California National

So lets start this off by saying this was one of the best trips ever. Not only did I get to travel to California, Race a national, hang out for a few days with some of my best friends, and get a wicked sun tan from a california heat wave..haha..Oh yeah and I didnt even mention the course yet!! Lets just say an 11 mile course with climbs so grueling they make pro racers look really human..

So the flight out was pretty good and I got to fly all day with Ryan and Drew. As we arrived at the airport in Santa Babara finally my day got even better as my friend Mike had come prepared for the trip sporting this super funny haircut and shirts..Finally we all got our luggage and rental car and headed to the hotel to build bikes. Well except Drew cause they did him a huge favor and didnt get his luggage until the next day. Once all was said and done we headed to the course to look at the venue, and I took off for a real long easy lap..

The next day we headed to the course so everyone could get in a ride and check out the course. We meet up with the knights there and our crew was complete. As everyone finished up there day we went to dinner to get in some good ole pasta and sleep.

So saturday was upon us and I was feeling good for cross country. I got to line up on the front row and had a decent start with no intentions but to pace myself and finsih strong. COming throught the first lap I was in mid pack and still felt strong. I waited until the end of the second lap to start making a few moves and move up a little. I ended up getting a little screwed over at the end and not able to get two riders I could of easily beat, but at least finished strong. After checking the results I ended up in 28th place out of like 50 riders. This got me a little down but I was happy with my performance in the 106 degree weather..

Well sunday was here and we had short track, but dont let the name fool you. This is a 20 minute race where you are seeing stars the whole time or hitting a wall on a tricycle. Well lets just say I got another good start and tried to pace myself off the leaders. I was in the top 10 the first say 6-7 minutes then I absolutely crashed. I finished the race barely able to move. I was hurting worst than ever but I knew I had to finish because I never drop out and that does nothing good for you but make it easier to quit next time.

So that was all for the trip. The race was awesome and I learned a lot about big races. As I headed back to florida I could not get the good times out of my head, and knew the trip was well worth it.