XC Racing

XC mountain bike racing is brutal. You crush yourself at the gun and never look back. Unlike road where you can draft, rest on long descents, etc., mountain bike racing is a different kind of hell and redlines your heart almost the whole time without much strategy or planning. This shot was taken at the Over the Hump Series at Irvine Lake a couple of summers ago. I race sportsman and do okay and fortunately I'm improving. Every once in a while, you get a good dose of humble pie. You'll be going flat out, heart about to jump out of your chest with a mouth full of dirty gym socks when you get passed like you're standing still by someone 15 years your elder. It happens all the time.

I like to race (well it's a different kind of enjoyment), and it's good for the challenge of testing my limits that tell you more about yourself than any class in college. It's one hour (+/- a few minutes) of serious, no bullshit, screaming body agony. No one to blame but yourself, and everyone sees right through your excuses. Man up.