I got lapped!!! OK, maybe not the best way to start out posting about my first mtb world cup, but it was my one goal: don't get lapped, and sure enough, I got pulled. It was bittersweet, b/c the thought of doing another lap was quite daunting, but damnit, I wanted to finish the race!
So, this is my story! My call up was 117. Apparently there were 130 on the start list. Yep, that means I was in the back. There should have been 13 girls behind me, but when I turned around, I saw a lot of empty space and about 3 girls. And I am wise to the euro start, so I was not letting myself get budged. How does this happen???
I guess I had a pretty good start. Not that you could really move too forward on the steep paved climb as I had hoped. It was like frogger. Dodging in and out, avoiding wheels, trying to sneak a place here and there. And then when we got on the singletrack, I saw Willow Koerber. Hmmm. That is not good, for her, anyways. And then the shit show started. The rain yesterday has left us with a slippery, slippery mess. And somehow that makes people forget how to ride their bikes. Me included, at some points. But it was on your bike, off your bike, on your bike, dodge out of the way of the girl walking, crash! Can't get clipped in, avoid girl on left, crash! Walk, run, whatever you could do to keep moving forward. The start loop ended and I thought it would get better. I was wrong. Walk up the hill that was ridden yesterday, try to get clipped in with cement mud in your pedal, get to the rooty off camber section and get in line for the march. Walk some more. Try to avoid people on descent, oops, pedals not clipped in, ride it anyways, every time! Oops, slipped on bridge and went down. Damn back tire. Too much air. Gully was right! Girl goes down on climb in front of you, you walk the damn hill. Back on bike, ride, ride, ride. Walk, ride, fall, smile, ride some more.
It was by far the hardest one day XC race I have ever done. I am sure there are a lot of factors that play into that, but as hard as it was and as disappointed as I am that I didn't get to finish it, I had 'fun'. It was a great experience and I will learn from it and definitely gained some fitness from it. I have to remember, this is only my third race this year and I am only 2 months into my training. It's hard to remember when you want to ride faster. But I will ride faster. Next week, in Offenburg!
I also want to mention that without the help of Wendy Simms (& Norm), this whole experience would have been a lot more terrifying. It is good to have someone that has been there and done that to let you know how things go. And they even found someone to feed me bottles! Thanks guys! You rock!!!
And I thought the womens field was bad...
And I wondered why I had troubles clipping in... Like cement. It took me over a 1/2 hour to clean these darn things the next day. Belgian mud is thick!
I guess I had a pretty good start. Not that you could really move too forward on the steep paved climb as I had hoped. It was like frogger. Dodging in and out, avoiding wheels, trying to sneak a place here and there. And then when we got on the singletrack, I saw Willow Koerber. Hmmm. That is not good, for her, anyways. And then the shit show started. The rain yesterday has left us with a slippery, slippery mess. And somehow that makes people forget how to ride their bikes. Me included, at some points. But it was on your bike, off your bike, on your bike, dodge out of the way of the girl walking, crash! Can't get clipped in, avoid girl on left, crash! Walk, run, whatever you could do to keep moving forward. The start loop ended and I thought it would get better. I was wrong. Walk up the hill that was ridden yesterday, try to get clipped in with cement mud in your pedal, get to the rooty off camber section and get in line for the march. Walk some more. Try to avoid people on descent, oops, pedals not clipped in, ride it anyways, every time! Oops, slipped on bridge and went down. Damn back tire. Too much air. Gully was right! Girl goes down on climb in front of you, you walk the damn hill. Back on bike, ride, ride, ride. Walk, ride, fall, smile, ride some more.
It was by far the hardest one day XC race I have ever done. I am sure there are a lot of factors that play into that, but as hard as it was and as disappointed as I am that I didn't get to finish it, I had 'fun'. It was a great experience and I will learn from it and definitely gained some fitness from it. I have to remember, this is only my third race this year and I am only 2 months into my training. It's hard to remember when you want to ride faster. But I will ride faster. Next week, in Offenburg!
I also want to mention that without the help of Wendy Simms (& Norm), this whole experience would have been a lot more terrifying. It is good to have someone that has been there and done that to let you know how things go. And they even found someone to feed me bottles! Thanks guys! You rock!!!
And I thought the womens field was bad...
And I wondered why I had troubles clipping in... Like cement. It took me over a 1/2 hour to clean these darn things the next day. Belgian mud is thick!
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