We successfully completed our mountain bike race today, which was Ted's first mtn race in 6 or 7 years, and my second ever. We both finished with all skin intact, though I don't think the same could be said for our pride. Thankfully we both entered the race with just the right level of expectation... none!
Ted and I can both catch people on the climbing sections, but even more people seem to pass us back on the singletrack sections. Frustrating at times, but a year ago I would not have even considered trying the race, so I have definitely improved. I remember a ride I did a few years ago with my good friend, June. It included some of the trails from today's race, and I literally walked 3/4 of it. She was such a good sport and waited for me. I can honestly say I rode at least 3/4 of it today!
I did get into a little "tiff" with a guy in the race today. I had come to a sudden stop, so I allowed at least a handful of people behind to pass. I knew I couldn't let everyone pass, so I finally attempted to jump back into the race. The guy coming up behind me yelled at me for not letting him pass. I thought of what Ted and Lorena had told me at the start, which was to hold my own, and to remember that it is not my responsibility to stop and let everyone pass. I told the guy that I was racing too, to which he gave a somewhat nasty response. It wasn't my finest moment, but I told him to shut up. By this time he was past me, so I just made sure to pass him back on the next uphill section. This went on for the rest of the race. I caught him at one point when he had a flat and he said, very sarcastically, "Congratulations, you finally got me." Sure enough, the final section of the race was descending singletrack, so he beat me to the finish. I'm sure it made his day to beat me. He should be so proud - he beat someone who practically walks down anything even remotely technical, and a girl, no less. Okay, rant over.
Seriously, though, it was fun to do a mountain bike race for something different. It was a beautiful day too!
1 comment:
Sounds like fun! I've done that race twice and both times were similar to your experience. Last weekend, I went downhilling on some serious singletrack with some experienced and not so experienced guys. It was a lot of fun since it was always strung out. I gained a lot of experience for sure! I'll let ya know about plans for this weekend soon.
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