A week in California 2 of 2

After taking it super easy Thursday, I was anxious to get back out and ride on Friday. I rented a car for the weekend and drove to Fontana on Friday to pre-ride the course. If Bonelli is a punchy, European, newer UCI style, then Fontana is old school, super fun, and more about riding awesome trails than just thrashing your legs. Having said that, it’s still tough, and required a lot of mental focus and technical skill to really move fast. Overall, I love the course, so much fun to ride. I didn’t get any pictures during pre-ride, but my uncle got a few during the XC, below.

A Week in California: 1 of 2

This year has started off fast. It’s almost hard to believe it’s only the end of March. First there was Texas, my first time on the mountain bike this year and it was for a race. Now just a couple of weeks later I’m out in California racing again. The push for these early season races has been tough on me mentally so far, with the results not where I need them to be because I just am not fit yet, and the opportunity to really make a mark more present than it has been in the past. But all in all, I’m not complaining. I’m not complaining, because really, I can’t. I’m out in California, it’s warm, and I’m racing my bike. This is what I dream about doing, we’ll almost. Usually in my dreams I’m winning races. But the trip so far has been spectacular.

Mellow Johhny's Kicks off the US Cup Series

This past weekend was the first big race of the year, and also the first race of the year. It came much earlier than I was ready for. The decision to race was somewhat a last minute decision for me when the announcement was made that the overall purse for the US cup was increased to the largest in the world, $80,000. So with that kind of prize on the line, I decided to make the trip. And if I’m being honest, I also was looking for some warm weather.

So I would say I wasn’t completely prepared for this race, probably a big understatement. About a week before I flew in, my legs were just starting to come around and I was back in the groove. Previous to that I had taken some time off to rest and when I got back on the bike I was having to reach and really push it to hit the numbers in the workouts. I was just starting to come back into form and riding well within my zones from last year. So I was feeling excited and happy to be riding strong again. But then towards the end of the week before I made the trip, I started feeling a little sick. I t was just a little cold, so I wasn’t worried. But as the week went, I never really felt better, never felt that bad, but was out of it. And being out of it, I did a pretty horrible job of packing and skipped a few workouts. So things went from hopeful to less than hopeful as I made my preparation and travel out to Austin, Texas.