Thursday, April 26, 2018

Sea Otter Classic cat 1 XC

The start was the largest start I have ever had. All of the 15-16s and 17-18s all went off together and the staging area was larger than the start shoot. I lined up in the middle because the people on the outside wouldn't get a spot on the line because it funneled into the line. We were off and the start went up the road for a little wase until it got to the bottom of the corkscrew then it went left and up a dirt road. Going up this hill on of the many riders in the group crossed lines and took my front wheel out. When I got up from the ground my bars where twisted and weren't aligned with my wheel so I had to take a minute to fix that. By the time I got back on the bike I was at the back of the pack and the front was gone. By now I knew I wasn't going to contest for the top couple spots it was just going to be a matter of making up as many spots as I could. I made it all the way down the hill into the valley good and made my way through the pack. When I got into the valley my glasses were all fogged up so I put them on the back of my head. I went into the first single track behind several Reno Devo riders. They slowed me down in the single track but sprinted in the fire roads so I couldn't pass. Eventually I made the pass and shortly after that I crashed again except much harder and I rolled off into a ditch and once again I got up and my bars were twisted.  After I got up I had lost at least ten spots and I was really frustrated. We got a little further on the coarse and the sun started to peak through the fog so I put my glasses on but with all the tree cover in the single track I couldn't see because the glasses couldn't adjust fast enough so I put them back on the back of my helmet. The next part of the course was the hike a bike section. This is one of the hardest parts of the course because you have to get off your bike and run up the hill in really deep sand. Once you get to the top of the hill there is an even deeper sandy decent. It is so much fun to ride it fast and I passed several people going down that. The next section of trail was a really cool section of climbing single track totally covered by the trees with moss hanging down. Once we got to the top of the climb we started the descent which was a very tight trail and the turns were so tight and close together I could see my opponents a little wase back. At this time I still had my glasses on the back of my helmet but not for long. Since the trees are so low they were hitting my helmet and one of them I felt take my glasses off my head. I had two choices here, I could other go back and get them and lose about 8 or 9 spots or I could leave them and not lose a spot. I decided that I would leave them and try to come back for them when the race was over.
 The next section on course was the feed zone nad my dad and coach were both there and I saw my dad and he just looked mad that I was so far back. Directly after the feed zone we turned left and started to go up a overgrown and tight single track. At the top of the hill was where the cat ones split off from the cat 2s and 3s for a second time. We did an extra loop and tied back in with the other categories at the bottom of the hill. Now at the bottom we had to climb out of that canyon and over the hill into the same canyon as the feed zone. We passed just out of sight of the feed zone and began the longest sustained climb back up to the raceway. Threw out the hole race I was going back and forth with several 19 to 24 year olds and one of them was a little up the road when I got there with the other rider. Me and the other rider worked together to catch as many people as we could. We caught the other 19 to 24 year old rider and we all three started to work together. By the time we got to the tom of the hill I had passed at least 10 people that were in my group. One of them was able to hang on up the climb and once we all got to the top of the climb the 19 to 24 year olds got into the decent first and left us in the dust.
Now I was in the final couple miles and I had someone on my wheel and I knew I would lose the sprint at the line if it came to that so going up the last climb I gave it all I had and got a gap. I made my way into the race way and didn't even care to look back to see if he was coming, I just went as hard as I could. I crossed the finish line and about 20 seconds later the other rider crossed. I walked around and talked to my teammates and other racers and found out that my brother had gotten 2nd in his race. This made me vary exited to know that one of us did good.
Now that the race was over I started making my way back down the long decent into the valley to get my glasses. Since I was near the feed zone I decided I would go over there and explain to my coach and dad what happened. Then I went on the hunt for my glasses. After a lot of hiking backwards on the course I found my glasses. They were totally destroyed and I definitely couldn't use them again but I might be able to get a new pare.
Thanks to all of my sponsors who make this racing at places like this possible. Ellsworth bikes, Rudy Project, Ftech cycling, Kenda tires, ESI grips, Scicon, gup industries, Ryno power, Ridefast, Sidi and ASG sports.

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