You can never count on anything in mountain bike racing, however, especially in in our group. At this point in the season there is very little difference in overall fitness, and any of the fast guys have a chance to win on any given day. I knew Stan, Keith and Jason would all be trying to win.

After a mild panic at the start when half of us lined up in the wrong row, we were off and running. Like most days, I went as hard as I could to make it to the singletrack first. Once on the singletrack, I spent a couple of minutes recovering before the long service road climb. I could tell Stan was right on my wheel, but it sounded like we had a little bit of a gap on the rest of the group. Once we got to the service road, Stan pulled ahead and I followed him. Stan and I pre-rode the course on Wednesday and, living nearby, he knows the course better than any of us, so I figured following him was a pretty good idea. As we neared the top of the service road climb, however, Stan started to fade slightly and I got by legs back. I saw about three or four riders between us and the turn onto Ambush. I started pedaling and tried to pass as many of them as I could.

So I found myself in first at the top of the first lap, but I knew Stan, Jason and Keith couldn’t be too far back. I tried to ride the long descent as fast as I could, but let’s face it, I am not Steve Pete and I already had one high speed crash this year. I must have been going 20 mph or so when I heard a rider ask to pass on the left. I could tell he wasn’t in our group, so I let him by. He was flying–I could tell he was out of control. About 20 seconds later, he locked up his front brake, launched himself off the trail and disappeared into the trees below. The sight of this shook me up just a little. I eased up just a bit, and it was enough to let Jason and Keith catch up. As we neared the end of the first lap, I could see them closing on me. Keith even started to talk a little trash, which was great.

After the turn, I found some energy again and rode the second lap without incident. I was able to cross the finish line about 40 seconds ahead of Keith. Jason followed in third, and Stan ended up fifth. It was a good solid race–my sixth win of the year.

I also completed my three year goal of winning the points race and the Sport Men 40+ overall championship. I had come close in years past, but Jay, Kevin and Brad were faster than I was. This year I worked a little harder, and I just tried to make sure I was in the hunt every week.

I am going to miss the gang next year (assuming I can’t talk them into moving up with me), but I look forward to watching Keith, Jason, Jonas, Stan, Vern and Geno battle it out for the title. Any of them can take it, and I wouldn’t even want to guess who has the best shot. Of course there will be new people moving into the group too, so who knows. I am also going to look forward to racing with Kevin, John and Daren next year. I don’t expect to beat them, but at least I will finally know how much faster they really are. At least some portion of the faster lap times has got to be due to fewer people to pass, right?

Mike, the fast guy from Solitude, was back for another go. Keith, Stan and Jason were there too. Overall, however, it was a pretty low turnout, and Vern and Jonas were noticeably absent.

Mike, Stan and I all went out pretty fast. Mike and Stan both passed me before the singletrack. Stan was once again proving that he gets faster than the rest of us by the end of the season. Unfortunately it didn’t last, and Stan had some mechanical difficulties on the second lap. I passed him and found myself in second place. But Keith and Jason were right on my tail.

Somewhere in the middle of the second lap, I bonked. It was pretty ugly. I could barely keep the bike on the trail. I started to recover after five minutes or so, which was soon enough to keep Stan from catching me, but Keith and Jason left me in the dust to take second and third, respectively. So I ended up in fourth place, or the Tweety Chair as it is known to ICup regulars, for the first time this season. Stan was able to salvage fifth, even though he should have taken second and I should have been fifth.

It wasn’t my worst showing of the year though, having taken fifth at both Cholla and Soldier Hollow. The truth is I felt pretty good about the result with all the traveling and time off the bike. One more race at the Canyons next week and we are done for the year. Time flies.

I got lucky again today. A pretty fast newcomer had some problems on the first descent and let me by. Vern got a flat. Geno and Keith were no-shows. Jason was recovering from a head cold, and Stan–well I don’t know exactly what happened to Stan, but someone said he had a mechanical issue. That left me and Jonas. I looked back as I started the Queen Bess switchbacks for the second time. I could see Jonas was just a little ways behind. I just tried to make sure there was always one rider in between us, and I focused on the climb. Once I made it to the top, I just focused on not crashing. Lots of riders crashed today. Fortunately I wasn’t one of them, but I was almost a little too conservative. Jonas crossed the finish line just four seconds behind me giving him his best finish to date. With that boost of confidence, he will probably win a race one of these days.

So I officially get to claim the title of Utah Open State Champion 2010. I even got a fancy medal to prove it. I guess it is one more thing I can look back on when I remember my best season of racing. Brad and I used to talk about how much fun our group was and wonder whether it would be as much fun to move up. Sadly, I think I know the answer.

