Champagne and Flurries at Mount Snow

Series Champion in the Under 12 Class of the 2018 Maxxis Eastern States Cup.

This was it, the last race of the season. And what an amazing season it’s been, starting off way back in May in Plattekill before there were leaves on the trees, and ending this weekend with snow falling on the ground.

We have had all sorts of weather conditions this Maxxis Eastern States Cup series, but mainly variations of wet. With the exception of a scorcher of a weekend at Blue Mountain and a balmy weekend at Mountain Creek, it has been varying degrees of wet. So I took the forecast of snow showers for Mount Snow this weekend in stride. Figures…the venue is named Mount Snow after all.

Practice was a cold, wet, muddy affair. The snow was real, though I honestly didn’t see much of it. For the most part it landed higher up the mountain. The race course was by the far the easiest of the season, though the massive mud trenches kept things interesting. In the grass plains of the ski run, the mud formed in whoops similar to what I have seen on wet motocross tracks. There was one steepish section but still nothing compared to what I have in past races.

Race day dawned clear and crisp, though the race course was a muddy mess. I knew going into the race that I had enough points to will the overall if I just finished the race, I could not DNF. I started my race run amped, yelling “This is going to be lit!” as I left the starting gate. I went fast but I didn’t push it too hard, I had to finish. I didn’t want to crash or have a mechanical, I just wanted a clean run. And that’s what I did. I finished 5th with some strong older kids ahead of me, but that was enough to clinch the title. It felt so good! 8 races and 8 podiums for the series. I’m so happy. I had so much fun this year riding all these new bike parks and making new friends. The only bummer now is having to wait six months for the start of the 2019 season.

I want to give a shout out to Hickory & Tweed Bike Shop for keeping my bike tuned and to my mom and dad for their love and support this season. Thank you so much.