City of Angels (and Ramen)

Los Angeles, a town of cars.

Seriously, the highways are madness, at any given time there are more cars in a 3 mile stretch than all of I-25... Despite the traffic, LA was a great experience and I had a great time racing and seeing the city.

Colorado Represent!

CXLA was over Thanksgiving Break which provided the perfect time for a little family vacation and a relaxing time in the sun. We arrived in LA on Tuesday and we were staying at Disneyland, which was pretty rad because all of the food was a 5 minute walk from the hotel. We walked around Disney on Wednesday and rode some roller coasters and had a good time. Then Wednesday was more relaxed as we got closer to the race. Then on Thursday my dad and I went to find a place to ride, which ended up being next to a ditch/river which was actually a really cool place for a bike path.

It had rained hard on Thursday night and I was praying it would keep raining, but by Saturday morning it had dried up and the course was ultra-fast. CXLA is situated in downtown LA, a little west of Chinatown and made for some awesome scenery. The course was like a Colorado course which I was excited about and as I pre-rode on Saturday I thought about Louisville and how my season was going, based on my goals. I really wanted to race my best over the weekend and prove that I have what it takes to be at the top, but as we lined up at 6:00pm on Saturday night, my legs had other ideas.

Ian and I building the gap

13 of the fastest juniors took off down the start straight and as soon as we hit the first corner, everything went crazy. I couldn't focus and I was being shoved around every where and making tons of mistakes. Within the first 2 minutes of the race, I got shoved down and bent my derailleur hangar, and ended up with chainring cuts on the inside of my bicep, the most painful cut I've ever had. The race only got worse and worse and I came in 10th, the most disappointing race finish of my year. We went back to the hotel that night without much talk of the race.

Mentally, I woke up the next day thinking about how I would survive today and not get last. My head was slowly getting the best of me and as the saying goes, its easy to fix a mechanical, but hard to fix a physical. I decided to nut up and have fun, race my race and control what I can control. This ended up being a great plan, and within the first minute, I was sitting 3rd wheel. I just followed wheels and I looked back and there was a group of 4 off of the front. We started working together and Ethan soon fell off the pace and Ian, Kyle and I were holding on at the front, with a hard charging group behind us. It felt awesome to finally be at the front of the race, throwing punches and pushing the pace for the first time in almost a month.

The straight away where it went wrong

One thing almost always goes wrong, but this one was during the most vital portion of the race. On to the long flat straightaway on the backside of the course, my chain dropped. Almost instantly the other group was on me and I was tailing off the back of the group for almost 2 laps. I suffered off the back for those two laps and finished in 6th place. It was crushing after my other 6th in Cincy. But I soon found out that Nolan had tried to take a feed in the pits, and didn't get the bottle, and didn't get off the bike and was relegated a single place. Finally, 5th place.

While it wasn't me getting 5th, I felt as though I had earned it, and for sure next race I will have a chain guard on. It felt so liberating to finally get a UCI point, and although it wont be used anytime this season for me, it feels good to know that I can be a force at the front of races. Congrats to all the guys out there in LA, it was so much fun racing with you boys, it's great to know that we support each other.


That night, we went to the best Ramen place ever. It was in Little Toyko and had the spiciest noodles ever. I ordered the 4, and there were still 6 spice levels above that! All in all it was a great trip, and a learning experience and something that taught me more about myself and the way I approach situations. Thanks to Boo Bicycles for their constant support, as well as TrainingPeaks, Braaap Nutrition for keeping me fueled, and Challenge Tires for the sweet tires!

Podium. Finally.

To all that have supported me this season: It means so much to have you behind me and I am forever grateful, and without your words, I wouldn't be the racer I am. Even though I failed at my goal to go to EuroCrossCamp XI, it has opened a new door, and one that is only an hour away from my front door. Look out Boulder, Brannan is coming to Cyclocross Nationals with a goal.