Shawn makes a good call to take the Airport Shuttle to Duluth so I don't have to drive an extra 2hrs south only to return north again.
MAJOR LIFE MOMENT FOR ME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I travel, for the first time ever, over the Mississippi River! Yup, pretty proud of that little feat.
We hit up HillCity and set up beside our new friend Bjorn and his young-gun Nico who races in various 120 classes. I must say, the 120 classes are the most hotly contested every weekend. Multi-million dollar efforts are common in the pits, and the racing is awesome too!!
A cold night in the trailer is welcomed by an early morning to get Shawn registered and tech'd for the days events. For the first time in what seems like a month I actually sleep in past Shawn...shocking!
First race out Shawn lays down the Holeshot but has so much speed coming back down the hill he blows a corner and has to re-enter the race in last. Shawn finishes with a dismal 8th. The track mind you, is the roughest I've seen since I raced Sno-X 10 years ago. I would definitely not want to be on this track. It's all you buddy!
I also gotta mention Shawn is still pretty tender from last week in Duluth. I can see it in his riding even tho he is trying to fight thru it. The Holeshot made me feel good tho.
Second race of the day and Shawn lines up towards the outside of the line, it's soft and fluffy and I have reservations...and they come true, although Shawn is still on the gas, he enters the corner in 3rd but gets pushed wide and a bunch of guys pass him in the first corner. he does his best to stay in the fight, but the top guys are too far gone by now. We didn't make the Night Final, so back to the trailer we go to regroup for tomorrow.
We decided to go into town and get some food and found ourselves in Harry's Bar. We had an epic night of talking about everything under the Sun with the locals and before they could buy us too many rounds...we called it a night and headed back to the track.
Sunday morning starts fairly normally. Shawn puts in some practice laps and I forget to swap belts after giving them some TLC the night before. So I roll the dice and send Shawn out with a...what I'll call a brand new belt.
A 3rd place start again puts Shawn in the hunt but again, he's timid and races to a 7th place finish. As long as we progress, I'm ok with that, especially after seeing him fight thru his injury like a champ.
I send Shawn to the track to watch the Pro's race while I get his sled ready. A few clicker adjustments, a scrub down of the belt and clutches, and a splash of fuel is all it takes to get the sled ready again. Shawn is loosened up and feeling much better about the outcome of this race. We need to finish 1st or 2nd to get spot in the Final.
BOOM! Another Holeshot and the LEAD! Shawn beats everyone to the first corner by at least 2 sled lengths and jets down the hill. By the rhythm section he has one guy hounding him. At the end of the race Shawn has finished a hard earned 4th place. Not quite what we needed to make the Final but most definitely an improvement and a step forward. We watch the rest of the races and make some new friends too. Ready to hit the air in these tincans we call airplanes, I can't wait to make it home. Feels like a month!
I don't even remember the flights home, except for the fact I almost got stranded as my Shuttle left before my plane landed. unfortunately. But thanks to my quick thinking mom, I was on a plane to Vancouver that evening. Enjoy the pics!
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