Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1544609
May 2026 11 Back to Third Grade The lead-up week was great. As soon as I rode the bike, a huge wave of relief rolled over me; a weight I'd been carrying for months was gone. We ate like kings, Italian pasta and produce from a local market that had s ll been in the ground 24 hours previously. Beef that had never seen a feedlot. I love America, but when it comes to food, Europe blows us right out of the water. I went for jogs, swam in the ocean at night, and walked tests in the closest thing I've ever seen to paradise. And I saw all my European friends/ compe tors again. I've built a community there, and I miss them over the off-season. I threw a dinner party at Libby Te 's Airbnb, went swimming with Rosie Rowe , and walked tests with Vilde Holt. Physically, mentally, emo onally – I was in my happy place. The enduro test was a long, rocky climb up a moun- tain, a fast grasstrack through an alpine meadow, then a technical, mildly alarming descent. The cross test was wildly fast, blue, grooved, and burnt out. I wore my toolpack in the hopes of gaining a few pounds worth of trac on. The SuperTest/Extreme test is short and, regre ably, bypasses anything remotely interes ng for the women. Just one li le rocky downhill. Cakewalk. I won the SuperTest handily on Friday night. Satur- day started well. The tests were dry and dusty, not really my condi ons at all – but I was s ll carrying a narrow but comfortable lead, even riding within my comfort zone. The transfer was properly gnarly, and everywhere there were beau ful views of the ocean and cliffs. I am thrilled to be alive. Maybe I was too busy thinking about the views. Maybe I looked at the seconds instead of the min- utes, or misread my own damn route sheet. I'm not great at math, but am I that bad at it? Should I go prac ce addi on, subtrac on, and reading clocks with the third graders? Did I look at my watch in- stead of their clock, sneeze at the wrong moment, or did the transponder line ping me sooner than I expected? Was I thinking about my latest crush, or a random stranger who complimented me at the gym, or wondering how many licks it takes to get to the center of a lollipop? Did the universe decide I'd had too much yang; it was me for a good, healthy dose of yin? I don't know. But I do know the transponder doesn't lie, and I burned a check by 1.2 seconds. This gave me a minute penalty, dropping me from first to seventh. I was in disbelief, as was everyone else. Enough so, I had to give an interview a er the race