It has been a few days now since the opening season races and I’ve had more time to think about them. Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that I got what I deserved. I went into Saturday’s race over-confident and when things didn’t go exactly “right” I gave up. Yes, I gave up. I know, I’m not impressed either. As for Sunday, well I should have won that race easily. But I didn’t push myself hard enough. Instead I rode just hard enough and then when I made the mistake in the sand I was scrambling, luckily regaining the lead and then ending up second due to the mechanical. But the thing is, it should never have come down to any of this – I should have ridden harder and smarter.

So today, I hit the reset button. Time to get back on track and focused for the season. This past weekend was good because it highlighted many mistakes – both mental and physical. But now it is time to get down to what I do best and that is racing my bike. Yes, I expect to make more mistakes as the season goes on. But these will be different mistakes. They won’t be mistakes that involve – giving up, rolling over, not going hard enough, or being over-confident. I expect the mistakes I’ll be making will more along the lines of – too much brake, going too hard and blowing up, blowing corners, a few crashes, and forgetting to pedal. Still mistakes, just a different breed of mistake. A breed of mistake that will set me up for being faster eventually – so long as I recognize the mistake and work hard to fix it. And this you can be assured of – I will work hard and I will fix my mistakes.

Racing this weekend in Williston, Vermont at the Catamount Outdoor Center. It is going to be a great weekend of racing, cheering, and hanging out. We’ve got great host housing set up again this year. And thanks Ken and Denise Hoppner, we’ll be traveling in style. My parents are coming down to take in the races and to hang out (guessing they’ll do some shopping as well…). I predict a tasty supper at Moe’s, a visit to EMS, Borders, and Small Dog Electronics. All in all, it is going to be a good time.