Random stuff from the weekend in Park City

Whole Foods
Living in a small town like Victor means that we don't have a lot of shopping options and this is a good thing. However, when we get to Park City we always hit up the Whole Foods store on our way out of town. This time, I discovered these little pieces of heaven.
Yum!

I have a chip problem. I can admit that. If I gave up chips I might just drop a few kilos and be "thin buff" like my buddy Tim Kelly. Tim, I might give up chips and the occasional beer between now and Laramie and unleash my own thin-buffness!

My Flat
I hadn't flatted in 3 years of racing my mtn bike with tubes and I typically run med-light tires like a Schwalbe Racing Ralph with Snake Skin sidewalls. This was my first race using Stans tubeless. After 4 successful laps on my "light wheels" (Arches with 2.25 Racing Ralphs & no Snake Skin sidewalls) I got nervous about flatting. People were flatting all around me. So before my 5th lap I switched over to my "heavy wheels" (Flows with 2.1 Bontrager Tubless Ready Xdx) and proceeded to flat on the next lap. Ha! Hindsight says I should have stuck with the Racing Ralphs until I had a reason to change but the rocks were like piranhas! I also learned that it is faster to just throw a tube in there rather than screw around with trying to get the hole to seal with the tubeless goo.

My Last Lap
Jay and I were not in the running for the top three but we didn't let off of the gas after our respective mechanicals and it worked out that I would do our final lap. After the 20+ minute climb there is gradual downhill through a big grassy meadow officially called Flagstaff Loop. I called this section "Big Ring Meadow". Halfway through "Big Ring Meadow" I see a blue jersey ahead and at the time I imagined that he was a duo male rider and therefore he had to be caught & passed. We were racing right? I caught him at the top of the long, steep descent but most of the descent is singletrack and passing is tricky. It is especially tricky if the rider in front doesn't want to be passed and is descending well himslef. Since this was my 8th lap I knew every corner and started to calculate my attack. The only option was a last-minute sprint out of the final corner where the track opens up just before the timing area. As I skidded through the final loose switchbacks, glued to his rear wheel, I dropped a couple of cogs in the back and stomped on it as I exited the final corner. I had to go into the grass on his left to pass but I just managed to get around him 10 feet before the line. Yeehaw! I had to throw on the brakes HARD once across the line to keep from wrecking into barriers and JayP (third pic down) caught it on film. Jay was cracking up when I crossed the line and relieved that I kept the rubber-side down during my silly glorious moment.