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When the universe knocks you down.
When the universe knocks you down.

While I've learned plenty from Rose Grant about overcoming setbacks with grace and sense of purpose, I'm now doing my best to take a page from Erin Huck's latest comeback book on just accepting whatever the universe has in store. (It worked well for her since she just defended her Short Track national championship title)! 

Raced solo out there for 4.5/5 laps yesterday at Pan Ams, and it turns out that was a challenge. I finished 5th. Looking forward to racing again today! Thanks @usacycling @sanjuancycles @bbcopeland @marcgullickson for the support! And incredibly proud of all of my USA teammates who crushed it yesterday. 🇺🇲 📷: @maximiliano_blanco
I'm on my way to Pan Ams in Mexico 🇲🇽 to send it for USA 🇺🇲. This event is a favorite of mine each year, and the field is more competitive than ever. I'll be on a different @pivot_cyclesusa bike this year, but still representing in the @assosofswitzerland Team USA kit. #teamusa #freedomwatts #aguascalientesmexico #panams2019
The last issue of Mountain Bike Action featured my XS @pivot_cyclesusa Mach 4 Carbon in a two-page spread, with all the nitty gritty details. But the essential fact is that this little bike has done so much for my skills and confidence these past few seasons. #playfulpractice #mach4carbon #pivotcycles #yournextbike #labresseworldcup 📷: @polphe
Wishing my team, and extended race family, the best of luck this weekend! I stayed home to recover from a little cold and don't want to spread my germs around. 🤧 Vail Lake short track starts this afternoon, and the XCO takes place on Sunday. I just finished a recap of last weekend for our #stanspivot newsletter. Check out the link in my bio to read and subscribe. #vaillakeproxct #proxct #restandrecover
I love short track racing; it's a condensed, high intensity, race practice session, where tactics and efficiency matter a ton. Last weekend for Bonelli short track, I made a few subtle tactical mistakes, and hesitated when I should have gone all-in. .. I know Bonelli short track, and know it pays to attack early. But even with experience, my confidence wasn't fully there yet and I hesitated, not once, but twice. So while I was IN the race and helped make it hard and dynamic, I wasn't in position when it counted most. .. But I had a blast, especially with teammate @sofithevilla, who also raced agressively, snagged a prime, and was there to fight at the finish for a podium spot. .. Takeaways: if you don't learn from racing there isn't much point, and @haleyhuntersmith showed how to execute a brilliant Bonelli short track with her first Pro XCT win. Well done, Haley. 📷: @notubesmaster #practicenotperfection #stanspivot #bonelliproxct #stxc
I feel good about putting together a solid race yesterday. I didn't quite race the first lap how I wanted, but the middle and finishing bits went well. It was great to see @haley.batten mixing it up in the top-3 early on, and to have @leaeatsalot bridge up on lap five (of six) to make yesterday's finish a close fight for third. I won that battle in the end, but having Lea up there at the end was as motivating as anything. 🇺🇸 It's been great to have the team back together this weekend. And it's pretty special to have USA go 1-2-3-4. (Congrats @kateplusfate and @eehuck!) 🇺🇸 Huge thanks to @stanspivot, @jer_alix, @notubesmaster and @leejonathan_ for the support out there! 📷: @notubesmaster 🇺🇸 #stanspivot #pivotcycles #onlystans #maxxistires #rideshimano #ridefox #assoswomen #guforit
Last time I lined up for Bonelli Pro XCT was 2016. I'm excited to be back with the full @stanspivot team. #stanspivot #onlystans #pivotcycles #maxxistires #bonelliproxct 📷: @notubesmaster
@singletracks reached out to a few women and asked us what's our vision for the future of mountain biking. I wrote a short story about it, but here's the gist. . "There’s no freedom quite like adventuring alone, outdoors. Too many girls grow up believing they aren’t safe, and have limitations imposed on activities because they’re girls. This needs to change, and mountain biking as an activity teaches so many skills to navigate an unpredictable, sometimes dangerous, and yet beautiful and exciting world." . . The full story, and contributions from other women in the sport, can be found in a link from my IG story. Ride on, ladies. . #internationalwomensday #womenoutdoors
Run-off thoughts. 💦 While landing at PHX the other day, I snapped some pictures of the Salt River, which I had never before seen flowing from the air (posted in my story). As I drove towards Prescott, I started getting excited about Prescott's creeks and waterways. In the west, and Southwest in particular, we don't often get to see our rivers flowing. 💦 So I started thinking, "where does our water go?" I thought our Granite Creek flowed into the Agua Fria River, and eventually to Lake Pleasant. But since I had a chance to ask our local bike-packing Geologist, @kurt.refsnider, about it on a ride, I learned I was mistaken. It flows north, into the Verde River and onwards towards Horseshoe Reservoir. 💦 So we pedaled out the Peavine Trail to the very end to catch a glimpse of Granite Creek, flowing. It's beautiful, and worth the pedal. And the bench is fitting, because a run-off event like this should be looked at in wonder. 💦 #prescottsnowpocalypse #granitecreek #prescottaz #peavinetrail
Finished second behind @dcampuz in the Puerto Rico MTB Cup. I yo-yo'd a few seconds behind her through the second half of the race, and couldn't quite make contact when it counted most. Lea broke her chain early on and ended up getting in a run workout mid-race--but she still rallied for third! Feel pretty good about the race, and like I worked out a few kinks ahead of the Bonelli HC in California. Huge thanks to @miguel.oriol and @wyll_oz for their feed zone help. And huge thanks to the whole Prescott crew for letting me tag along. #stanspivot #purmtbcup #pivotcycles #onlystans #rinconpuertorico🇵🇷
I've always wanted to visit Puerto Rico, so when some friends from Prescott decided to make the trip for a UCI XC race in Rincón, I decided to tag along! Tomorrow is race day. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm fully embracing the optimisim of the local street art. So with that I'm "Good to go!" 🐢🇵🇷 #purmtbcup #rinconpuertorico #stanspivot 📷: @theo_fabian
Life is beautiful and unpredictable. This past week, 28" of snow fell at my house in 24 hours. Prescott usually gets 12" of snow and 19" of rain annually, so this may very well have broken some records. -- ❄️ The drive is now shoveled enough to park the van. Luckily it's a light snow and my neighbor helped. Now I'm just worried about our neighborhood Javelinas. -- ❄️ #wayoutwest #prescottsnowpocalypse #prescottaz #winterishere #rockymounts