Smashing it.

Westgate weekly Dirt Crits.
Persistence pays off. Out of the blue I find myself mid pack in B grade on the first lap. It’s cool & dark, we’re all jamming away wheel on wheel, nowhere to pass. Up ahead the field slows & we all bunch up, then it spreads out as we open out onto some open two-track, for some reason I’m making a pass on guys who would normal leave me for dead. The Giant Anthem beneath me is set to pro-pedal, plush on the big hits but still solid when I’m out of the saddle grinding that too tall a gear. Through on the first lap I look behind me and see a trail of spot-lights from the other riders, it looks crowded back there but I’ve got a break on them & the rider just ahead is making good progress & slowly slips out from my view. I keep my head down & jam away at the pedals, stay off the brakes in the corners. It’s loose in places but there are tuffs of grass & firm ground in places to help me rail some corners.
Riding out on my own like this can be a blessing because you ride your own pace, but that double-edge sword of getting dosy & loosing pace can bring the field back down on you. I was also stressing about how I usually fade on the tailend of these crit races so I tried to keep the heavy breathing going, spin & hold onto that momentum, sometimes taking wider lines & smashing through the rough stuff at speed – grounding the pedals in places. Had to keep on it, had to smash it.
7th in B grade, in a grade of 22 approx riders.
Worth bottling.

Sunday 13th April, State XC series, Wombat dam.
Entered this event on a whim, Sport A 4 laps of a 6kms course. This event actually took in some trails in the pines near Wombat Dam which I’ve never ridden. Got the chance for a slight lap & was mightily impressed with the singletrack they were using. The race itself was less enthralling. I rolled out with a group of riders who were in a different league, and about half way around I was well & truly dropped, circulated on my own.
Suffered a stomach bug the week before – dropping 3kgs in 4 days - & I had not ridden a bike for all of that week, so what felt good on the sight lap quickly degenerated into a suffer-fest. Only completed 3 laps before the fun ran out and thought that was enough. Next time, better prepared & Sport B.