I am really looking forward to a couple of weeks off the bike after racing and training really hard since May 1st. I am looking forward to sipping Bordeaux and eating Pain au chocolat along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and imagining what it will be like in a couple of weeks when the Tour comes in. It will be a nice break before Snow Basin.

Due to a dual start today, our group was the very last group out. It is hard to stage our group, because half of us are faster than most of the groups ahead of us, and half of us are slower. So, by default, we usually end up farther back. Today we were dead last, but that turned out to be good too. When we got to the line, Ed said he would give us two minutes instead of the usual one minute so that we wouldn’t catch the group ahead of us (i.e. 34-39 year olds) as quickly.

From the word “go” I was out in front hyperventilating as usual. I was first to the single track and made the first couple of turns. Then, I noticed something strange. I couldn’t hear anyone. I was all alone. No one in front of me and no one behind me. It was a little spooky. I understood why no one was in front of me–we had given them a two minute head start. There was only one plausible explanation for no one being behind me: someone had made a mistake on one of the turns. I didn’t care what happened, this was going to be one of those times when I would benefit from being able to hold a fast start longer than most.

I tried to focus on not letting up. I pushed as hard as I could until the switch back climb up Wilbre. As I made the first turn, I caught a glimpse of Jason and Stan. They were a ways back, but within striking distance, so I kept hammering. I survived the first lap, then the second, and I started thinking I was probably going to win. Then I reminded myself I should keep looking back. Sure enough, as I started up Wilbre for the third time, I saw the familiar sight of Vern and his brown hydration pack. This was troubling, but then I remembered that I had two things Vern didn’t have: gears and shocks. So, I found the biggest gear I could spin and went up Wilbre as fast as I could. Then I went down the service road for the third time as fast as I could, almost crashing in the process. In the end I was able to hold on and cross the line 21 seconds ahead of Vern, and picked up my fourth blue ribbon of the year.

A minute ago I compared the results to last year. My winning time today was within 5 seconds of John’s winning time last year. Earlier this year I convinced myself I would move up next year regardless of how things ended up this year. As I contemplate that reality, it is nice to know that maybe I am finally as fast as John was last year. However, I am sure that won’t stop him from beating me next year.

Stan had a great race today coming in third. I don’t know how he can start riding so late in the year and do so well. Maybe I should start skiing more. Keith was looking more healthy today too, coming in just barely behind Stan. It was also nice to meet Kelly, who came in 8th today. I love meeting 40+ racers who are getting hooked on this sport the way I did. You can bet Kelly will be on the podium before long.

I took the lead out of the gate, and I felt pretty strong. I could tell Vern was right behind me, but I expected that. Then something terrible happened. I missed a turn. I don’t know how many guys followed me, but at some point Vern said, “Hey, we missed a turn.” I then followed Vern back to what we thought was the right path, but after a minute or two I realized this too was not the right way. I yelled at Vern and we doubled back to join the group. Not only were we at the back of our group, but there was another group in between us. We would have to pass everyone in two groups to get back in front.

It took most of the first lap, but we finally made our way to the front. We passed newcomer, Jonas, on the brutal service road climb, but I was still nervous because I didn’t remember passing Jason.

As we started the second lap, Vern was right behind me. I asked him how many were still in front and he said we were 1 and 2. I wanted to believe him, but I still wasn’t totally sure.

The second lap was pretty uneventful compared to the first. Unfortunately, Vern passed me and I let him get a little too far ahead. I found some traffic and I new my chances were fading. As we got to the service road climb, however, I could see Vern pushing that rigid single speed up the hill. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could catch him, but it was not to be.

So that is the story of how 1 and 2 became last and second to last and then became 1 and 2 again. Like I said, I wish I felt better about this race. It was the most painful first lap I have ever had, and the most hollow second place finish–but the scenery was hard to beat.

On a more positive note, Austin and Cole had a good 9 and under race finishing 7th and 6th, respectively. It is the first time Cole has finished in the top six, and he has his sixth place ribbon to prove it. Well done, Cole!

The weird thing about Sherwood is that some racers always seem to show up that we never see anywhere else. That happened again today. One fast guy jumped out in front of me just after the starter lap. I stayed with him until the meadow, when his chain came off and I regained the lead. Then another fast guy passed me like I was standing still. I knew there was no way I was going to catch him–he was clearly racing in the wrong group–so I just focused on trying to stay ahead of the rest of the group.

I held onto second place for the rest of the race, until we were about two minutes from the finish. Then the chain guy passed me by surprise. It was my fault. I should have looked back to make sure I knew where everyone was, but the truth is I thought I had second in the bag and I didn’t think anyone was going to catch me, let alone the guy with chain problems. Live and learn.

So I had to settle for third again at Sherwood, and I was only two seconds behind the chain guy as we crossed the finish line. This one is going to haunt me for a while. At Jackson, I will make sure look over my shoulder a little more often.

I knew if I made it to the top of Little Stick first I would have a chance. It wasn’t too long after that, however, that I heard Vern telling me to speed up. I held him off until the half lap, but DV is his home court, and I never really saw him or his rigid, 21 pound bike again.

So I settled in and enjoyed the ride, as well as what I assumed was a pretty good gap between me and third place. I was about five minutes from the finish line when I looked back and noticed Geno was only a few hundred feet behind me. That ended the joy ride, and Geno pushed me pretty hard for the last five minutes of the race. I was able to hold on and collect a second place ribbon.

Apparently I passed Steve and a few other 19-29 year olds along the way. He keeps track of these things better than I do. I am lucky if I remember to drink enough water so my calves don’t lock up.

Sherwood in two days and no rain in the forecast. Finally!

The start of this race was crazy. For some reason we were starting in 30 second intervals instead of full minute intervals. On top of that, there were nearly 40 riders in our group today, and I found myself in the second row for the first time in a long time. I couldn’t make it to the front of the pack before the single track, and as we jumped the curb onto the dirt, I heard the sound of a pinch flat from the bike in front of me. I sneaked by a few guys and found Jason. I figured I couldn’t be too far behind the leader.

By the time we hit the tunnel to go under the road it was a total traffic jam. I passed a couple of guys, including Jason–not sure how or when–and I could see Keith about two or three riders ahead of me. I yelled and asked him if he was the leader. He said he was, so I decided I would just hang tight and recover before we hit the passing lanes.

When we got to the dirt road I treated it just like the start of the race. I was just about fully recovered, and I knew I could pass a bunch of younger guys before the next section of single track. I just hoped I passed enough to keep the lead when we hit the long downhill road. I like to go fast as much as the next guy, but as the speeds approach 30 miles an hour, I will be the first to admit that I start to feel a little uneasy. Sure enough, at the end of the downhill I caught a glimpse of Jason on my right. He passed me for a couple of seconds as we made the turn. Then I knew I just had to push myself as hard as I could up the long dirt road climb. With plenty of room for passing and an elevation gain of about 400 feet, this is the one section of the course where I can convince myself I have a competitive advantage.

I never saw anyone in our group again the rest of the race. I just kept telling myself not to crash. Then, when we got to the finish loop around the pond, I convinced myself once more that I had better pass a few more people and not ease up. Good thing too, because Vern was only 22 seconds behind me. In fact, I think the top six were all pretty close. Geno was sixth. Jason had some back luck when another rider crashed into him, but he still managed fifth. Keith was fourth, Ty was third and Vern was second.

A week off and then Deer Valley. I can visualize the climb up Little Stick and I get sick just thinking about it.

I learned a few things today too. First, I need to warm up even if it is cold and muddy. Second, winning two in a row doesn’t mean you can win three in a row. Finally, just when you think this sport is easy, it kicks your ass again just to remind you it’s hard.

Next to Austin’s race, the best thing that happened today was that Keith and Jason took second and third. Now I don’t have to listen to any more nonsense about how I should move up etc. It is clear we have at least four or five guys who can win on any given day, and we have eight more races to figure it all out.

The second first was that I won this race, giving me back to back wins for the first time ever. It is also the second time I have won Sundance, having won it two years ago (we’ll try to forget that last year I took fifth at Sundance).

There were a couple of more firsts that were interesting too. Near the end of the first lap, I had the worst crash I have ever had in a race. I split my head open and bruised my left hip and shoulder. I also jacked my stem so my handlebars were angling a little left. Somehow I only lost about 10 or 15 seconds, and didn’t give up the lead. So the last first of the day, was winning a race after a crash. It would be fine with me if that doesn’t happen again.

All in all it was a great day. Sundance is still one of the best rides anywhere. A newcomer took second, but Keith and Jason were right behind him. This is about the time Keith starts to come on strong, so I fully expect I will be chasing him soon. I also know Jason is going to be stronger now that we are racing every week for a while. The fact is I worked my but off after Cholla (5th place–remember?) in order to get in shape for May. But a few weeks of back-to-back races will even out the fitness levels and it will get harder and harder to win. It is tempting to get overconfident after two wins in a row, but then I just have to remember that I could have just as easily had a DNF today. Plus, it is still only the fourth blue ribbon I have ever won, and I didn’t win any last year at all.

So next week is Solider Hollow. I am really looking forward to that–I always crash there!