State Champion

So, this past Saturday was the Chris Allaire Memorial Utah Open State Championship (Wow, long title). This race is always held at the Solitude Ski Resort, which, terrain aside, is tough due to the altitude. BUT the terrain is actually one of the hardest races we have. The race starts with a grueling road climb all the way to the top of the Ski Resort. This is followed by a super sketchy and technical downhill all the way back to the bottom. Then, once you have made it to the bottom, you do it all over again only this time its not a grueling road, its a grueling, rooty singletrack back up the mountain. This race really gives me appreciation for my full suspension, b/c even with it, I still feel like a human jackhammer on the way down. Well, even with 2 crashes and my inability to catch my breath, I managed to pull a win. I was able to take the lead in the beginning and managed to keep it for the entire race. Despite my lousy attitude about the Solitude race in general, I felt really strong and confident on my bike. Its nice to win, especially if you get a super awesome metal and not a blue ribbon straight from Dollar Tree. Garrett took 6th which is really great too. Those kind of races are hard for him, the long steep climbs really take it out of him. That being said, he has a really competitive category and I was super proud of him.