I knew coming into this week that I was in for a whole new experience in GNCC Racing, but I had no idea just how special this particular event was until I reached the "Top of the World" on Wednesday afternoon. Upon reaching what seemed like the never-ending road to the top, I was awestruck. If you've never seen a ski resort in the off-season, you won't understand what I mean when I say that it's spectacular. Everything from the view of the mountain to the variety of unique lodging and shops, it really doesn't get any better than this.
Wednesday evening kicked off the GNCC University festivities with a Yamaha Racing meet and greet with the Pros. The Snowshoe crew is a class-act group of people - I mean anyone who can put up with 60 something rowdy racers and their families all week long gets an A+ in my book. They were nice enough to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for everyone involved in the school and they weren't just your average meals, they were killer buffet-style meals. So hats off to everyone here at Snowshoe, we sure do appreciate the wonderful hospitality.
Thursday morning, we woke up bright and early to get geared up and head to breakfast. Once again, a sight to see - roughly 80 racers all geared up hitting the buffet line to get their fill of eggs and bacon before heading to the trail. I began my morning with Jason Raines to get back to the basics of riding. Jason did an awesome job of teaching how to use the functions on the bike properly - like brake and clutch control, balance and steering the bike. After the first session, we went down to the Boat House where the Snowshoe crew had an amazing lunch waiting for us on the water. The afternoon session had Randy Hawkins waiting to teach us how to climb hills. Now, being a moto girl I was a little sketchy on the idea of going up a hill but I quickly found that in woods riding there's no time to contemplate - you just have to go for it. I powered my YZ-250 F up the hill and to my surprise; I made it up first try! Randy and Thad DuVall showed us a few tricks to use if we get stuck in the middle of a hill, which may have been one of the most useful tips all weekend.
Thursday night's dinner was a little more special as the students got the chance to hang with the Yamaha instructors and do a little bench racing/off-track dialogue. Each instructor took a table and spent about 20 minutes talking in small groups and then rotated around so that each instructor spent some time with all the students. Of all the activities in the program, this is where I really saw the students get engaged and ask questions of the Pros. I even heard Johnny Gallagher giving the "if you have a Facebook and you're saying things you wouldn't want your grandmother to see, you better rethink your strategy" talk. They talked about resumes, social networking as an athlete and other ways to gain sponsors as a racer, which is huge these days if you want to make it big.
Friday morning we hit the trail nice and early and got the chance to see some race-situation type stuff from Paul Whibley. Since Whibs had our group last, we built off the basics that we learned from Randy and Jason the previous day. What better instructor to hit the trails with than Whibs, who is just coming off his second win of the season. We started off with a rocky hill section and the moved on to a little tougher terrain. The instructors set us up with a tight trail through the slippery moss-infested woods with logs, tree roots and the whole nine yards. After a couple spills and some broken confidence (mostly from me), Whibs slowed it up a bit and did a mini track walk with the group. He went through every obstacle and explained why the lines we were taking may not have been the fastest and then showed us the smoother faster line. He used the "V" term a lot in regards to the slick trees laying over the trail. What he meant by using the "V" was to make sure our front tires were at the right angle where the log meets the ground. You'd be surprised the world of difference that tip made, at least for me.
After a nice trail ride back to camp, the day rounded out with another stellar lunch and then GNCC U graduation. Both sides gave a great closing presentation and handed out awards such as Most Improved Racer and other specialty awards. Principal Tim Cotter then called off each student's name as they received their diploma and took a picture with the instructors. There was even cheesy graduation ceremony music - this was a legit graduation!
As I sit at the Starbucks facing the Village commons area, reflecting on the week leading up to today, it's crazy to think that the race weekend hasn't even begun. I'm very lucky to be able to have a job that allows me to ride my dirtbike on a random weekday and then share my experience with people who enjoy doing the same. I know this may be considered a biased opinion, but I am absolutely amazed by not only GNCC University but the entire operation here at Snowshoe.
I want to give a special thanks to the Yamaha Racing crew who took time out of their busy schedules to come out and share their expertise with myself and the rest of the students. The guys and gals were so patient and really gave us useful information that can be applied to actual racing. I was lucky enough to have Jordon Milbauer (the girl racer) by my side through the entire school. Just as girls need to have each other's opinions on things like outfit selection and shoes, we also enjoy having that support on the race track, ha. In all honesty, she was awesome all week and it made things much easier with her around. So all you lady riders out there, don't hesistate to use those women riders as a tool to learn and ask questions, I know they'd be more than happy to shell out advice.
Well it's time to go, things are getting pretty busy here in the Village, I may turn to people watching for the rest of the night. Good luck to all the racers this weekend, the course is going to be gnarly!
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