22 August 2008  |  Races

Day Before the Race

Today was the last day to pre-ride the course before the race tomorrow. The course had dried out a ton- the only part that was still somewhat sketchy was the long steep downhill. On my first lap, I rode over to the bottom of it to watch the men ride it. They were all stopping at the top, and a lot of the top guys were walking it. When THOSE guys are walking it, I’m not taking any chances. I talked to a few guys who rode it on the second lap, and they said it was drying out every lap. I watched a bunch of people ride it, then summoned up all my mental strength and…I was able to ride it- barely, I had a pretty good save at the bottom. I went back out and rode it again- this time a little more smoothly. Whew! Glad I don’t have to worry about that tomorrrow. It’s crazy- I will be racing in the OLYMPICS tomorrow! I am trying not to think abouit it too much, otherwise I might not sleep…

In any case, I am just so happy to be here and be part of this amazing event. I only wish that I had more time to hang out and meet other athletes and watch other events. That’s the only bummer about being one of the last events. I am glad that we decided to do the training camp in Korea though- it was so mellow there and I was able to stay focused and get some good training in.

I really want to thank everyone for all your kind words and thoughts! I really appreciate all the support. Allright, I better go try and get some sleep.