Monday, September 12, 2011

Grand Targhee DH Race

Grand Targhee Downhill Race.
September 10, 2011.
Upper + Middle + Lower Sticks & Stones Trail.


I am a downhill racer! Note, I did not say that I was a fast downhill racer. I had visions of sneaking up to Targhee several times during the week prior and dialing in my lines so that I could unleash my fury on the 40+ Sport Class come race day...yeah, that didn't happen. I did one practice run in on Friday afternoon and then one practice run on Saturday morning before the race. Two DH runs since last summer is not quite enough time to be "race ready" but what the hell. My main goal was to have fun and not bust myself up in the process. I got spanked but had a blast.

A couple of random post-race thoughts:
- Ergon GP1 grips work for DH too. My hands were cramping after one run on Friday so I put my favorite endurance race grips on the DH bike and no more hand cramps. Sweet.
- Being clipped into the pedals is for me.
- A 10+ minute downhill run with some pedaling at the end is hard! I was cross-eyed at the end of my runs.
- Smooth is fast...I need to work on that.
- Lower Sticks & Stones is a GREAT trail.

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