ArisawaTech VanDoIt

First off, I have only been racing as a hobby for the last 5 or so years. I was at a point in my life where I felt if I didn’t make a change, things were going to go down hill fast. I was overweight, somewhat bored and wasn’t finding much joy in life. When I came to this realization, I hired a trainer who got me into the swimming pool 5 days a week and I swam off 40 pounds of weight. It was at this point that I started looking at MTB as an activity from my youth that I had yearned to get back into, but could never find the motivation. It was at this point that I purchased a bike and signed up for my first race.

I entered a local race called “Rumble on 18rd”, it was a local race in the desert, north of Fruita Colorado in an area named for the road that takes you to the trails, i.e. 18rd. With little training other than a few rides I suffered through 15 miles of sweat, tears, and aching body parts but completed without giving up. I also signed up for 1 other race that year, which was more of a “fun ride” and again I completed it, with again sweat, tears, probably a few cuss words, and even though I was miserable the whole time I endured.

Fast forward to today, I have a full race calendar for the summer, I have a coach that supports my growth as an athlete, writes me a weekly workout schedule. My training often exceeds 10 hours a week, Is it hard? yes, Is it time consuming? Extremely, do i make sacrifices? Of course. Am I happy? I am the happiest I have ever been in my life. I race Mountain bikes, because it challenges mind and body, it takes me places that I likely would not go, and gives me goals to look forward to and accomplish. It has made me think about what I put into my body, and has strengthened my relationships, and has led me down a path that has made me a better person.

In 2 weeks i will be heading to St.George for the True Grit Epic  This Race features some of the best riding St.George Utah has to offer. Here is a link to the True Grit Epic website

Upon Arriving to St.George Utah it rained heave for at least 16 hours. When it wasn’t raining heavy, it was still a light rain. For Saturday the race was postponed for a few hours due to flooding. I was in stage 4, i was fast up the first hill, I saw a few people going the wrong direction and didn’t think anything of it. Then the mud started, at first it wasn’t very bad, but it continued to get extremely muddy. My wheels were caked, i couldn’t even push my bike, the mud was so thick. I tried to scrape it off and continue on foot with bike over shoulder. I got a little further but with all mud in drive train and suspension/wheels i decided to turn around

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