FTF XC Race at Officer

Finally beat my arch nemesis Megan Lawson! Phew what a relief it was to cross the finish line knowing I actually didnt come last, it's easy to say its not all about winning but as Jack Brabham said in an interview about an upcoming yacht race yesterday "Well it's all about winning really" and obviously I didnt win the race but I beat a few riders and my times were not as bad as I had expected so was fairly happy with my result, now for the finer details of the race.

The line up for the A grade looked more like the start line for a round of the nationals not a club race down in Officer, Dan McConnell made an appearance along with a bunch of other top elite riders and a bunch of great chicks there too in Tory Thomas, Jenni King and Niki Fisher, so I entered the D grade and all I wanted was to not come last, we took off and my plan was to go out hard on the first lap and try and stay with Megan, we took off up the fire trail and as we made it to the single track Megan was puffed as much as I was but I went through ahead of her and that was the best thing that could have happened, usually I stay behind her and try to stay with her but this has not been too successfull so I will try this tactic again next race and hopefully it works out.

Now I went out to pre ride the track yesterday with my trusty riding pals James McArdle and Andrew Liu and came across a bit of a drop off which honestly scared me a bit, it took a bit of convincing on their part to get me to do it but I eventually did and on the 2nd lap I did it again without hesitating and wondered what all the fuss was about earlier so when I came across it in my first lap I didnt think twice about doing it but unfortunately cleaned myself up going over the handle bars in front a photographer (hopefully those photos are coming soon) not only embarassed but feeling a bit sore, didnt want to show it so picked myself up and took off still ahead of Megan. I managed to get through the rest of the first lap unscathed, a few close calls in a few slippery spots but nothing major, as I crossed the finish line for the first time I had no idea how far in front I was but obviously wanted to maintain my lead but my legs just had nothing in them, I struggled up the fire trail and back in to the single track and up the first hard climb, I didnt make it near as far as I did the first lap so started pushing, at least I wasnt the only one, the 2nd lap was going good until I thought I had spotted my compettition catching me so I pushed hard on the fire trail but my chain managed to get twisted and stuck when I changed gears, I jumped off and went to get it out but it was well and truly stuck so me being the logical person that I am (not!) started to try and pull the chain out and just using all my strength and built up frustration to try and force the thing out to the point I was getting upset, figuring my race was over I started to walk back to the finish and my chain just fell out, ha better to be gentle next time! So I was over my little hissy fit and was focused back on the race, was not that far from the finish either so was feeling good but not too confident, didnt want to muck up so took it pretty easy but still looking over my shoulder the whole time. I made it to last little climb before the finish line and was content in knowing I had finally beaten Megan.
Taking off from the start in 3rd position, shame I couldnt hold that possie!


Looking good in the lead up but all went bad pretty quickly, unfortunately the photographer missed the actual crash shot but you can see in the last one it was not going well


Overall it was a great race, I like the club XC events, they have the same relaxed feeling as the Enduros but still pretty intense and great for me to get the experience up before the next State Series. Was fairly happy with how I went, I am still stopping alot to let riders through, it was hard not to do it on this course though as it was so tight and tecnical but in time I will get better with having riders passing me, its just a confidence thing for me.

Next up for me is the 7 hour Anaconda Enduro on the 27th, maybe the Dirt Riders XC on the 20th but might be away for that one, really need to get some training in between now and the 27th, I struggled with an hour today dont know how I will go adding another 6 to that.

Thanks to Peter for the sequense of photos above and to Andrew Liu for the one on top, he won my race and had enough time to freshen up, get changed pack away his bike and grab his camera to snap away at me on my to the finish line. Well done to Andrew too on his first win!

Quote for today
Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost.
Martina Navratilova, American Tennis Player

Well that's all from me today until next time

Happy Biking!

Kat