We made it back from Texas. That was a long drive home- the 21 hours felt like 40! Our trip ended up a little longer than planned. We left a day earlier and stopped by our friends in Oklahoma to get some ridding in. We arrived around 9am and went to their practice track. We rode there all day on Thursday and some of the day on Friday. From there we went back to their house, cleaned everything up, and headed south to Blackwell, TX for the second round of the National Enduros. My goal for Texas was to come out with a decent finish and be healthy for the rest of the rounds. I'm more of a tighter woods guy and the faster desert like trails that they have down there are not my strong suit.
Sunday was actually really cold for Texas and super windy. That was a good thing because they haven't had measurable rain in over a year. Needless to say it was very dusty. I was on minute 18 and ready to go. The course was very rocky, but not the rocks you typically see- most of them were loose and varied in size. I never really knew what my bike was going to do from corner to corner. I just got used to sliding around all day. With the faster conditions and the loose rocks I struggled to get up to speed. I tried numerous times to push and charge hard but just kept making small mistakes that were hurting me. I was forced to hold back a little and finished the day with no big crashes. The race consisted of two AA and A only sections that were more technical than the other four tests. My speeds were down some because I was riding on some steep terrain (a mistake there could land you at the bottom of a steep raven). I had to be a little careful so I didn't go sliding off the edge. It started to rain at the end of test three and stopped right before I started test four. The rain really didn't affect much as it was a quick shower. At the end of the day I didn't ride to what I thought was up to par for me, but I did get out of Texas healthy and ready to put the hammer down at the next round in Tennessee. I know what I need to work on and I will be ready. I ended up finishing 12th in the Expert AA class and 35th overall. Not bad results considering the type of terrain for me but not what I expect from myself.
I would like to thank all my sponsors for all their support as I couldn't do this without you. Also, I would like to thank my Dad for traveling and helping out all week to get ready for the race because without him it would be tough.
Remember Keep it Between the Trees!!!
