Diablo Preride (Vernon, NJ)

With one week to spare before the first race of the season, this trip to Diablo was a crash course in what to expect over the next few months. The bus had nine riders for the trip - Puck, Ryan, Joe, Jarrod, Chris, Nick, Sean, Joey, and myself. We met several other guys when we arrived too. In total I think there were about sixteen of us. It almost felt like we were the only ones on the mountain.



We rode together for the first few runs and then split off to ride our favorite spots. Joey and I stayed in the rocky, steep race courses and most of the other guys headed off to the jumps and stunt areas.



I think the weekend was a good warm-up for what's to come. I felt comfortable in the rocky, technical sections and I think that's where I'll be able to make some time on the rest of the competition. We'll see though - the race is next sunday!