Cholla

Just came back from a great weekend in St. George racing at ICUP #2, the Cholla Challenge down in Hurricane. Here are some notes.

1. It's amazing how fast the dirt dries out down there. Our Friday evening pre-ride was a mudfest, by Saturday at noon the course was dry. There was only one puddle on the entire course, and the dirt was dry everywhere else.

2. Bad luck. 3 years ago I DNF'd at Cholla less than a mile into the race. My chain snapped. Last year, I rode without incident. Last month I DNF'd with two flat at the Desert Rampage. This weekend, my left shoe's lacing system broke halfway through the race. I was able to finish, and ride well, but imagine running with no shoelaces. That's what this was like. My southern Utah racing stats are one out of four races without a mechanical and finishing two out of four. And...I've had four mechanicals in four races. Dude.

3. Dan, those socks have got to go.

4. The first two times I raced at Cholla I ran a 29/44 2x9 setup. First on a 26" bike, which, I only raced about a mile. Then on a 29er. This year I ran a normal triple, but really wanted to run a single 32 ring upfront. That was the perfect gear. I never left my middle ring.