Sunday was the first of the Georgia State Championship races. My race went something like this – I’d never done a mass-start/XC type race and really didn’t know what to expect. I also had never ridden any of the course until the start. As this is my first season I'll be racing Sport with the other young and hungry riders. There are lots of complicated classes and rules that I may not have figured out yet.
We line up and the whistle blows. These guys are hammering it up the initial climb. I wasn’t sure how long the climb was so I didn’t know if I should sneak in to grab a wheel or up-shift, stand up and hammer, or just ride my own pace. I ended up trying to drill it into the woods like everyone else. I was probably middle of the pack going into the single track. I try to get my heart rate down but quickly realize that the whole race was going to be a full on sprint and there was no time for recovery. I’m riding hard and trying to catch the leaders. I round the lake and I start to settle in and create a little distance behind me. I’m a little hot as I approach a large hip in the trail. I fly off the hip to find… a second equally large mound of dirt. These woopdy-doos were about waist high and there was no landing. I crashed hard and my bike was bouncing off the trail. A volunteer runs my bike up to me while I do a quick assessment for any damage. I feel fine and I explain “that’s what I get for no pre-ride” and we were both free to laugh. I take off for the next climb and that’s when I realize that I may have reduced my chances of bearing children in the long term, and in the short term – I may need to throw up. I get some really deep breaths down and recover some while my bits begin to descend into their proper places. I'm feeling better... I’m caught by a couple guys and I try to pick up the pace again. A Dedicated Athlete rider stayed on my tire for the next 1.5 laps. Every time I would call “on your left” and make a pass, I would immediately hear “one more!”. I knew I wasn’t shaking this guy off. We pushed each other and ended up catching some of our group. I snuck in a couple more passes and I looked back to find myself alone for once – with only half a lap left. I worked to keep a quick pace and hoped to catch more riders, but I mostly just wanted to finish clean. I finish and then chat with the guys who came in just after me. We all felt we were racing for ~5th. I was surprised when they posted the results and I was 3rd – I’ll take it.
The race was tough. The trail was tight with lots of short grunt climbs. My bike and its broken spoke were not happy with me. XC is a different animal.
We line up and the whistle blows. These guys are hammering it up the initial climb. I wasn’t sure how long the climb was so I didn’t know if I should sneak in to grab a wheel or up-shift, stand up and hammer, or just ride my own pace. I ended up trying to drill it into the woods like everyone else. I was probably middle of the pack going into the single track. I try to get my heart rate down but quickly realize that the whole race was going to be a full on sprint and there was no time for recovery. I’m riding hard and trying to catch the leaders. I round the lake and I start to settle in and create a little distance behind me. I’m a little hot as I approach a large hip in the trail. I fly off the hip to find… a second equally large mound of dirt. These woopdy-doos were about waist high and there was no landing. I crashed hard and my bike was bouncing off the trail. A volunteer runs my bike up to me while I do a quick assessment for any damage. I feel fine and I explain “that’s what I get for no pre-ride” and we were both free to laugh. I take off for the next climb and that’s when I realize that I may have reduced my chances of bearing children in the long term, and in the short term – I may need to throw up. I get some really deep breaths down and recover some while my bits begin to descend into their proper places. I'm feeling better... I’m caught by a couple guys and I try to pick up the pace again. A Dedicated Athlete rider stayed on my tire for the next 1.5 laps. Every time I would call “on your left” and make a pass, I would immediately hear “one more!”. I knew I wasn’t shaking this guy off. We pushed each other and ended up catching some of our group. I snuck in a couple more passes and I looked back to find myself alone for once – with only half a lap left. I worked to keep a quick pace and hoped to catch more riders, but I mostly just wanted to finish clean. I finish and then chat with the guys who came in just after me. We all felt we were racing for ~5th. I was surprised when they posted the results and I was 3rd – I’ll take it.
The race was tough. The trail was tight with lots of short grunt climbs. My bike and its broken spoke were not happy with me. XC is a different animal.
*start
*finish
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