Mammoth mountain biking

My whole family joined me out in Mammoth CA for the mountian bike national chamionships last weekend. A good time was had, especially since it was the end of a long season. The common sentiment among the racers was one of exhausted jubilation. The racing itself was pretty uninteresting, but the courses were fun and the competition was...well the best this country has to offer.

I came away from the weekend with three highlights.

The first of the highlights from the weekend was when I got called up on the front row for the cross country. I felt like I had won some sort of lottery, at least until the announcer told the whole crowd who was lining the front row...well everyone except me. After the announcer burst my bubble, I spent the rest of the race hanging out in the pain cave.

The second was getting lost in the Super D. To sum up: two trails, one piece of tape, high wind, i took the wrong trail, but I got more single track than everyone else.
Here is a picture of the Super D start. Notice the start gate next to the fence between the Mammoth signs.

The last and best highlight came as I was leaving the condo for the short track. My sister, Jen, and her two year old daughter, Greta, were in Mammoth as part of my cheering squad. As I walked out the door, Jen instructed me to "Kick some ass, Doug." Since my niece repeats everything her mother says, I immediatley heard, in a sweet 2 year old voice, "Kick some ass, Untle Dud." (Untle Dud is the 2 year old pronunciation of Uncle Doug.) It was probably one of the funniest things I have ever heard, and kept my brain from melting and dripping out one ear durning the short track.