Dry Hill

Race season is here! No matter how much off season training you've done, you always feel under-prepared. Not having a downhill bike for the winter, meant I didn't ride any downhill this winter. One of the most fun things to do in the "offseason" is to head over to the peninsula and shuttle some runs at Port Angeles.

Riding the ferry across the sound.

Looking at the schedule, I realized this was my only weekend I was able to head to Port Angeles before the Underworld Cup, April 18-20. A few phone calls later and Cam Hoefer, Kevin Littlefield, Ruth and I were driving to the ferry to go ride. This time of year is rainy and gray outside, but the best riding in the area is at Dry Hill, just outside of the Port Angeles. It's called Dry Hill because it is magically dry, while everywhere else is a torrential downpour.

This was the weather leaving Seattle...

... and this was the weather in Port Angeles.

  We arrived at the hill and met up with Scott Tucker for a run down of the new features to the hill. The first thing was very apparent, Casey now has an excavator. The new finish line berm got a make over and the last jump had the landing extended. Casey was up on the hill rebuilding the jump in the moto-whoops. It's now a huge table top, and been pushed back about 10-15 feet. It'll be a fun change and send you into the next section much faster!

New finish line berm in progress.

Lots of dirt!

finish line jump landing has been extended. It looks really flat in this photo, but it's much better in person.

 After checking out the changes, it was time to load up the truck. Since I don't remember where I live, I forgot to bring a mud fender. An empty water jug and a few zip ties later and we were ready for the hill!

So pro. It actually worked really well.

All loaded up and ready to ride!

Pro tip for keeping your seats looking good. A garbage back seat cover, really cheap, waterproof, throw away when you're done!

Ruthie having fun in the mud.

Bikes on the tailgate.

Cam following Kevin to the finish line.

We rode all day until we couldn't ride anymore. Living in the Northwest is amazing. I can't wait to see everyone out here in a few weeks for the first race!

Until next time...

-KT

Throw Back Thursday - Backflips

Jumping back to 2007-2008. If you've ever ridden a bike at a skatepark, you've been asked if you can do a backflip. A long time ago, I made it a goal to learn backflips. I did my first backflips into a foam pit and I'm really glad I learned that way. I landed on my head the first 10 times before finally getting them around.

After learning the motion in the foam, I went a few months before I could try again. Luckily, that winter had a massive snow storm. We lived across the street from a hardware store. With school closed, we walked over and bought enough wood for a jump and learned flips into a snowbank.

The first backflip I ever did!

Later in the day there was a little crowd

The first few times were into soft snow, once that became easy, we threw a piece of carpet on top of the snow and I was able to "ride" out the flip.

A few weeks later, I took a trip to Seattle and rode the now closed Skatebarn. After a few run ups and visualizations, I managed to flip my first wooden box!

Going upside down...

...and bringing it back around.

Lots of fun!

 I still do flips every now and then. They're a really fun trick and much easier than they look. One day I do want to flip off a drop. It's a really crazy feeling to start falling during the first portion of the flip.

Keep it upside down!

-KT

Triple Crown of Beacon!

Sea Otter 2013 was the last time I had raced a bike. Coming back to racing has been on my mind ever since my surgery. The normal thoughts have rolled through my mind for the last 11 months, "Will I still be competitive?" "Will I be afraid of crashing?" "Can I still perform under pressure?" I put all of those demons to rest this past weekend with my return to racing!

  Beacon is always a difficult race. There are downhill races both Saturday and Sunday. You have to learn two courses that have numerous blind features, and the race times are always tight. The locals have mind blowing speed, and have this place on lock-down. This is also the only race of the year without a shuttle or a lift of any kind. So if you want to practice, you have to hike. To make the schedule even more rigorous this year, they added an enduro to the mix! Once I saw the race flyer I determined I was going to try to race everything.

I was able to get to the race Friday evening with enough time for an enduro lap, and then a few minutes of DH practice before dark. That was the real key to my weekend. I felt great, and couldn't wait to get up and race in the morning. Jeff and Jaime were amazing hosts as always and let me crash with them again.

Parking lot was packed! 

Saturday morning started with a trip to the grocery store at 7am. Standing in line to pay, a song came on the store's speakers. Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo by Rick Derringer started playing. It was a great sign. That song was in my head all last year during the filming of my Beacon video. I was officially pumped!

Beacon video from March last year right before my shoulder surgery. 

I pedaled up for the enduro start on my Diamondback Mason FS. Beacon is very sandy and drains really well, so I was blown away at the sight of mud! I was running a semi-slick Kenda Happy Medium in the back, which is about as far from a mud tire as you can get. The pedal up was nice and slow, knowing I had plenty of time to race. I dropped into the first stage a little over zealous. A few blown corners due to the slick conditions, but I hammered the one uphill in the stage and carried great speed into the last flat section. It seemed like almost everyone had issues with the mud, so I pedaled off to stage two feeling pretty good.

So enduro!

Trying to keep it upright in the slick spots.

Stage two was the long stage. It had a lot of flat parts and was going to be a leg burner. I pushed the technical parts a little harder than I should have and made a bunch of little mistakes, but managed to keep it together. My main focus on this stage was one downhill sweeping corner that had a long uphill out of it. I figured this would be the most crucial place to carry speed. I came into the corner as fast as I could, but right at the apex started sliding towards one of the course poles! Shoot! There wasn't much I could do other than slam the brakes and try not to go down. I lost all of my speed, but kept it upright. I took my anger out on the next hill and smashed the pedals as hard as I could to get to the top. My legs were burning, but I kept pushing towards the finish. I was really bummed on the stage.

