I’m feeling privileged that someone at cyclingnews.com decided to put a picture of me in the same photo sequence as Chloe. She pulled out yet another top 10, finishing 9th in the short track. The best part is that I didn’t have to pay the camera lady.
It’s hard to believe that the 2006 NORBA circuit has officially come to an end. Wow. The series finals were held at Snowmass, Colorado this past weekend and closed up nicely. Saturday’s cross country had us doing two twelve mile loops, each having no less than 2300 feet of climbing. This made for some seriously challenging racing! The first twenty minute climb went horribly. I wasn’t anywhere near the front of the group as I made it to the top, but at least I was able to salvage things by climbing well for the remainder of the day. I continued to pass people on the climbs while holding my own on the rock strewn descents. At the end I made my way back into the top forty, to finish 38th out of 90 guys. Given the poor start this was surely one of my best performances, it is unfortunate that I didn’t get going from the start for this one!
Day two brought about the last short track race of 2006. I was super motivated for this as I desperately wanted to finish one of these things without being pulled. It wasn’t to be as I got pulled with just three laps to go. Once again most of the field had also been yanked as the leaders set a blistering pace. 26th meant that this was my second best short tack on year. Another phenomenon is that my STXC placing directly correlate with the altitude for the year. The higher I race the higher I place.
I really grow to love the alpine climates and every time I go to the mountains it becomes that much more comfortable. I’d almost go as far to say that I prefer it over the thick, heavy, and wet air we breathe down here at sea level… Once again I’ve returned to Spooner and this is where I’ll be while finishing out the season with some WORS racing and of course the Chequamagon. It’s tough to see chapter one of my pro career come to a close, but I’m excited at the prospects of chapter two. I’ve got a lot to sort through now, but before I know it I’ll be headed out in search of a warmer winter climate once again. Thanks for following along; all for now. -TJ
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