Lake Sonoma Series MTB Race #1
EVENT
Lake Sonoma Series MTB Race #1
CATEGORY
Pro Women
DATE
Saturday, March 22, 2014
AUTHOR
Caroline Dezendorf
COURSE DESCRIPTION
“Mountain bike racing at Liberty Glen Campground, Lake Sonoma. 4.8 miles of technical trails.
90% of course is single track.”
PREVIOUS RESULTS
N/A
WEATHER
Perfect! High 60s to 70s but super dry and loose terrain
TEAMMATES
None
GOALS
Team- Represent at a race where Mike’s Bikes was a main sponsor
Personal – sub-2 hour race with negative splits
PLAN
Go out strong and keep the pro and expert men in sight. Stay smooth on descents and use the climbs to pass.
Don’t bonk!
RACE SUMMARY
I found out about this race at 4:45 Friday night. After having food poisoning Thursday night, my plans to race—or even ride for that matter—were basically non-existent. But it really doesn’t take much to convince me to ride my bike; especially when I found out Bike Monkey and Mike’s Bikes was putting on the race. I set my alarm for 6:00am and figured I’ll just see how I feel. Of course, my alarm didn’t go off. I woke up at 7:00. And knowing it was a 2 hour drive up to Lake Sonoma, I somehow managed to make breakfast, pack my bike, and get out the door in 15 minutes.
I arrived at the race right at 9:00, registered, and got ready to race. It was a mass start of the Pro and Expert Men and Women. I knew I could out-climb a lot of them, which put me in good position mid-pack, when we turned onto the first section of single track. I felt kind of bad with a group of 6 guys trailing me through the first section of single-track, which was super fun and technical trail. So of course, at the first technical section, I panicked and let a group of guys passed. I was ok with this because it allowed me to set my own pace and not worry about making mistakes with people behind me. Every time I hit a climb, I made up time and passed people.By the end of the first lap, my legs started warming up and I started feeling confident in my riding. And of course, this is the exact time my bottle cage decided to come loose. So I had to stop and take out the one remaining screw, which cost me a little time. In a way, I guess it fired me up to start going harder and take more risks. I gained confidence every time I passed an expert guy and felt stronger every lap. It was a tough race, one of the most technical cross-country races I’ve done, but it taught me a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. I loved the climbs and definitely used them to my advantage. I still took first in the Pro Women category but I know I could have gone faster! I can always improve on my technical ability and confidence. So here’s to more racing and always improving!
TAKEAWAYS
* Always remember to check equipment before riding!
* Get out of my head--- know my riding ability--- because “danger” does not mean I can’t ride it
* 2014 is going to be an awesome year