After racing in Canada, Jason and I headed back to the hotel, ate a quick dinner, packed bikes and got ready to fly out early the next morning. After a fourteen-hour travel day due to some flight delays, we finally arrived in Bend, Oregon. We built up our bikes, got in a quick spin, and helped load the team van for the ten plus hour drive the next day to Missoula. Needless to say, when we finally pulled into beautiful Missoula, I let out an audible sigh. I spent the week in Missoula soaking in the beautiful sunshine, wildflowers and occasional thunderstorm.
The rest of the team flew in Thursday and I was thrilled to be reunited with my teammates. The course was in beautiful condition with tacky hero dirt and I was happy to have the opportunity to ride such a fun course again. I felt strong and confident on the bike come race morning. After killing a few hours before our 2 pm race start, the day had first warmed up and then started to drizzle lightly. By the time we had lined up, the course had gotten another perfect smattering of rain to keep the conditions loamy. When the whistle blew, I took the hole shot. Instantly, I could feel something was wrong and my dizziness hit. I dropped back to second wheel, Canadian, Sidney McGill. As the fire road turned to single-track, my vision clouded and I slipped to third wheel, fourth wheel and then fifth. My only focus on the removal I now felt and the sluggish speed in which I was processing. My pedal stroke slowed and I could barely turn the pedals. The laps drew out the same way: on the long downhill, my head would clear slightly and I would close the gap to fourth place, however as soon as we hit the climbs, the feeling would knock me back down and my pace would once again be painfully slow. On the last lap, the muggy heat turned first to rain and then to hail as I reached the top of the climb. Within minutes, the trail was river-like with thick mud. I rode smoothly enough to reel in fourth place on the descent. Since there was no passing on the descent, as soon as I got the chance, I began to sprint. I opened up a twenty second gap and finished in fourth. Although it was certainly not the race I was hoping for, it was what I was capable of producing while still being dizzy. I am excited to be getting a better grasp on learning how to race with my condition. Huge thanks to my coach Dario Fredrick and my parents for backing me every step of this amazing journey! Next stop, World Championships in Nove Mesto!
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June 12, 2016, UCI 17-18 6th I was happy to arrive home from Europe smoothly and have a little over two weeks to settle. My time home was filled with doctor appointments that cleared up a lot of questions about my autonomic nervous system disorder. I felt like for the first time, we had a way to monitor it with data and some solutions not only within medication timing but also minuscule adaptations that I was confident would add up. Before I knew it, I was packing my bags again, this time for a bit longer of a trip. I had recently been named to the 2016 World Championships team as one of three women and five juniors. This meant that from Canada, I would head first to Missoula, Montana and then fly from there to Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic for Worlds. I landed in Toronto on a balmy Thursday night and met up with my teammates Anders and Jason. After building up bikes, a light spin and grocery shopping, Saturday found us on the course. The course was far from disappointing with endless features, rock gardens, gap jumps, park-style ramps and even some fast and flowy singletrack. One thing was for certain, it would be impossible not to have fun on a course like this. I dialed in the A-lines and was riding as smoothly and cleanly as possible after only two laps on the course. Race morning was leisurely and after a nice spin to the venue and then a quick warmup, I was ready to race! We would not only be racing at the same time as the Elite women but also as the Elite men and Junior men with only a few minute splits between the groups, destining lap traffic to cause some trouble. However, nothing could daunt me on a day like today when the sun was shining and the soil beautifully tacky. The whistle blew and we were off! I missed my pedal and fought to clip in. By the time I had, the group already had a small gap. I pushed myself to sixth wheel on the long climb and held it into the single-track. Suddenly, the girl in front of me slipped on a root and sprawled entirely sideways. I struggled and failed to find a route around her and by the time she was back up, the front group was gone. I was riding smoothly but fought to find a rhythm that would have enabled me a couple more seconds of speed. I focused on pouring icy water down my back and arms while also pedaling constantly to keep my nervous system from decompensating. Rachel found my wheel and for the end of the first and start of the second lap, we rode together. Coming into the third lap though, I felt as if I finally found my pace, dug deep and was able to open a bit of a gap. I crossed the line in sixth. I knew I had ridden a smart race without any symptoms- the biggest small victory itself. Although I certainly cannot complain about my race, having a decent day makes me hungry for a good day and I can't wait for the upcoming races to have a chance at that. As I sit on the plane now, on my way to meet my family and team in Bend and then make the drive to Missoula, I am so thankful to all the people that have continued to believe in my dreams as much as I do even through some pretty rocky spots. It was absolutely wonderful to share this trip with Anders, Jason and Sue. Onwards and upwards!
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