It was storming when we drove up, but the weather cleared and it was sunny the rest of the day. There were 19 women at the line of the Cat 4 race. When we got going, I took the lead and immediately tried to push the pace. Everyone hung on of course, and I slowed it down and got off the front. I tried attacking up a couple of hills but was caught every time. I don't think I wanted to throw a great attack because I didn't want to ride alone the next 20 miles (best case scenario). About halfway through the race it was me and Gina from Team Mack on the front, and we were talking and trying to plan an attack. Nothing worked.. At the last 7 miles or so, Dogfish and some other women got on the front and tried to attack, which was great because Gina and I just got on their wheel. I was worried at the point that the race was going to come to a sprint finish, so I was planning on attacking hard on the last big hill before the finish--I was fairly confident that this could work, but I'm sure other girls were planning it too. Five miles to go Gina and I were on the front again and the girls behind us crashed. I have no idea what happened, but I just shouted "GO!" to Gina and we got a huge gap. I pulled her up the last big hill and she told me she wouldn't contest the sprint--she was happy with second if I didn't try and drop her. So we rolled into the finish. The girls who crashed were ok save a little road rash and a broken frame :-( The course was really pretty--lots of turns. Better than Hillsboro in my opinion. At the awards they forgot to make a Cat 4 women #1 plaque so I walked away with some Raspberry Hammer gel instead. It's more useful anyway ! Congrats also to Alexei who took 1st in his category. Yeeee W-card!
Saturday night we got back and met up with some friends for a bbq and some pbrs ^_^ yumzorz Mr. Penner was hella tired after bridging up to the winning break in his race, and I decided to go race mountain bikes the next day so we went to bed early. Somehow the 6 hours of sleep felt like 10 hours, and I woke up Sunday morning refreshed :-)
Nick, Erik, and Nick's friend Dan and I left for Brown County Indiana at around 7:00. When we got to the race I signed up for the Sport, or Cat 2 category and quickly got ready for the race. My goal was to just have as much fun as I could. At the start I was talking to the other women about how I was scared of getting lost in the woods and they assured me I'd be ok. The start was awesome b/c they blew this big AAH-OOOOOOOH-GAAAA horn ! We climbed this hill on pavement to get to the trail. It was a big hill and I passed almost everyone in my category and got up in the front behind a couple of Elite riders and I think the women who got first in Sport. I hesitated to go too hard because I didn't want to be first on the trail. Once on the trail the whole race was suuuuper fast. I was scared silly going down hill, and tried to pass people going uphill. I quickly learned the passing etiquette. As I got going I did fall into a rhythm and got over my fear of speed a little bit. I crashed into one tree, but it wasn't too bad. The rocky areas were a little tricky. Really, my favorite part was a long uphill climb that everyone complained about at the end! We only did one lap, and I rolled out of the trees feeling awesome--it was so much fun! As I came to the finish I heard my name and "2nd place!!" Not too bad for my first race. I came in about 30 seconds behind 1st place and an hour before the last woman in the field. I am definitely going back for more mountain bike races. I can't wait to get more confident in the technical stuff and also with going fast downhill.
Successful & fun weekend :-) Monday was a rest day and tomorrow it's back on the bike for some early morning cruisin'
3 comments:
"I rolled out of the trees feeling awesome"
You are awesome, keep it up..
Great job Anona! There aren't too many cycling disciplines left for you to conquer. Then what will you do?
congrats!
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