Hammering the BST & Hell of the North

I pounded up Dry Creek to BST to Bobsled then dropped in a for a fun downhill run to 11th Ave then back to Popperton on the pavement. Not a bad lunch ride. Did it all in a combination of the middle and big rings which hurt as I climbed the switchback out of Dry Creek and later when I hit the Wall. However, I wanted to work on power and in that regard it was a very successful ride. I caught a lady up on the BST who was pounding and had absolutely ripped legs. I followed her for a while and then passed her on the Wall. Not sure who she was (I think she was wearing a VMG jersey but I didn't look back to see the front when I went by. Subaru was the most visible sponsor on the back of the jersey) but she was hammering. The Bobsled was fun and for a first run I think I rode it ok. Those burms are HUGE!

After looking at hotels in Hurricane and experiencing a bit of sticker shock ($80-$100 a night for the Travelodge?!) I decided to renew my USA Cycling license and register for Hell of the North. In 2006 I was 12th out of 23 riders (Cat 5. Yeah, I pretty much suck) so hopefully I can improve on that placing this year. I'm bummed about not doing the Cholla as I feel like I'm rolling pretty well on the dirt but I figure there will be other, much closer opportunities to race the mtb. Hopefully RB's racing age is 30 in '07 so I can line up with him unless he bypasses Sport and jumps straight to Expert.