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| Colt finishing a muddy, snowy, cross-country event at Brian Head Ski Resort |
| Undeground at the Riviera Hotel and Casino Our rooms were about a mile from the parking valet! We got more exercise here than on the bikes. |
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| NORBA National August, 2004 Brian Head is a bit hard to get to. We flew into Vegas and moved into the Riviera Hotel and Casino. While it has been many years since it was a top Vegas destination, they have maintained the hotel well and... hey....it is dirt cheap. This was Tim's first trip to Vegas so of course we hit some of the sights. Before leaving for Brian Head, Utah, we rode in the Red Rock Canyon area for a couple days. We had heard that much of the area had burned to the ground because of lightening strikes....but to see it in person was shocking. We rode Hidden Valley, Thrree Mile Smile, and all of the Mustang Trails. The riding was great and the weather perfect. While in Vegas we hit several of the buffets including Mandalay Bay (Colt's fav). We also had a fun visit to the Venetian Hotel and River Walk. Madaam Tusseaud's Wax Museum provided some entertainment between rides. Early Thursday morning we left for the Virgin River Gorge and Utah on the other side. The boys would pre-ride the mountain and we would stay at Cedar City, about a half hour south of Brian Head. |
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| It took 45 minutes to drive to the feed zone. These logging roads at 10,000 feet were muddy and I was not sure my van would make it back. |
| Tim looking very "Top Gun" at Red Rock Canyon |
| Blue skies before the snowy XC |
| Colt and Tim take on the Masters |
| Whenever we drove up the access road to Brian Head it would be raining. When we drove back down it would stop. The mountains just seemed to stop storm clouds and they would sit there for days. The Cross Country course was one long loop of about 30 miles. This meant that the Feed Zone would be far away from the start. Given the freaky weather it also meant that the Juniors would have one shot at clothing adjustments at the Feed Zone. As it turned out, it snowed during the race and some kids were caught out in short sleeves......yikes. Colt wore two jerseys, one long sleeved. Tim wore a jacket. The race started with a LONG paved uphill of about 3 miles, followed by a fire road climb about 2 miles long. The riders would pass very near the summit of over 11,000 feet. This first 5 miles blew the pack of racers apart. Both Colt and Tim were able to stay near the front and in sight of the leaders. Tim came through the feed zone about 100 yards ahead of Colt. Colt later passed Tim and took some chances on a wild descent and crashed hard. At the finish Colt came through in 12th, followed a couple minutes later by Tim. Both were frozen and quickly stripped off their wet clothes. It was an Epic day of racing. and the boys were happy with their results. As for me, I got to talk with Jason Sager for a while....the highlight of the trip for me. We shot back to Vegas for one more night of fun before heading home. In the morning the boys chowed down on one more buffet. Actually, their whole life is one big buffet! |
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