I have to be honest. The feeling of disappointment after a race run can make you feel like it all isn’t worth it. But maybe that knotted feeling of disappointment in the pit of your stomach is what keeps us racing. Just like the feeling of winning or performing your best can motivate you to continue. You just keep striving to do your best.

When you don’t end up doing your best some thoughts do enter your head:

So far this year I have finished one race feeling like I really rode to my potential. One. Why bother, someone snobby recently asked of a rider we know that traveled all the way to Fort William to try to get selected for the Worlds team and didn’t even qualify for the final. Well I think everyone has different reasons for racing. Hmmm what is mine? I guess it is a personal thing as it probably is for most. Maybe I have something to prove to myself. I heard someone say once that the best athletes have had dysfunctional childhoods. Could be. Mine wasn’t exactly Leave it to Beaver. And most of my sponsors would be happy with me just being out there riding like I do, coaching, getting media coverage and racing the occasional race. So it must be personal. And I do love it. Not to mention my fiance (yes we got engaged) is very good at it! So I guess these are some reasons why I am involved. Why I keep coming back for more.

But then we noticed a little bit of ignorance that seemed to stretch across the majority in the racing world. While riding for fun in Morzine after the Worlds I blew everyone away after jumping this step up. Ok, it was pretty big and somewhat technical but I was surprised at how surprised they all were. I realized they had possibly judged me from how I was racing. They didn’t expect that from me. I know that to an outsider some of my race results may be impressive but for a lot of people in the racing world, all they see is that result on that piece of paper and all they care about is if you are top 3 or not. Guess what, a lot of fast people wouldn’t have jumped that step up. I think people may tend to forget that just because you can’t always post a fast time, doesn’t mean you aren’t a good rider. There are so many amazing riders out there that do not race. A result on a piece of paper does not always tell the whole story.

My race run at the Worlds was…….well how I like to describe it as is………extremely average. Major bummer because I was riding really good all week on a very physical and technical track in all weather conditions. Actually, I was riding better when it was the wettest and a lot of riders were having difficulty. I just know I did not ride to my potential on race day and thats when it counts isn’t it? I finished 14th and far from my personal goal. And, yes you guessed it, I was very disappointed. But I know that I am a good rider so after a little debrief, a little rant and a little break, I am already looking ahead to the next race. It’s that striving thing.

For now I am heading back home to Whistler, somewhere I have not spent much time in the last few years. It will be nice to be there for more than a week at a time! I am looking forward to some lake time in between some riding, racing, coaching and catching up with family and friends!

The End.