racer daze: Joanna Petterson

Downhill is what we do. But from the get go this weekend I hadn’t expected it to go as far downhill as it did… and then make a complete u-turn. I was having a great week at practice. At times I was feeling really good on the downhill track and pretty confident in my ability to qualify this week. The track was dry when we inspected it and by the morning of practice it had completely changed with the downpours that ensued. But that’s racing… rain or shine I try to face the day with every intention of riding to the best of my abilities and beyond. One spill in practice and I was feeling focused for qualifying. I had a pretty good run but after last weekend I was definitely a little cautious, which I couldn’t afford when I hit a rock and my chain came off my chainring. Luckily I was able to spin it back on just in time and made it into finals. Racing Saturday morning was met with sunny, beautiful skies. And the track was drying out again, except for a few sections that got so soaked th