Summer Is Now

It's annoying when you're sat in the car, driving the 4 hours home after a race, and all you can think about is, "I should have been riding faster...way faster..." - but sometimes, it's also important to remember that winning (or putting in a good results to be more accurate in my case) isn't always what the weekend is about.  For the first race of the season, I'd cautiously call it a success.

I really don't mind spending my weekends inside a painting.

After a Friday night being kept awake by howling wind in 30-degree temps, an air mattress that didn't live up to it's name at 3am, and subsequently sleeping in the passenger seat of my car until 10am on Saturday, the remainder of the weekend was a cake walk.  The track was fast and fun, and I found an RV to sleep in (beer payment for said accommodation is pending on my end).  Some rowdy riding, hilarious campfire banter with friends, and beautiful weather really put the weekend in perspective when it was all said and done.
I must also be growing up, because in my race run (and riding all weekend), I made a conscious effort to ride conservatively.  Why?  Well, leaving for a month-long European adventure in a week definitely played a big part in that...it was the only reason actually.  I was happy to feel solid on the bike, and know that I was still capable of being competitive, should a more advantageous schedule come about.  With it all said and done, I had a wicked weekend with all of my bike friends, and it felt great to get back into the mix of racing!

As the departure date for my Euro trip approaches, I'm nervous but excited for the up-coming insanity.  It's going to be a wild time on a whole.  I will do what I can to provide a unique/personal update when I can, but I might also just cross post a link to the material I'll be publishing for Descent World.  Either way, stay tuned, this summer is only getting started!