racer daze: Joanna Petterson

Somewhere in Virginia it is just past midnight. The ac is blasting and the motel room is rank. I have been living out of a bag since April 2nd, the Sea Otter Classic. Granted 5 of those weeks where in kona I am still feeling the monotony of packing and unpacking and driving. When you are pushing your body and have bruises covering your legs, scratches and scrapes and you switch beds every 5 days it get's painful to say the least. The downhill course in Vermont this past weekend was really challenging in the sense that you really have to just let go. Very high speed, to the point of having white knuckles almost! I was pleased with a few technical challenges I overcame but very unsatisfied with a crash in the last wood section in my final run. I was feeling great until that point. But I suppose it is perfection we strive for and so far I have achieved it once this year in Fontana. A clean run is all I want. Ah well. It is a work in progress as usual. Most racers are on their way to M