The Monday after a good weekend of downhill riding is the worst kind of Monday. I find myself wanting to get out again on my downhill bike for another day of shredding the trail, another chance to ride a new line or work on perfecting the one I've been riding all weekend, but I have to drive home and go to work. Riding downhill all weekend is a great escape from the everyday, there is no chance at all to worry about work or the little things that we all think we need to worry about but that don't really matter. Downhilling is truly a zen experience and the embodiment of living in the moment.
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| Truly living in my moment through this crowd. |
So, I spent a Zen weekend riding in Reading, Pennsylvania for the first Gravity East Series downhill race of the season, the Duryea Downhill. This was a unique venue for a downhill race. The organizers set up the base of operations in the Reading City Park. There were food vendors among all the race pits and in the park setting it felt more like a fair than a race. There were some great ladies from a local coffee shop who kept me caffeinated all weekend with their great iced coffee The riders were shuttled in Penske trucks to the top of Mt Penn, which is a peak in a range known as the Reading Prong mountains. True to the Appalachians, and especially Pennsylvania, there are lots and lots of rocks, baby head type rocks to be specific. Rocks that caused lots of flat tires and broken spokes and dented rims. I had two flats after one run alone!
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| The ladies of Max Crema's served some delicious iced coffee! |
When I arrived at the park and saw the finish line run section of the course I will admit I got a bit nervous--it was surprisingly steep! I wasn't sure if it was because I just hadn't been on steep for a few months, or if it really was that steep. It did feel a bit better coming down it on my bike than I thought it would, but it was indeed steep and surprisingly so for a downhill trail within city limits. The upper parts of the trail were not quite as steep and were actually really fun and fast with lots of long low grade, high speed runs with jumps and drops and of course, lots of rocks.
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| Steep, loose, run to the finish. |
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I had the awesome privilege of meeting and practicing with some super rad downhill vixens! Heather and Jennifer were so fun to ride with and super encouraging and supportive. I don't think I would've ridden some of the lines I did if they hadn't simply led me down them! In one of my practice runs on race day I completed wiped out in the rock garden and Heather was so nice to hang back with me and ride through with me again. Any women out there who might have the thought or desire to try downhill, just remember we are a small group, but as such, we are all willing to help the other ladies out. I have learned that when I find myself at a race or downhill park it is good to introduce yourself to the other ladies and ride together when you can. By supporting each other our numbers can only grow stronger!
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| These ladies rocked!! |
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My downhilling weekend was made extra special through the fact that my sister only lives 20 miles from Reading, so I was able to stay with her and her boyfriend for the weekend. It was great to see them and spend some time with them, and they got to come watch some of the rowdiness of a downhill race. My sister even did a
write up on it for the
local paper she works for and shot some video which was pretty cool. The race itself was awesome! I had a great run, though I could have gone a bit faster. Riding XC has really helped my cardio fitness, but not the muscles I need for downhill! My glutes were wiped out, as were my arms and hands. Near the end of the race where the Pro road gap section was I came riding down into a massive crowd with a DJ playing--that was crazy! I rode the log drop on the steep finish line section on my race run and I had not ridden it in practice, so I was super stoked about that. I actually finished with a pretty strong time and won the Women Cat2/3 class! I finally got a tire! (I kept hoping to win some tires last year with no luck.)
One of the funnest things was when I got to the bottom, there was a group of local Special Olympians watching the race and they asked to get photos with me. They were so excited to talk to me and take photos with me, it really made my weekend.
