Don't ride hard, ride fast.

Within these wise words lied what I told myself over and over this last weekend in Fruita during the 2nd Mountain States Cup race. As simple as it may sound, it's certainly more difficult to follow through with that advice when in the throws of a mountain bike race. Told to me by good friend Josh on the drive out to the Western Slope, those words were the winning ingredient on Sunday.

It seems that when Brad Bingham (the Brad from Steamboat Springs) toes the line at a race with me, we're doing battle - one way or another! Brad's unbelievable talent on a mountain bike makes him a feared competitor, but his friendly nature makes him a likable guy. When the dust settled on the first 10 miles of the race and Brad and I were alone, I knew it was going to get tough. He's got huge power and insane bike handling skills. One of the things I learned from this winter was to take confidence into a power course. For me, that's new because I've been labeled a climber my whole cycling career. Well, I managed to turn myself into more of a well-rounded rider through the AIC. After some good miles of back-and-forth racing, I found myself alone - and in the lead! 'Don't ride hard, ride fast!'

Benefiting from a couple big races around the country the same weekend and good preparation, I was able to win my first Mountain States Cup XC as a pro. Couldn't be happier - and to do it in front of some new teammates (and team manager Len!) it was made much sweeter. Thanks to Honey Stinger, Trek, AIC, Bontrager, et al, for all the support.



I woke up that morning with great legs and a good mind. It's a long season, so I know I need to take this in, and then get back to the business of staying focused. I can't stress enough how important it is to set yourself up so you wake up with confidence.

Thanks for reading!

km