That’s a wrap! I couldn’t ask for a more perfect fall weekend for the Eastern States Cup finals at Thunder Mountain Bike Park. I found my flow and decent speed through most of the stages, but fatigue got the better of me on Winetree during the final stage. I ended up having a brutal crash that left me doing a front handspring off a rock, rolling down the trail, and then scrambling to get back on the bike. The last part of that stage is all a blur and I was thankful that I made it down the mountain in one piece. Crashing is always a bummer, especially when I’m having a good race otherwise. Fortunately, I still managed to get good enough times in all the other stages to place 4th.

This race concluded my first season racing enduro in the pro women’s field and the experience was nothing short of awesome. The icing on the cake is that I placed second overall in the series!⁣

When I first committed to doing the series, my only goal was to just become a better rider. As the season progressed and I realized my potential, my goals evolved from being processed based to performance based. If you told me back in May after floundering my way through the first race that I would come in second in the series I would have laughed at you. Not only did I become a better rider, I also landed on the podium several times and even won a race! ⁣
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This isn’t to say that the past six months were not without challenges. The miles traveled and time away from home was hard. (My check-engine light has been on for two months!) The crashes and trying to recover from all sorts of little injuries was less than ideal. The time and money spent repairing my bike after breaking shit every other week is tough on the bank account. But it was all worth it and I will do it again!⁣

I want to say thank you to my support network. I wouldn’t have been able to overcome these obstacles very well if these folks didn’t have my back. I want to extend a special thank you to Kim Quinlan for being such an excellent mentor to me over the course of the season. Kim, you taught me “how to enduro” and the importance of maintaining a compassionate and optimistic outlook. (Also, CONGRATS on the series win!!!) I also want to thank Chris Dunn for his important role in helping to ensure that I was physically and mentally prepared for the season. And finally, I want to thank Jonathan Meuse for all of the behind the scene work to keep me grounded throughout the season; helping me with everything from fixing my bike to making me dinner when I was too tired and grumpy to do it myself. ⁣
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Finally, I am so grateful for all the new friends that I made this season. I can’t wait to do this all over again!