Last weekend I took part in my first DH race in I over ten years! In high school I spent my summers traveling from resort to resort every weekend for dual slalom, down hill and cross country races. It was a great time, but after a few accidents I decided to take some time off from racing.

Some time turned to over ten years! Bikes are expensive and mom and dad are no longer buying them!! Ahhh getting older, anyways this summer I finally made the move and bought a new mountain bike. My XC bike is a little out dated and I was over due for a new one. Perhaps some rear suspension as well? Ya, I think so.

A few weeks ago I ran into my friend Adrienne Schneider. She had been saying we should go riding for a few years now and the thought of following her around on my Moots soft tail did not really sound like a good time. This time I had a new bike and I decided to take her up on her offer and try to keep up. For those of you who do not know Adrienne, she just happened to have qualified for the World Cup for DH, in other words she’s fast! Very, very, very fast! Luckily for me a great coach too!

Adrienne convinced me to take part in the Karpiel race last weekend at Northstar. Apparently Karpiel is one of the toughest trails on the mountain and not many ladies wanted to show up that day. This section shown below being one reason why;

 

I cleared this section four times in a row before the race. Of course that was not the case during the race. Here I am right before I lose my line in the waterfall.

After the waterfall came another section called Vietnam. That one gave me some troubles in practice yet I was able to clear it and was feeling pretty confident. Unfortunately I had some troubles there and between that and the waterfall probably lost at least twenty seconds off my time. Oh well It was still a good time.

Adrienne of course came out on top!! Securing her spot on the top for the Northstar 2011 DH race series! I came in second and I have to say in the end I was pretty happy with my first Pro DH race in long time!

This weekend I gear up for the Race for Tara at Northstar. I’m hoping there’s an expert class so I can warm up a little before I try and compete against a World Cup racer again! If you’re in Tahoe this weekend check out the action up at Northstar for the Race for Tara. Tara Llanes was a champion DH racer who was paralyzed in a crash a few years ago. Read more about her road to recovery and how you can help out at :http://www.tarallanesclassic.org/