OrangeTomato: Angel Fire - 2009, Memorial Day Weekend

Angel Fire...what can I say?

It's still my favorite venue.

The course is still super fun.

The course is still the hardest one I'll see all year.

It again rained, and we again rode in the mud and slippery rocks.

The drive is still long, but beautiful.

I was again last, but was faster than last year and was playing it safe.

I only crashed twice all weekend, and.......drumroll please.......

NO INJURIES FOR KIMBER!

It's sad that I'm so excited to have come home without major injuries, isn't it? The last two years, it wasn't the case. 2 years ago: rotator cuff off the road gap stepdown. Last year: broken wrist (found out later) and sprained ankle. This year: bruises only. Yay!

I finished 12th out of 12 women, but am pretty happy about it anyway. There were fewer women racing there this year, and many of the women of my "lower pro" level, as I call it, weren't present, making the competition pretty stiff. I was 20+ seconds faster than last year, was riding more relaxed and comfortably, and felt really good overall.

Connie KILLED it, and finished 7th in the Downhill, and even after a crash that rang her bell earlier in the day, fought her way up to second in the Super D! Way to go!

Long drive:

Chilling at the house we rented with about a dozen people! Crowded but thus affordable:

There were four dogs at the house, so Jean Luc was exhausted from the playing:

I'm a bit muddy:

SUPER D
The last corner of the Super D was super tricky - I didn't race it so took pictures of the carnage. It was dusty and loose, and tight, and a lot of riders came in too hot to make it. For example:

This guy washed out at the corner and came off his bike, and decided to run the bike across the finish instead of waste time trying to remount:

Connie rode in in third place, but second place washed out and here Connie is making the pass right before the finish line:

Going to the podium to get her second place:

Her medal is covering the Velo Bella on her jersey, oops!

DOWNHILL
Here I am coming through the little twisties at the finish on my qualifier run:

Connie on her qualifier:

It rained, a lot, on race day, and they actually had to shut the lift down and shuttle racers up in a truck trailer due to lightning. Luckily, it stopped raining for the Pros and we were able to ride the lift up, phew! Faster and less bumpy from what we heard. The rain held off until all the racers were down, thank you mother nature.
http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/orangetomato/biking/Angel%20Fire%202009/?action=view&current=DSC03994.jpg

Me again, this time my race run: