Racing a bike in Northern California during February while living/training under 10 feet of snow in Truckee is a dumb fucking idea. But getting some race miles in my legs was going to feel great compared to staring at my wash-machine while on my trainer in the garage.
Snelling has some mild rolling hills coupled with generous amounts of wind. The Pro 1/2 race was 87 miles (6 laps) long. A surprising amount of racers showed up for this early season death march, as our field was 119 strong.
On the second lap, a mile before the finishing straight, I flatted. Aw fuck. My goal at Snelling was to sit in the pack at 30mph and get my legs up to race speed. I wasn't about to let a leaky tire get in my way. I pulled over, fixed the flat, turned my bike around and rode backwards on the course. About 20 minutes later I spotted the Pro field flying over a hill and I jumped back in as they passed me.
On the final lap I was shelled in a gnarly crosswind before the finish. 79th place and happy to be racing in 2009.
Each time I make a new business card for the Start Haus ski shop, I get to add another classic skiing poster to my wall. The inspiration for the designs (or the actual designs themselves) have been lifted from classic ski-resort advertisements. Here are the collected works from the past few years in the order of their making.
