keep things updated a little more frequently.

Maplelag Pictures

MNSCS #9 Maplelag

5 Unbelievable days of Fun

4 1st place finishes in the cross country race - Devon, Taylor, Jordan and Andrea

3 races a piece for 3 of us Matt, Andrea, Jordan

2 2nd place finishes for the Stage Race (all 3 races combined) Jordan and Andrea

1 Comparable to none weekend at Maplelag

We all had the best time ever at Maplelag this year!!
We traveled up to Callaway on Thursday in our car-a-van with the Hendricks, Ray, Kevin and Christy 4 cars total and 13 people. We arrived about 2:30 and set-up camp - 4 tents, 2 EZUps, a bike rack, and 4 cars - in the shade. Then it was time to have fun!

The rest of the 5 days we relaxed, we rode our bikes, we hung out with friends, we drank, we ate a lot of great homemade food, we rode our bikes some more, we sat in the hottub, we ate some more . . . . .

We had so much fun we all look forward to Maplelag all year and then that quick it is here and gone. Thanks Jay and Richards family for the great hospitality and the best venue set-up of the series the races were all well run and the trail was awesome. (I appreciated the trail much more this year than last, because I was finally able to master most of the technical obstacles.) Also thanks to Kyia for the skills clinic we all learned a lot and had a great time!

Maplelag ------Priceless!!!!

Border Battle

Another day of racing. This time it was a short jaunt from the parents to a new and never ridden trail just north of River Falls.

Andrea, Jordan, and myself found some time on Saturday to pre-ride the course because it was new to us. The three of us started out together, but immediately the trail separated with the citizen course going up a rocky hill, while the sport/comp/expert entered the single track to the left. We would all traverse the rocky uphill on the start on Sunday, but we were planning on just riding one lap so we opted for the single track. At the top of the single-track climb there was a short expert spur that ran you through a decent rock garden. I obviously didn't find the correct line and even though I had the big 29er rolling, I stopped dead on a large rock in the middle of the trail. I smacked my knee and jarred the seeds a little but was able to remount and continue riding even getting ahead of Andrea as I rounded the corner. I let her lead again through the next section of single track and it took a little while to get comfortable riding the single track. The first section was a little tight through the trees and it had a few fairly narrow bridge sections that could cause problems if you were not paying attention. The legs were still a little dead from last weekends Salsa 2-4 and I had only ridden once since the race. Andrea, was gone the entire week in Kansas City, and had not been on the bike since her 11th lap at Afton. The single-track opened up to flow really nicely and there were some fast flowing descents and minimal climbing.

After the lap I decided to change my front chain ring from a 32 tooth to a 34 tooth (17t in back). I went out for a second lap to determine if I could push the bigger gear. I rode a lap with Ray and Scott and the gearing felt a little tall, but was doable on the climbs. It was really nice on the flat field sections where I was able to hold 23+ mph without "spinning out". Near the end of the course there is a long fast downhill section that leads into a shallow climb. I pushed as hard as I could and hammered up the climb to simulate race conditions. Man do I low the single 29er. I can descend with much more confidence and it always seems to have more tracking through the turns. After the pre-ride we preregistered the entire family and went back to the parents.

RACE DAY

Jordan's Race

The race day started at 9:30 AM with Devon and Taylor in the Citizen Youth race. After all the call ups they were both at the back of the pack. At the start Taylor got a good jump on Devon and was leading going into the first climb. That is the last we would see of them until they would come through the finish line. In the meantime Jordan was warming up for her race. When I asked how she was feeling she said good, but a little nervous. There is more competition in the WORS series because the courses are easier and it draws larger groups. At the start, the women were staged in the last of six waves. That meant that Jordan would have a lot of traffic to deal with in the single track. At the start Jordan looked over towards Lizzy Sobotta and Emily Shull (the series points leaders) and could see they were talking about her. They were probably saying "great that girl from Minnesota is back" Earlier in the year at the Firecracker race Jordan finished over 8 minutes ahead of them and just missed the overall win for the ladies. After all the other waves were off, it was the ladies turn. At the word GOOOO! Jordan jumped out in front and had a 4-5 bike length lead before the first turn. She quickly shifted down for the climb and as usual was hammering out the saddle up the rocky double track. She came through to start her second lap comfortably is second position and riding strong. I was able to give her a new water bottle and shoved a gel pack in her back jersey pocket in case she needed it. She came through the finish in second place 1:32 back from the leader (32 years old). Third place was Emily Shull, who had a very good race and was only 1:12 behind. Overall good race and all smiles. Not bad considering the only time she is on the bike is during the pre-rides and race day.

Andreas Race

Matt's Race

NOTE TO SELF: Work on the starts. I am getting killed on the starts and I then get hung up in the single track and never have a chance to catch up. I think it is more mentally draining to ride at the back of the pack than it is physically demanding to ride in the middle of the pack.

