Sunburst

Ok, finally I get around to writing up my race report. We all know it was great fun, but I'll see if I can recap it like a real competitor for you.

Being my first sport race I had definite pre-race jitters out on warm up. I know there are so many fast sport girls I was concerned as to how I would fit in. I haven't been watching the Sport races in terms of knowing who's who and who finishes where, I just knew a few of my "peeps" and how their finishes have been. Looking around at the start line didn't help. . . . .I had no idea who I should be looking to be behind.

Don yelled GOOOOOO and I realized I was WAY in the back. Yeah, there were only like 15 of us (and that's because no one likes this race), but being in the back of 15 women when you KNOW you should be towards the front isn't a good thing. I dodged a few and put the hammer down to get towards the front. In my experience where I start in a sport race is typically where I finish (or close to it) and I wasn't prepared to finish in the back.

Lap one I managed to settle in about 4th or 5th on the way up the bunny hill. I hopped on Ann's wheel when I heard her shift and drop her chain. The girls parted as she hopped off and put her chain back on. I wasn't looking forward to the climb in the woods. . . . . .I hyperventilate every single time I do that stupid climb. And I knew today would be even harder. Sure enough, we hit the steepest pitch going into the woods, and I started to hyperventilate. I continued that all the way through the single track climb until we popped out up top and I got a little break of downhill. I'm sure the gals around me thought I was going to pass out.. . . .even I thought I was going to pass out. But I popped out up top in decent shape. I think I was in 3rd or 4th.

It's all a blur now, but Regina and I traded places a number of times throughout the race. She'd pull away on the climbs, I'd catch her on the descents and the flatter stuff near the road on the north side of the hill. I knew if I could get in front of her in those areas, I could pull a tiny gap. But then we'd eventually pop back out on the bunny hill and she'd put the hurt on me big time. I'd pull to the side and watch her grind her way past me thinking "wow, she's strong". I could hear her breathing hard as well, so I knew we were pushing each other to our max. And for some strange reason. . . . . .it was fun. :-)

On our last lap up the bunny hill she over took me. I paced myself as I knew that 3rd time was going to REALLY hurt, but I also reminded myself it was my LAST time up that bitch, there was NO way I was going to walk. Regina, on the other hand, HAD to walk due to her gearing, but she stayed right on my tail up the climb. When she hopped back on she hadn't missed a beat and was right on my wheel. Again, she pulled ahead and we closed in on some more sport boys. I was gassed and couldn't muster up enough energy to put the hammer down to get in front of both of them, so one boy separated us. I rode his wheel through the "singletrack" and I saw her pull away a bit. We popped out and I put the hammer down again to try and catch back up, but I was never able to quite close that gap, no matter how hard I worked. We crossed the finish line 2nd and 3rd, with some gal who I never saw a minute+ out in front of us.

Finally, a race where I actually got to RACE with someone. THAT was great fun. I didn't get yelled at, I didn't have to pull over, I was pushed to ride as hard as I could and it felt wonderful. While I walked away with a decent finish, I also realize there were only 15 women in our field. I also realize this was a purely physical course. Technical ability played some factor, as you needed to be able to ride the small stretch of single track well, and stick the off camber turns and fast descents, but for the most part one's technical abilities weren't challenged at this course. That's one of the reasons it has such low turnout as well.

The Boarder Battle will be an interesting race. Lots of out of state women who are way faster than most of the WI sport women, but choose to race sport anyway. More technical riding, a longer race, more traffic to deal with. . . . . .I've got my work cut out for me. I can't wait. :-)