This weekend I took a drive to the gorgeous sunshine coast to take part in the first BC cup race of the xc MTB circuit. It was my first bike race of the year, So I planned to go into it to learn lots, But I also had high expectations of myself.
It was a very stressful lead-up to the race on Saturday. I woke up Friday morning (at 4:30am for work), with some serious chest congestion. I treated it with lots of water, buckleys and oregano oil! Then we missed the ticket sales for the 3:30 ferry by one minute! No kidding, we hit the ticket booth at 3:21. We made it to the course, and I pre-rode it at 7:30pm, It was getting dark, I was not riding the course well, and I flatted... mentally tough!
As for the race, I finished 2nd in Senior Expert Men in 1:44:03. Although it is a decent placing, I am not 100% satisfied with my race, but I learned a lot here, that will help with the up coming races.
First of all, there were a number of categories on the course before we started. I found that when I catch people, if the catch wasn't really fast, I had a tendency to stick behind their wheel and get comfy, rather than just making a pass, and maintaining my HR/Speed. a number of times I found myself behind someone, and my HR had dropped.
I also noticed that if I have to un-clip, or lose my groove in a technical section, my Respiratory freaks out, like I'm panicking, which in turn makes my riding ability worse.
I also need to be more prepared! Last minute before the start, I realized I had brought a used CO2 cartridge for the race! So flatting was on my mind the whole race. Also practice mechanical fixes while training, and actually focus on what you are doing to fix it, so it becomes second nature. On the third lap, I had caught sight of 1st place, and was gaining for sure, but I overshifted, sending the chain into the spokes, deep, right to the other side of the tabs that are supposed to prevent the chain from getting into the spokes! I realize now I wasted alot of time just yanking on the chain at first, rather than having a look at it, and figuring out how to maneuver it back out. Argh!
Anyway, I had a wicked time, and I am now more excited for the upcoming races, knowing that I have a number of things to improve on, and can race even faster knowing these!
Check out :
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32857837You can click on "player" on the top right and compare speed, HR, elevation, etc.