I lined up at the back of the pack at the start because I didn't want to hold anyone up on the rocky climb with the single speed. I got a decent jump on the line and was able to hold my position up the first part of the climb with probably 8-10 riders behind me. As we continued towards the top I started to fade and after the turn into the field I turned around and found that I was in last place, familiar but frustrating. I pushed hard and was able to get by one or two riders before the first set of single track. At the entrance to the single track there was a line of riders stopped and I was surprised at how slow the group was going through the first section. It took nearly 5 minutes for the group to string out and allow some decent speed. At this point I was just trying to conserve some energy and wait for the passing sections. At the first passing section I passed 2 more riders and held my position nicely through the single track. On the second passing section I caught a couple more riders including Eric Guse. Jenna passed me part way through the first lap and I was able to hang with her for a little while before she faded into the distance. I was, however, able to put a good gap on the trailing riders and rode strong for the remainder of lap one. Starting the second lap I could tell that the first climb would be a little bit of an effort and I was finding out that the gearing was a little too tall for a 5 lap race. I pushed through the first climb keeping a good pace. The middle of the race was me riding alone and trying to keep the enthusiasm and pace up. Eric caught back up to me on the third lap and we rode strong together through the single track. Through the start/finish line he passed me to lead out the climb starting lap 4. My legs were starting to fade and the tall gearing made it difficult to maintain momentum up the climb. By the time I entered the first field Eric was gone and I was unable to bridge back up. I used this time to take down a gel and get some water in my body. I found it extremely difficult to drink on the course, because you were either in fast single track were you needed to constantly pay attention and on the field sections it was too bumpy to drink. I lapped a few comp riders and it gave me a little motivation to push hard, but that quickly faded when I went down hard on the next section of single track. The front wheel washed on a fast section sending me to the deck. I had to pound the handlebar strait and I didn't notice until I got home that my front wheel was about 1" out of true. Thank God for disk breaks. I must have hit the bar with my left knee because as I got up to grab the bike my knee was really sore. To make matters worse, when I finally got back on and started to crank, both my legs cramped up at the same time. Fortunately, the next section was slightly downhill, so I soft peddled for a minute to loosen them up. Shortly later on the next climb my left calf cramped up and I was forced to walk the rest of the climb.

For the remainder of of the race I battled the legs and made sure that I didn't push hard on any of the climbs. In fact, I had to walk most of the climb at the start of lap 5. I was able to push fairly hard on the flat sections, but had to be careful on the climbs. I was able to pass one more riders near the middle of lap 5 and held strong to the finish. Eric Guse busted his chain 500 m before the finish line and I was able to pass him as he was running with his bike.

I felt fairly good, but not where I want to be. There is always next year.

MNSCS #6 Powder Monkey Duluth, MN

Another beautiful weekend!

We, along with the Hendricks and Kevin and Kristie, all traveled up to Duluth on Friday and camped for the weekend.

On Friday we quickly set-up camp and then went for a pre-ride. I was going to ride the kids comp trail with Taylor and then go back for a loop on my trail. We started the preride with

Jordan doing a quick break because Scot made a quick turn and then she went OTB (over the bars) and then Kevin who following her went OTB and landed slightly on her. I freaked to say the least and screamed for Matt to come back, I got up to Jordan and she couldn't breath for a second and then she just screamed. I layed her on her back and she just was holding her side and she was saying she hurt and couldn't breath. Then she kept saying mom and she started looking pale. I screamed for Matt again and he, Ray and Micole came running through the woods to where we were. When Matt got there he strated asking her questions and then she started looking better. She was fine she had a sore rib and her hip hurt from landing on it, she had also got the wind knocked out of her pretty good. She rode for a while and then Matt took er back becasue she was hurting a little bit. I totally overreacted, but I was scared I say her fly throught he air and it looked worse then it ended up being.

We rode a bunch of the trail but all ended up off the right trails and on the wrongs trails since the course was not marked. It was a bit frustrating because they did not want us preriding on Sat due to weddings so we went up early to abide by their wishes and only ended up frustrated and confused.

After our preride we all got ready really fast and headed into Duluth for an awesome dinner at Hell's Kitchen they have incredible food and their portions are insane.

The next day we slept in and hung out at the camp ground for awhile then we headed to Duluth to walk around down by the Lake. It was a beautiful day. We got some snacks down near the pier and just enjoyed.

Race Day!

We got up early as usual (but not too early since we were right across the street from the race). We had breakfast and then headed over to the race. This was our first day wearing our new LCR team colors.

Taylor and Devon sat this one out, it was a little too hilly and too technical for them.

Jordan did great! She thought she only had one lap but had 2 and just took it all in stride. She said her hip hurt a little but for the most part didn't bother her. She stayed strong through the entire race and finished 2nd out of 6 for all the ladies and 28 out of 45 overall for the citizen riders. She is consistant!

I felt like quiting the entire race, but I held on. My warm-up went great I started out feeling bad but the legs warmed up nicely and I felt ready to go. I rested for a few minutes between the race and my warm up and then I was ready. They had a mass start which at first I really didn't think I would like, but then as the race started I realized it was going to be much easier this way. There were so many people I didn't need to pass and I could just get into position right from the start. Part way up the intial climb Matt told me there was only one lady in front of me, well I knew there was one lady right in front of me, so I passed her and just kept passing as many people as I could. I got towards the top of the hill and spotted another lady, Brandi Moore, so I worked hard and passed her too. We all reached the top of the hill and had to wait to get into the single track. We all filed in and the first 20 minutes of the race were quite frustrating because we were all riding so close in a line. We slowly passed those who made mistakes or couldn't ride smooth. Then we slowly spread out and we were all able to ride our own race. I had a 3 lap race. After lap 1 Brandy was right on my back wheel going up the hill and then I kicked it a little and put some space between us, she stayed fairly close to me until we hit the road half way into the 2nd lap, at that point I put it in a high gear and took off. I didn't see her again. I didn't feel good at all most of the race, it was really hot and I was just not feeling right. I thought I might DNF and then I figured before I did that I could just slow down, but I was never able to bring myself to do it. Finally after the 1st climb of the 3rd lap I started feeling better and I knew I was in the home stretch, I just needed to ride smooth and avoid bike failure and crashing. I held on for the overall women's win! I finished 1st out of 6 for the ladies and 39 out of 82 overall for the Sport riders.

I'll let Matt tell you about his race!

The Horner's are on a team!!

We are now official members of the LCR team!

Thanks everyone for allowing us to join your "cult" we will not let you down!