Sandbagger

Sunday was the first race of the Bedford Mountain Cross Series This isn't a really serious race..but more of a way to gauge how your fitness level is in January. I hadn't really even given the race much thought until Sunday morning. I didn't even decide what class to race until we got there. I chose to race in my age group this time...Vet Women I knew I wouldn't be fast enough to even attempt to race expert class. The race was a bit different...there was more of a handicap system in place where the slower riders started first. The more experienced/faster riders started at a time deficit. You had to do as many laps as you could in your allotted time limit. I had 53 minutes to do as many laps as possible. I think the expert women had something around 45 or 42 minutes, vet expert men..38.5 minutes, and so on.
There were a couple of run ups on course and a few barriers. The course was waaaaay muddy. When I rode my practice lap, I had trouble keeping the bike upright. When I came in from the practice lap, my bike was already caked in mud....Fun!.

As my group started, we had to ride past the other riders waiting to go. As I approached the singletrack, I was greeted with a chorus of "sandbagger, sandbagger!". Thanks hubby!
I rode w/ another younger rider (age 16) for the first & second laps. We would trade places back & forth, he'd get ahead, then I'd pass, then I'd fall or slide out & he'd go around.
I slipped & slid all over the course.....in some sections, I'd stand up to pedal & would remain in the same spot just spinning my back wheel. It was a little freaky.
The course was pretty fun..had it been dry it would have been extremely fast.
on my 3rd lap, Kenny (race promoter) let me know I still had enough time to do a fourth lap!..Woo Hoo....My goal was to not get caught by all the faster riders behind me...and I really didn't want to get caught by my hubby who started 15 minutes behind me.
As I was finishing up my last lap, I heard an all too familiar sound of someone's hub.....I turned around to see my hubby fast approaching. I tried to hold on for as long as I could, but he passed me on the last up hill section. I almost caught him on the very last climb...but just couldn't stay upright. Turns out he beat me by 14 seconds..and he turned the fastest lap time on the course. He was going all out to catch me...pretty darn good for starting w/ a 15 minute deficit.

I really didn't know how I placed at the end. I felt really good on the bike & my legs felt strong.
When they did the awards, it turns out I got second place!...not too shabby for a sandbagging old woman . Pictures & results are here.. in 2 more weeks I'll race again.

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