Girthmore. The biggest drop in any race course I've ever ridden. - Photo by Damon Sedivy

The final section of Stage three. - photo by Willy Bartlett

Stage three was actually the Sunday downhill course, without Girthmore or the Jetson line. However, you had to ride the same bike. I dropped into the stage on my Mason and was really excited with how fast I felt. I came through the finish line happy to be done with my first enduro! However, my legs were on fire and I had to hike up the hill one more time and still race the downhill.

Coming over the cheese wedge - photo by Kim Floyd

I swapped bikes and helmets and headed to the top. One last run for the day. I kept everything nice and smooth, hit all of my lines, and only had one small mistake towards the end. I came through the finish line with a big smile on my face. Getting the first DH race out of the way successfully was a huge weight off my shoulders.

Coming through the final few corners of Saturdays course - Photo by Jason Gibb

Saturday DH results. The kids are getting fast! 

After waiting for the results to be completed, I found out I had won every stage of the enduro and the downhill with the fastest times of the day on all! I couldn't have been happier! Jaime also won every stage of the enduro for her class and the pro womens DH! Jaime, Jeff and I went out for dinner, grabbed some food, and headed back to Beacon to camp for the night. We were all so tired, that we fell asleep at 8:30pm!

Home sweet home for the weekend

Sunday morning had two possibilities, either I was going to feel great, or not be able to walk. Luckily my legs felt alright and I was able to get some good practice in before the race. I love watching how others approach a race. I told numerous people that Sundays race would be won on the long pedal between Girthmore and the camel humps about mid way down, but everyone kept trying to squeeze hundredths of seconds out of the most technical parts of the course. I chose to hit the "easy" side of the Jetson line, albeit jumping into it. I figured it was the safest and it felt about the same speed as the other, more difficult and consequential lines.

The "easy" side of the Jetson line.

In my race run I tried to be smooth. I drifted the rear of the bike a few times and hit the brakes in a few places I shouldn't have, but pedaled as hard as I could in the middle. I cruised through the Jetson line without issue and crossed the finish line. When the dust settled, I ended up on top again. It was great to win and still play it smart and (relativity) safe. Big props to Kent Billingsley for crushing it and pushing me both days, along with Alex Watts for his first Pro podium in his first pro race! Also big ups to Lucas Chalcraft for the high jump contest. Lucas had to be 10-12 feet above a 6 foot lip. Mind blown!

Four beers are being poured on me right here. Winning in the NW is fun! - photo by Jim McCracken 

After the race I stopped by my favorite restaurant and headed home. I am looking forward to Sea Otter and cannot wait to get the new DH bike out to Port Angeles.

My treat for winning! 

Ill see everyone at the races, it feels great to be back! Big thanks to all of the people who support me and have helped me along the way, first and foremost, Ruth for putting up with me, My parents for fostering this dream, and of course Diamondback Bikes, Gravity Components, Kenda Tires, Chris King hubs, Fox Racing Shox, Shimano, Enve, Bell Helmets, and the people at Boeing who don't seem to mind when I'm a little scrapped up on Monday morning!

Spokane and St. Paddys Day!

Spring is happening here!

Spring is in the air! It's that time of year again when the sun stays out longer, the rains seem to let up, and the area starts to bloom. It also means it's time to race bikes again. I finally had all of the missing pieces to build my DH bike for season and was able to get it together in time to head to Spokane for a preview of the first race of the season at Beacon Hill.

A little spy shot of the new rig. 

I loaded up the new bikes and headed over the mountains to meet up with Jeff and Jaime Rees for a tour of the area. I've ridden Beacon for years, but this was the first time I've ever brought something other than a downhill bike. I've always seen the XC trails, but I've never ridden them.

Loaded up and heading out!

We woke up early and went up towards the towers for a few laps. I couldn't believe how fun the trails were! This was the best warm up for downhilling later and was a great time on the bikes!

So pro. 

It was a little slick in places.

Enough shoveling, lets ride!

We ended the day with a few laps on the DH bikes. It was fun to ride my new one and I can't believe how good it feels. It's really overkill for Beacon, but it is nice to get some time on it before the big races roll around. We even helped throw some dirt and buff out a few jumps. The track is in great shape and I can't wait for next weekend to get back there and tear it up!

Waiting for the race to start. The hat wasn't bad to run in, the necklace was terrible!

I had to leave Spokane early to get back to the westside. A few months ago Ruth decided we needed to run the St. Paddys Day Dash, a 5k run in Seattle. Ruth and I met up with Mike and Shannon and set out for the adventure. There were so many people in the event that you couldn't even run. We managed to walk/jog our way through the course and proceeded to enjoy the Irish holiday!

A little rain won't stop us. 

Ruthie tried to jump in front of my picture! 

And this was the start of the celebration after the race. It got a little foggy from here...

First race starts next weekend. See everyone there!

New Toy, Kitchen update, sore legs

Not much to write about this one. But I added a new toy to the garage.

So excited! 

I also started working on the kitchen again. I figured it's time to finish this thing. I built and installed the first few cabinet doors this weekend. I just need to stain them and add handles and we'll be done with this project!

I'm really happy with how this kitchen has turned out. 

I don't have any riding photos from the weekend. I was enjoying my ride too much! It was really wet and muddy everywhere, but the wagon wheels were great. I rode Grand Ridge, Duthie, and E27 yesterday. Here is a pretty accurate representation of how my legs feel today.

Until next time..