So I did my first proper XC race today (other than Wildside) and by golly, did I get cleaned up! I did the race to work on my weaknes, and that is that I am generally slow on the bike and do well at 24 solo because I have good natural endurance and don't get tired, what I need to do is get faster and I figure trying some short and fast races is a good way to do that...

I raced in Veterans (my age category), I stuck with the front bunch for the first half a lap, but soon enough, I started to drop off, and before long they were gone, I had been dropped. Not long after, the next group (Sport B) came though and freight trained past me (the field of 180 riders had been started in groups of 20 or so), and then Bec Henderson went by (she would have started a few groups behind me) on the back of another freight train that effortlessly went past me. It was pretty humiliating really!

Still, I am usually pretty crap in the first hour of racing and take that long to warm up, and after an hour or so, I pushed through the pain barrier that my back was dealing out and felt pretty good. I ended up passing and then being passed (repeatedly) by Grantley, a fellow Onya Bike Belco rider, so in the spirit of being on a "team", I backed off and rode the last lap on his wheel and chatted, it was a nice way to finish.

I ended up 11th out of 17 riders in my category. I have a lot to learn and am looking forward to it... I was 8% off the winner, a pretty huge difference, but I'm willing to dream, and try, hard... :)