Its been awhile, so I will recap on Afton. I volunteered with Registration and Timing at the 24 hrs of Afton Race. It was alot of fun. What a great group of people! Riders and volunteers alike!
The racers were beat after the event but they all showed up at Maplelag this weekend wearing there Afton Shirts with pride. In the words of Andy ' When we showed up on Saturday after noon, it was like a funeral" Thats what happens when you have hundreds of people up all night riding one of the hardest courses in MN. Bunch of Crazies I tell ya! Even a Lemans Start
I have been joking with some ladies about having our own team for the 24hrs of Afton next year. I may have some serious takers so we will see what happens, WE want to be the Wannabe Wannabes.
This is strictly a fun only event because its going to hurt so bad and I will probably only be able to pull off 2-3 laps and dont want to be worried about letting anyone down.
Another plus side of this event, I spent the late night hours with some awesome guys. Ben Berndt and Tony Scudiero. They are both professional photographers. They are absolutely amazing guys and they were so nice to let me tag along and learn some night photography tricks.
Bummer I didnt have the right gear. NOTE TO SELF. You need a tripod! and now a better camera. One of the main things I learned is that I didnt have all the fancy options needed for sweet night photography. Dang , time to look at new cameras! Ben and Tony have both given me the option to go shooting sometime and I am so excited to take them up 0n there offers. WOOT!!! I love learning!!
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If you havent been there, which the odds are that you havent. YOU ARE TOTALLY MISSING OUT!!!! This is my new favorite place in this world. Jay and Jonell Richards along with there mom and pops Jim & Mary run this resort. It is a XC skiing and mountain biking resort. During the winter there are great things to do such as snow shoe, ice skate, take "the Plunge", participate in there talent shows or live entertainment, oh and of course cross country ski. They also have an amazing area filled with games for just hanging out and having a great night.
Hmmmmmm. There is also a steam room, a sauna, a game room with ping pong and foseball, a massage therapist on site. Okay I think you are getting the picture. This place is absoluetly amazing and has alittle bit of fun for everyone.
They have 2-6 meals included per day with the rates depending on how you set it up. I would highly recommended to have as many of there meals as you can. Not only is there friendly happy service, but the food is fresh and fantastic, and its served family style so theres plenty to go around. And dont think that they skimp on the dessert, its served with every meal. And if thats not good enough, they have bottomless cookie jars, coffee and hot cocoa.
OKay, can you tell that I love this place, and thats only the winters months.
A Big Thanks to Jay Richards for hosting the Laddies Loppet this weekend at his great resort. This was by far the best race of the season and the most relaxing. 
My race did not go all that well. I think I ate to much at breakfast and found myself with an awful stomach ache at the end of my first lap. I had two more to go and could feel myself losing the battle with myself already. I started off doing so well and stayed out front of most of the ladies through the 2nd lap, I got passed up by two ladies at the start of the final lap and then 2 or 3 more at Suicide hill (which was my expected strong area to be a passin people) and a few gents that I usually beat got me also.
I ended up 7th out of the 12 females racing. Overall this was my worst race so far, but I cant complain. All my other races have gone great, and despite the cramps and almost heaving on the trail. I learned that you always have more on reserve than you think. I also think I have not been pushin myself as hard as I can at all the other races, time to step er up abit.
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