GeorgiaOfTheJungle
THE Penultimate Mtb'er
I slept in this morning. We arrived late last night, so I stayed in bed while John went out to race his crit. I have to admit, he's a pretty darn awesome spouse to understand my need for sleep (or, maybe I'm just that much of a biatch without it--I prefer to think he's a great guy).
When he came back, I asked about the race and the course. His response, "oh, you're going to love this". I noted the sarcasm as he lifted his arm to show the bloody elbow. He described the course, drew it, and told me all about the two U-turns that I would have to take on, at speed, or get dropped.
When we arrived at Sea Otter for my race, I saw a few cones on the track. At least THAT's not the corner, I muttered. John quickly corrected me--it WAS the corner and it WAS a Uturn, after a sweeping turn, more like an S turn with a decreasing radius.
My heart sunk. If not for the pre-registration, I would have sulked back to the hotel room.
Goal of the day became: rubber side down, maybe try not to get lapped, nah, focus on rubber side down!
Rolling up to the start, I saw one Honda girl. She was in the same kit as some women from the Pro race. Then there were two, then three, what the?!?!? EIGHT Honda women in our race of 22 riders total (Cat 4 and Masters-all Cats, combined).
New goals: rubber side down; don't let them see you cry.
We started the roll-out. Of course, my pedal flipped over, hiding from the clip. I felt like the little kid trying to keep up with the older ones racing away--don't let them see you cry, I reminded myself.
The first corner came up fast. The great news was that most of the girls were stable, held their lines, and confident in the corner.
The bad news was that I wasn't as confident, so I had to pull back up to the pack on the hill (have I ever told you how much I am NOT a climber?)--reminder, don't let them see you cry.
This happened on just about every lap, in each of the Uturns (both came out to a slight uphill). Somehow, I kept clinging on to the last wheel.
Five laps to go was announced as we rode through the start/finish. I was still clinging to that wheel with dear life. I finally realized that there weren't as many wheels to cling on to and counted my fellow riders--11 left--and I was one of them--woohoo!
The last few laps were fighting back and forth to stay in. I even ended up in front for a lap. The final sprint came up fast, but my lacking corner skills were a bit defeating in keeping my place in the pack. I was spit towards the back and worn out.
Managing my last little bit of umph, I pushed up, passing a couple blown up riders, somehow ending with 6th! Can you believe it? Not a podium, but well within my goals!
When he came back, I asked about the race and the course. His response, "oh, you're going to love this". I noted the sarcasm as he lifted his arm to show the bloody elbow. He described the course, drew it, and told me all about the two U-turns that I would have to take on, at speed, or get dropped.
When we arrived at Sea Otter for my race, I saw a few cones on the track. At least THAT's not the corner, I muttered. John quickly corrected me--it WAS the corner and it WAS a Uturn, after a sweeping turn, more like an S turn with a decreasing radius.
My heart sunk. If not for the pre-registration, I would have sulked back to the hotel room.
Goal of the day became: rubber side down, maybe try not to get lapped, nah, focus on rubber side down!
Rolling up to the start, I saw one Honda girl. She was in the same kit as some women from the Pro race. Then there were two, then three, what the?!?!? EIGHT Honda women in our race of 22 riders total (Cat 4 and Masters-all Cats, combined).
New goals: rubber side down; don't let them see you cry.
We started the roll-out. Of course, my pedal flipped over, hiding from the clip. I felt like the little kid trying to keep up with the older ones racing away--don't let them see you cry, I reminded myself.
The first corner came up fast. The great news was that most of the girls were stable, held their lines, and confident in the corner.
The bad news was that I wasn't as confident, so I had to pull back up to the pack on the hill (have I ever told you how much I am NOT a climber?)--reminder, don't let them see you cry.
This happened on just about every lap, in each of the Uturns (both came out to a slight uphill). Somehow, I kept clinging on to the last wheel.
Five laps to go was announced as we rode through the start/finish. I was still clinging to that wheel with dear life. I finally realized that there weren't as many wheels to cling on to and counted my fellow riders--11 left--and I was one of them--woohoo!
The last few laps were fighting back and forth to stay in. I even ended up in front for a lap. The final sprint came up fast, but my lacking corner skills were a bit defeating in keeping my place in the pack. I was spit towards the back and worn out.
Managing my last little bit of umph, I pushed up, passing a couple blown up riders, somehow ending with 6th! Can you believe it? Not a podium, but well within my goals!
