quick check in from the road ~ CA/NV/UT

It is mid-morning on Day Two of the Eastward drive. Yesterday (Saturday ~ 7/2) I got a 5:30 AM launch and was on the start line for Leesville Road Race in Williams, CA by 8 AM. It was my first time doing that race... and I loved it! The course started flat but within about 15 miles we left the level plane of the Central Valley and began climbing, in the 90 degree + heat, into the Coastal Range. Immediately, the road narrowed to one lane and consisted of more patches and potholes than original blacktop. There were several long stretches of gravel. The ascent was over 1000 feet from bottom-to-top, increasing in steepness the higher we climbed. By the summit the field had shattered. I made it over the top in 7th but was able to group up with others and catch all but two guys who remained off the front until the finish. After dropping one rider and loosing one to a flat, I arrived at the line with one other person. I won the drag race and took 3rd in the Masters 35+. I feel as though my form is coming back and I’m feeling good about Superweek…. Less than a week away!

After the race, shower, and a watermelon feed, I headed East on Hwy 20, stopping in Nevada City for a late lunch. The drive through the mountains and across Nevada was beautiful. I stopped driving around 11PM, headed down a side gravel road and set up my tent. I slept beneath millions of stars and awoke to a glorious sunrise and crisp high desert air. 15 miles of driving brought me to the Utah boarder. I’ve crossed the salt plane, skirted Salt Lake City, and am stopping for a coffee and a blog up-date in Park City.