SHIMANO WINTER SERIES ROUND 4

This last weekend was my first race back after my crash and rib injury at the 2nd round of the series
this year. I was off the bike for a total of three weeks and was pushing it as we always do. I felt really good when
I got back on the bike. Didn't feel like I could win but felt like I could compete. The conditions this weekend were really nice.
65-70 degrees and just enough moisture in the dirt to get the right amount of traction. Southridge taped
off a whole new section off hill that made for some good highspeed sections. It was a fairly simple course but
challenging with the off camber. I felt good after five practice runs on saturday and figured I would do good on sunday.
I did my normal one practice run on sunday morning before the race just to check the course and make sure everything
was still the same. My race run felt good. I railed most of the turns up top and pushed myself on the wall which is the last
200 yards or so before the finish.

I ended up midpack with a little bit of disapointment but at the same time I was extreamley
stoked that I put together a solid run with no bobbles or crashes! I was 13 seconds off the leader and 10 seconds off the
podium so I have a little work to do but I felt it was a successfull weekend and really happy that I’m back on the clean run
program :) I plan on getting back on the bike everyday so I look forward to seeing a improvement and a better finish next round .

Shimano Winter Series Round 2

Round 2 of the Southridge Shimano Winter Series brought some nice weather and great conditions. It rained a little on Saturday but not enough to stop anyone from practicing. The little rain we had was enough to keep the course dust free and somewhat tacky. Once again Donny Jackson taped off a great course with good flow to it! I was feeling pretty good come raceday and even did a few extra practice runs before I was scheduled to leave the start box. I felt like I put together a really good run until the last 10 yards of my run. I was coming off this right hand turn to drop off and my bike just slid right out from under me. Before I could even comprehend what was going on I hit the ground. I think I would of knocked the wind out of myself but I was so gassed from pinning it I didn't have any air in my lungs! lol

I slowly got up and rolled across the finish line in disappointment. My friend Carlos Gonzalez was standing right there when I crashed and said it was the most violent crash he had seen in person. So strike two for me at the winter series. I got chest xrays on wed and have a hairline fracture in my L5 rib and bruising on a few others so I will be taking a couple weeks off. Doc says 3-4 weeks since it's just a hairline but I'm already starting to feel better wearing this rib belt they gave me to wear so hopefully I'll only miss round 3 and the bootleg race on valentines day? I plan on getting back on the bike next week so I dont lose to much of my cardio.

Thanks for the support even though my performance has been horrible at the start of this 09 season.