Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1534827
I lost twelve or so seconds on the test score, and mashed my brake pedal p, but the only damage I personally took was to my pride. That night, Rosie (who had only a possible frac- ture in her finger, remarkably unhurt for someone whose inadvertent nose wheelie ended with a up close and personal visit with the concrete barrier wall around the south side of the track), her par- ents, my dad, and I, bench raced and commiserated in their camper over hot tea and le over chicken, hoping for a be er go of it the next day. I had a slightly be er me the next day. Aside from taking a wrong turn in the extreme test and doing an extra thirty seconds' worth of test that the women and open riders were not supposed to do (for good reason, it was gnarly), I had a pre y smooth day. And a er my mishap in the extreme test, I was so disgusted I decided to hit the twelve- foot rock drop even though I was a li le in midat- ed by it. So I was proud of my riding even though I was a li le disappointed with the outcome – a second place finish is fine, but not quite so much when you were expec ng (and expected) to win, and especially when you finished the day almost a minute down. But overall, the tests and trails of Portugal did not disappoint. I come in a er the first lap on Sunday, and things are going even be er than the day before, so we're trending in the right direc on. We have one more lap to go, and I'm leading but just barely. I collapse into a chair in our pits and drink a dou- ble espresso, but what I really need is a nap. I'd focused all my training over the last months on being fast for a 10-20 minute sprint or a two-hour hare scramble, not two 8-hour days on the bike. Those long days had started to wear on me. So had the knee braces. First blisters, then raw spots, then finally quarter-sized holes in both kneecaps and the inside of my right leg. In the last test, virtually ed with Red Moto Hon- da's Francisca Nocerra, Miquel manages to point an incredible eight lines for me, sprin ng like a maniac up and down the hillside. I am impressed, and upon seeing I have lost the race by a mere two seconds, ponder whether my score would have been be er if I could have strapped my transpon- der to him instead. The podium ceremony was nice enough, and I'll admit the Italian na onal anthem is quite beau- ful…. but it's got nothing on the Star Spangled Banner, so we're gonna have to fix that for next round ;) May 2025 27