Snowmass Norba National

EDIT: Muddy photo, scanned so not as great quality, but still ok:


Weekend = awesome.

Pictures = limited since I had endless problems with my camera. Batteries died (two sets), it was raining when I raced so Steve didn't get a picture of me (though I bought a professional one that should be here in a week or so), then the focus went out on it. Time for a new one. Anyway....

Camping on mid-mountain, having to ride the lift to get to camp and being a 10 second walk from the gnarliest sections of trail for easy watching. Free showers at camp. Camping in a paintball field behind obstacles, pretty cool. Stepping on unexploded ordinance and having paint squirt all over your legs and toros. Bear rangers stopping to make sure that you don't stupidly have food in your tent. Bear proof garbage cans by the ritzy restaurants, coolness.

Comped lift passes for spectators and riders and anyone for the weekend, encouraging involvement and making things much easier and user friendly.

Dual slalom under the lights (for the Pros that is, it was daytime for us amateurs), an awesome course that put Brian Head to shame and terrified me with its pointy doubles and non-pedalable course, until I rode it and saw it for the sweetness it was. Then crashing in the qualifier, taking a handlebar in the chest (nice perfectly round bruise, heh), qualifying last, thus going up against the 2nd fastest qualifier in the race, almost beating her and tanking on the last tabletop. Oops...super fun though! I need a slalom bike, but anyway......

Meeting a friend and his new bride, walking courses together, hanging out with them and another friend watching the pro slalom and mtn cross, meeting the actual Feral Terriers! (Joe's team is named after his two dogs.)

Wearing my PM gear jersey (TGR forum thing) for a practice run, being very confused at hearing someone shout "Pickle" as I rode by them, and realizing 20 minutes later it was Joe asking for 'change for a nickel' as he hiked the course. And SUPER CONGRATS to Joe for a top ten Semi-Pro finish! Rock on....

Other than the occasionally botched award ceremonies (endless delays and so on), a super slick, smooth like butter, well run event, much better than any of the other races we've been to this year, hands down!

Downhill

- practicing the high-speed super-steep off-camber turns down the face of the ski runs, hiking the course several times to choose lines and watch others practice

- terrified of going 40+ mph down this run, feeling out of control, a rocky crash waiting

- memorizing where to brake and where to let it run

- seeing all the practice tossed out the window with the arrival of one two-hour long rainstorm that perfectly crossed our practice and race

- giggling at the top before your start, not nervous or terrified anymore now that it's all just silly and not a high-speed serious race, relaxed and laughing (Flowtron is right, it was the change of mind that made the difference)

- joking with the other girls that the winner would be the one that fell least

- bolting out of the start gate, sliding along on your way

- racing in 6-8 inches of slurpy sticky mud that would clog your wheels if you didn't go fast enough, and that was like riding a slip'n'slide

- sliding sideways through the off-camber turns, giggling at how out of control you were

- sliding out and crashing in the mud, picking yourself up, realizing your clothes and bike are all the same brown color

- having your armor slip out of place 'cause your body is so lubricated with mud

- racing w/o goggles because they're so splattered you can't see

- pulling your contacts out and chucking them off the trail 'cause they're also full of mud and you can't see

- hurrying because you think the chick behind you is falling less often and will catch you (Jackie, I was sure she'd catch me and it made me go faster)

- cleaning the slippery rock section and feeling buoyed when people cheer for you and how well you blew through it (and relieved you didn't die, )

- pedalling in the muddy bottom section and the joy of realizing it's doable to go fast

- slipping and sliding the whole way down and realizing that you're having the time of your life playing in the mud

- pedalling into the finish and having the super-speedy girl who beat you all summer by usually at least 30-45 seconds, look at you and say "I think you have the fastest time!"

- thinking "No way in hell did I go faster than you."

- looking at the results and almost passing out because you won by a solid margin

- feeling awesome 'cause you finally won a race legitimately (read: this time I wasn't the only girl in my class, grin)

- spending an hour picking mud out of your hair, going to awards, and getting the added bonus of finding out that this win meant you came in third overall for the season in your class, yay!

What a way to end the summer of racing. Wow.


The super high speed lines...


Another shot of the high speed section.


The log drop.


The 'waterfall' or 'hell's kitchen.'


The padded tree on the super sharp right hender at the bottom of the waterfall, sketchy.

Oh, here's the flattering post that Joe put on the TGR board:
The course was rough and fast Thursday morning as rains had washed off the dust churned up a month ago during the MSC race. As the weekend progressed the dust got churned up again and the rocks got bigger as did the infamous ski run brake bumps. The dust tends to soften up the course a bit and can make some sections in the the woods incredibly slippery....big tires, higher PSI and slightly stiffer suspension was the call. After a whole lot of practice, course walking/inspection and talk everyone had their lines dialed by Saturday am. Then the clouds rolled in just in time for expert practice and racing. Everything went out the window as the clouds puked for an hour. The dust turns to a greasy pudding and those embedded rocks you were using for traction in the dust are slippery as hell. Ideally you want narrow spiky mud tires, soft susupension and flat pedals. I was glad I didn't have to race til Sunday, but Yenta and BoobooKitty had to suck it up and let it run. The first expert girl I saw come through was not having a good time. She crashed, picked up her bike, threw it down onto the road, then slipped and fell on her ass again,, then dribbled off the drop we were under, crashed again and slipped and slid out of sight. A few riders later Yenta came through...slipping, sliding yet maintaining...about all you can do in these conditions...she center punches this drop, bigger than any of the women we saw there, lands, swaps a bit in the mud, dabs a quick foot in the berm/hole at the turn and rallies on. Its was sick.