It proved to be full of challenges which created a scene for highs and lows of tour racing.
I have fallen into a bit of trap and have been rather dependent on being told what to do during race, but at Mt Hood we could race a bit more for ourselves, and still work together. It worked well for us as there was only 4 PBR riders doing Mt Hood instead of the usual 8 so we had to be smart and come up with plans as a group.
In true PBR tradition we kept the racing aggressive, especially for the crit. I think I got a bit carried away and crash right infront of the live stream camera. It was a bit of a front wheel slide out on a hair pin corner when another rider went down in front, nothing I could do expect copy (not a cool trend I recommend to follow).
The final stage was set to be on a testing course, with not alot of flat and alot of climbing. 10,200ft to exact. I haven't been too confident of my climbing recently but it seems i found my legs and was with the select few including team mate Louie over the 3rd climb. Yellow Jersey had dropped so I was on the front keeping the pace honest, it was great having some legs back! A puncture for Louie meant a quick wheel change between bikes because the roads were almost too narrow for the follow vehicles. I was left to chase back on on a long twisty decent. Seems like if you carry too much speed into a corner you can't turn. I flew off the road and down a fair wee way into the bush. Past a couple of trees. Just a bit of excitement really. To add salt to injury 15km from the finish after my 2nd crash my spare wheel punctures. Race over.
A week in Portland of riding and relaxing and in my case recovering. Monday was full of good unhealthy food like M&M's and caramel, I wish I could say I had a few cold beers also but I am still not of age here so no chance.
Time for a pedal.
Over and Out.
