I did it, I got the overall!! YEWWWWWWW.

I wasn’t totally recovered but I made the trek up to Stevens Pass for the last stop on the US Grand Prix. Even though I didn’t feel well, there were precious points and a title on the line.

This park is pretty awesome, wish it was here when I was growing up…would have been pretty awesome as it is only 1.5 hours from my moms. Anyway, I wish I could say I rode the park to its potential, but I didn’t, it was more damage control than anything. I was just wiped out. So tired still.

I managed a 4th place, quite a ways back but it was good enough to seal it up and walk away with the title!

Highland Bike Park. Never been here before but I will definitely be coming back! I loved this park…soooo fun. I felt really good on this course. It has taken me awhile to really feel good on my bike. Been struggling a lot this season but this week definitely felt like a breakthrough week…I was just having so much fun. I did so many laps in the park!!

 I wish I could say my race run reflected how I was feeling but I can’t. I managed a 3rd with a few really big mistakes. Oh and some dude ran right out in front of me in the track. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. :)

Highland has a pretty awesome vibe. Small little park, bikes only. Unlike most every other place we visit, Highland is not a winter resort so the whole place revolves around bikes. Rad trails, one of the most chill lodges ever, a foam pit, an air bag, lots of people camping. Two thumbs up. Do yourself a favor and come here!

My first race of my east coast adventure was the US Grand Prix at Sugarbush. Since I was staying with the Davison family and they only live about 40 minutes away from Sugarbush,  Jojo and I just stayed at the house and drove over for practice….this was sooooo nice.  It was great to practice and then get to go ‘home’ and hang out with my favorite family in Vermont.

This was an interesting race for me, I have been struggling to get up to speed this year and this race gave me flashes of that speed. I wasn’t there, but I saw it…that’s a good start…and inspiring. I was also curious to see how my shoulder would hold up. A few weeks before I left I was training at the gym…just stretching and I dislocated my shoulder. It was the wierdest thing ever, I did nothing crazy, it was just the angle. I have injured my shoulder many times, but that was the first dislocation. It was scary but I tried to strengthen it as much as I could before I left and it seemed to pay off, it felt pretty good!  I just had fun riding my bike and trying to find my flow this weekend. On the day I ended up in 3rd with quite a few mistakes…which is frustrating but it is what it is. At least there is a lot of room for improvement right?!?

Photos: Matt Delorme / Lee Trumpore

More Mountain Biking Videos

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Just wrapped up the first national round of the year up in Port Angeles, WA. It was so great to be back in the  PNW to smell some fresh air and catch up with my original crew. I grew up in Washington and it is where I started riding so it is my happy place. Familiar faces, trails, dirt, sights, smells… :)

The trails in Port Angeles are sooo fun, been out there quite a few times over the years for racing and coaching. The race track was no different. After my first run down I was like yesssssssss I am home. That is the kind of riding I just love. Fast, flowy, good dirt, a little tech mixed in. I did so many runs over the weekend. First day like 4, second day like 5 or 6, qualifying day 9 (!!) and finals day 2. I just couldn’t stop riding.

Saturday (qualifying day) I did way too many and almost got myself hurt. hahah. Check out the tree video. I was so tired and got off-line in a run and slammed the tree and then had to go up for qualifying when I was beyond tired. Not the smartest move.

I ended up 5th on the day, stoked to make it on the podium. My run had a lot of room for improvement as I had a pretty big mistake which cost me quite a bit of time but I will take it. There were a lot of fast girls out there this weekend so to get on the podium is great. Barely, I should add. By .05 of a second. :) Jill 1st, Miranda 2nd, Holly 3rd (watch out for this girl!!), JoJo and me.

For the boys, Stevie Smith brought it home for Canada, so stoked for him. The boys field was stacked, could be a World Cup podium anywhere. Stevie 1st, Gwiny 2nd, Mick 3rd, Brycland 4th, Neko 5th.

We had like 4+ hours between our AM training run and finals on Sunday and I was really bored and I made a sweet video…should be done with it this weekend, you’re gonna love it :)