After the end of another Nordic skiing season it was time for biking to start once again. So far this season I have experienced changes that I had no idea that I would be experiencing. The first becoming a member of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory bike team, the second getting two new awesome bike coaches, and the third change, getting a new bike. I went for the switch of a hard tail to a full suspension Specialized Era.

The day that I got my bike we were heading off to Fruita, Colorado for the first race of the season. My first ride on my new bike - pre-ride, second ride - the time trial. I had never really been on a full suspension bike before and there were many, many differences that I was not fully prepared for. Also, the lack of knowledge of knowing how to work the Brain suspension system made that race one I will not forget very quickly. During the warm up my coach and I sought some help from another rider to help me adjust the shock so that I would not get bucked as much. As it turned out he was a mechanic, and adjusted some knobs. The pre race preparations preceded as normal, I finished my warm up, went to the start, and was off. The first part of the race was a climb. I was in heaven, my bike felt so smooth and fast, the temperature was perfect, and I was reminded again how much I love biking. However, that did not last the whole time. The downhill was soon approaching. A lot of the course was rolling like a pump track. I should have noted every time I went over a bump my rear wheel left the ground a fair amount but, I was having too much fun to really worry. The next thing I knew I was going over a drop, what followed was I was doing one of the biggest endos in my history of riding and that I was screwed. This was one of those crashes that take forever to get over with. It felt like I was flying over my bike for at least 10 seconds, even though it was probably only one. I finally, landed on the ground and all I could think about was, my new bike has got to be broken, but nope, right after that thought it landed right on me. It was smart, landing on the softest thing in the trail full of rocks. It took a while to get back on and keep riding. But I did, probably not as fast as I normally would, but I finished.

The next day was the cross-country race. My leg was super stiff and swollen from the crash before, but when that race started the pain kind of went away. The night before I made more changes to the suspension so it was way less bucking and more controllable, therefore this race went much better.

I have all my dials and pressures set now and my new Specialized is my favorite bike I have ever ridden!

I look forward to a new great bike season!!