That time of year again: Race #1 The Wooly

Well it's that time again, mountain bike racing is once again upon us. I promise this year I will do a better job of updating my blog this summer. So as I said, it is officially race season for me. I raced the first Minnesota Mountain Bike Series race yesterday up in Saint Croix Falls WI. The Woolly race is defiantly an ass kicker. Last year I did not have my best race, but this year I was able to redeem myself. The fact that the sun was shining added one more challenge to an already challenging race. I was not yet used to riding in the sun and heat, so I did feel the effects of that throughout the race. 
     The start of the race was fast and ferrous. Being that we did not hit singletrack for a good few minuets after the start, we were flying through the flat grassy sections. I was exactly where I wanted to be when we finally hit the singletrack. I was sitting in 3rd right on Alicia Fisk, one of my teammates, wheel. We were flying through the singletrack until we hit the big rock garden. Halfway though that I dropped my chain which at that point was not good for me. Jordan Horner, who was right on my wheel, was able to then get around me. That meant I had to spend the rest of the first lap trying to chase her down. I finally caught up to her, we were heading into the second lap. We entered the singletrack together. We decided rather than fighting against each other, we should work together. We were flowing through the singletrack when I decided I should take a pull. I get around here and she stays on my wheel for a bit and then I dropped her. I was then in 2nd place and on my own for the next lap and a half. 
      The last lap and a half I was starting to bonk, but I knew that 3rd and 4th place were close on my tail. When I got to the home stretch around the soccer field I was in no man's land going into a head wind. I rounded the corner and I saw out of the corner of my eye that 3rd place, Eleanor Magnuson, was catching up to me. I rounded the next corner and had maybe 50 ft until the finish line. I kicked it up a couple notches, but made the mistake of easing up just inches before the line. I did not know that Eleanor was right on my tail and got me just as I eased up at the line. Because of that I came in 3rd. I am still proud of my race, overall I had a good day. I am proud of all the ladies I got the pleasure of racing with. I learned an important lesson yesterday as well, don't ease up before crossing the finish line!! Can't wait for next race at Mount Kato, it's going to be another ass kicker.  

Photo Credit: Kellie Bauer 

Ground beats face.

Well I feel like I got hit by a truck.  I picked a fight with the ground yesterday and I lost. It started off as a nice ride with dad. We were heading up the hill to ride some single track. We were literally just feet away from the trails when my foot clipped some old fencing hidden in the brush and I went down. Face smacked the ground, thankfully I landed in a pretty soft spot with no rocks. It it was instant pain. Dad was a ways ahead of me so I had to scream for him to come back. He decided to call my mom to come and get me. From that point on for the next 20 or so minutes I don't really remember anything. We had to ride from where I crashed about a mile or so to where my mom was getting me. Once we got there I started to remember things, but I still don't remember getting there. Thankfully there is not much damage. As far as I know my bike is ok as well as my helmet and glasses. My face has a few scratches and I am a bit sore, but nothing broken thank goodness. What a great way to spend a Saturday. 

Race #2: Mankato

Well another great day of racing yesterday at the second Minnesota Mountain Bike Series race Bluff Riders Charge in Mankato. It was an early start to the day having to get up at 5am so we could get there for my brother's race at 9. James had a great race, he looked pretty darn pro and was 2nd off the start. He ended up finishing 9th out of 12 and came across the finish with a bunny hop and a huge smile. I could not be a more proud big sister. He just needs to learn to shift and he will be even more kickass!. 

For my race, I couldn't ask for better conditions. The weather was perfect around that 65 degree range and a cool wind. The trails were like heaven, fast and flowy. My first lap wasn't to hot, took my legs a while to warm up. I rode most of the first lap on a friend of mine's wheel. Towards the end of the first lap I was able to get around Corey for a little bit. The 2nd and 3rd laps were really fast. Corey and I were going back and forth and just flying through the single track. Going into the 4th lap I was still ahead of her and in 3rd place over all and it wasn't until the last mile or so that Corey got around me and took off. She had just enough juice left to hold me off by about 30 seconds and I finished 4th overall and 1st in age group again (out of 1). Seems to be my number so far this year. Overall it was a great day not just for me, but for the team! Now I have two weeks off to get ready for the next race in Redwing. PartyOn!  

Race #1

First race of the summer yesterday up in St. Croix Falls WI. The kick off for the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series was put on in such a wonderful manner by the Woolly Bike Club. On the drive up my dad and I were frantically checking the rain radar because they were call for nasty rain. Neither my dad or I wanted to deal with the after math of such a race. But things were looking good, in fact when we arrived at the race the sun was starting to shine and the temperature was climbing. Getting out of the car I was greeted by Team Hollywood Cycles, the best teammates a young racer could ask for. After a little bit of chill time we decided to warm up and check out the single track. Decked out in our new Podiumwear kits we were looking fast and ready to go.

Warming up the single track was perfect, a little soft for the rain the night before but still super fast. My legs we not all there during the start of my warm up, but after a few sprints they were feeling good. Heading to the start line was amazing because for once I had more than one women on my team racing expert. We had five fabulous, fast Girl Fiend women in the expert class, and on top of that four other women in the field. It was amazing seeing so many women on the line. I got third call up for finishing third overall last summer. The race started pretty solid for me, took the lead off and was able to hold it for a good while before I dropped back into third position. For the first and second laps I was able to work with one of my teammates, I'd take the single track and she's take the flat open road. It seemed to be working pretty well until I snapped and she took off leaving me in no man's land for the last lap. The last lap hurt like a son of a but I was still able to pull off a fourth place finish. I am happy with my finish as well as my fellow Girl Fiend and Hollywood Cycle teammates. We swept the Comp and Elite categories. I look forward to the next race Mankato in two weeks...finally some hills!!