Angel Fire 20-10 and other stuff

Quickie update, sorry if there are run-ouns:

Wow, Another year. I can't believe how fast the time goes by as we get older. This year was a bit different, no F-250, no rain, no snow and near 90* weather. Angel fire is a rad place, it is secluded, primitive and downright cozy. This year I traveled to the North East corner of New Mexico with Daniel O. and his parents. The drive was a bit slow as we took our time to eat (Cracker Barel) and relax. The course was good, it was the same course that all the non-pro classes raced last year. Even though I had not ridden the course, it was still better than the "pro" course that the event organizers chose to run last year. Anyway, the dirt was dry, VERY dry. The turns and off cambers were slippery but still as fun as ever! Practice went well, I did not experience any real problems with the course or my trusty Rocky Mountain steed. My body was a different story. The course, being over 5 minutes long took its toll on my forearms. The course was fast and ROUGH all the way down, and it did not give you much of a chance to rest.

Race day came, my seeding run was very conservative and I made a major mistake in one of the rock sections. To my surprise I was seeded in the 16th spot, in a field of over 50 PRO riders! I was surprised to say the least. I knew I could produce a much faster time for my race run so I was pretty excited to see what I could do.

Race time came (about 6 hours later) and I felt pretty good. I started off strong, blasting the top rock section and not blowing out the slippery turns that snaked down the ski run afterwards. By the second half of the course I was feeling the burn in my arms, and my hands felt like I was wearing down mittens, which is not good. I definitely toned it down near the bottom as I have a job and other things to go home to...Came across the finish and I was sitting in 3d place! I knew it was not gonna be enough for a podium but still a good result nonetheless. Regardless of the small mistakes I made on my run and the conservative nature of my run in general, I am happy that I was able to put together a decent run, on such a tough course, with a tough field of competitors. At the end of the day, I finished in 13th...definitely not what I was looking for but not really too bad. I had no time to hang around and watch the remainder of the pro field finish, my plane was leaving from Albuquerque in a few hours and we were behind schedule! I was relieved to make it to the Sunport in time to catch my plan to LAX, then, of course the plane leaving LAX was delayed, but only for an hour. I eventually made it back to San Diego about 2 hours behind schedule. What a wild 2 weeks it has been. Snowboarding in Mammoth with Drew and his dad, riding the Snow Summit lifts for the first time in 6 years with Brian and crew, and finally racing Angel Fire...Next weekend I am scheduled to race the MDR night off-road race with BajaJag, INSANE times are ahead, and I feel stoked to be able to live like this.