2011 Blogs
I had to start somewhere and hopefully it'll only go up from here...because I can't stand going down crashing too many more times in the immediate future. I have learned that in mountain bike racing everyone has their own unique story from the trenches of the trail. If you can't recount some tragedy you're either lucky, riding alone, or riding the b-lines. Oh. Wait. No, I was that person riding the b-lines...does the b stand for bruiser?
After my first day of the course kicking my arse I wanted revenge. But again, the course beat me up and the revenge was not mine. The day prior to the race I set off with Chloe and Spencer only to make it a quarter of the lap before my tire lost all air and I endo'd for the 4th time in as many days. I tried to keep a positive outlook and for the most part I believe I did. The course was more reminiscent of the few times I have ridden on the east coast. There was a start lap which began with about 200m on gravel, 500m on pavement, a left hand onto a fire road of 500m before funneling into the forest for some rhythmic single track known as Dixon’s Hollow. This led us onto the ending of the actual circuit which was time to play on the BMX track, followed by a pavement section, a banked right handed turn and back onto the start/finish straight. We wound around the expo area on fast grass and through the first feed zone before filing back into the forest for a rhythmic descent. This descent brought you onto fire road which alternated between sections on single track and sections to pass. This was probably my favorite part of the course. Then the real racing began as we went deep into the forest on tacky dirt into Worry Gill, some root drops and a couple switchbacks to keep you in check before “the drop”. A scary drop that everyone said was “easy once you did it”. “Once you do it”…that’s my problem…I need to “just do it”. Next, a shoot-like narrow fast descent and onto some double track with two jogs off to the right before the first evil climb, the steepest of the day which switchbacks upward and then downward to “Medusa’s Drop” (the section I endo’d on 3x…rookie novice, me). Medusa’s drops you into the 2nd feed zone and into the 2nd climb, a good grade and straight up for maybe 1km and right into a fun descent that brings you onto a fire road and then back to Worry Gill where a technical climb spits in your face. Then we go back onto dry single track which eventually leads us back into Dixon’s hollow.
Saturday night the mechanics, Michel and Master Wayne helped me play with my front and rear suspension a bit. Suspension is foreign to me so it was nice to bounce around and tweak things. And the next morning was game time. There were a ton of women – 82 starters and I was number 82. I was prepared for mayhem on the start lap and it was nothing short of wicked mayhem. Somehow there was a crash before even hitting the pavement section which happened right before me and I was able to put a foot down and avoid. Then it was put my head down and pedal as hard I could into the head wind pavement section before seeing the enormous line-up train funneling into the forest. So I coasted for a while on the single track until the first corner where girls were tangled up like a spider web, some on the ground, others with both feet out just standing and shaking their heads. This eventually got moving and then the next corner, same story. I saw a little opening on the right, dismounted and began to go for it but was suckered into a tree and fell through the tape. This is when I also moved into last place. I had my work cut out for me through the rest of the race. The course offered quite a few opportunities to move pass people so I bided my time in the single track sections and made the effort count in any wider section. Most everyone was riding the A-lines and I was actually able to move forward through riding the bruiser-lines that I was comfortable with riding. After the first lap I had moved into 60s and was feeling optimistic about my bike handling, as well as how my legs were feeling. I continued to keep my head up until there was a hang-up on one of the right hand jogs just before that first hard climb. I’m still mad at myself for this as it wasn’t even a section I was struggling with in training, but there was traffic on it and I didn’t carry the speed I was normally carrying and was pushed off my line and careened down that, actually knocking over a photographer’s tri-pod. It was a hard crash and I banged my knee up pretty good, as well as knocked my bars sideways and I couldn’t force them back. So the following switchback climb and descent was tricky, all cockeyed. As I was collecting myself I saw girl after girl pass me, those I had just worked so hard to pass. Once I had my bike situated in the pit I think I was about back to 82nd. So I set off to move forward again, coming through the 3rd lap about 70th and through the 4th lap and finished 65th.
I was happy to finish in one piece, albeit wicked rough from the week of crashes. It was an absolute beautiful venue and if anything, I was bummed to not be able to check out the surrounding trails. The course and the women I raced with were both eye opening as the entire time I was battling…even for 65th place! This is the sort of racing I thrive on – races where there is always someone in front of you who will huck herself to stay in front and always someone on your tail clawing you back. Even without the competition the course had me learning, through trial and error, through watching clips online of last year’s race, and through watching and riding behind others in training and in the race.