It was a chilly morning with nothing but sunshine forecast for the rest of the day. The rain we had experienced in Iowa had basically missed Platte River State Park, so the trails were good to go! Cam and I arrived with enough time to allow me to take a lap at my own pace to get a feel for the course. Per my usual nerves, it took me a while to get a feel for riding off-road again. My heart rate spikes as soon as I start pedaling, even a slow ride in the grass. I think my reaction is akin to Pavlov's dog's reaction to the ringing bell and his upcoming meal. Something deep within my brain knows how much fun I am about to have, so it starts pumping out the adrenaline long before it is necessary. This premature excitation is becoming somewhat troublesome, but I'll have to explain that in a later post.
On the drive over, Cam had warned me of a couple of sections of the course: the rock garden and the gully. My brain automatically balks at the term "rock garden," and immediately translates that to "section Julie should just hike-a-bike." When I rode up to in on my recon lap, I didn't think it looked that horrible, but I didn't see a line I was 100% comfortable with either, so hike-a-bike it was. And the gully was sandy (my nemesis, grrr!), but very rideable. By the time I had finished my recon, the temperature had increased enough that I could shed some clothing, have a little snack, and just chill before the start.
I had hoped to see a bunch of ladies toe the line for this Nebraska race, but at the staging area I only saw two others - one for the the Cat 1 race and another (Nicole) to join me in the Cat 2 race. While our Cat 2 race was shorter than the Cat 1, everyone - men and women - started together and raced on the course at the same time. This meant I would most likely be lapped by Cam and the other experts somewhere on lap 2. It's not usually a big deal, as I can either hear them coming or they will announce their arrival behind me so I can pull over to let them by.
My M.O. at the start of these cycling races is simply to keep myself upright and out of trouble. When starting in a mass (or mess, as the case may be), I simply don't have the confidence (or ability to sprint) to charge right up the middle and go for it as soon as we get the "GO!" from the starter. So, I always seem to find myself bringing up the rear and heading very close to dead-last into the singletrack. So far, that has worked out okay, as it gives me some people to chase!
This race was no exception to that. I followed the Cat 2 men and Nicole into the first climb. About halfway up the climb, many were slowing more rapidly than I, so I passed Nicole and a bunch of guys. After calming my heart rate a little following the first climb, I settled in and started chasing down the guys. I ran into an issue in the open field that divided the two halves of the race, and while I dealt with that frustration, I saw Nicole slide past me. Back on my bike, I was 50% annoyed with having been put back in 2nd place and 50% thrilled to have a rabbit to chase down for the rest of the race.
I walked the rock garden and rode the rest and got updates from the spectators on the gap between me and Nicole. By the end of Lap 1, I had closed the gap to less than 30 seconds, and about 5 minutes into Lap 2 I passed her again for good. With no issues to speak of for the rest of the race, I had a blast on this fun course. There were lots of tight twisty parts and some of the most fun rollercoaster sections I've been on. Cam and the rest of the expert guys let me know when they were coming and all got by without any altercations. It's actually kind of fun to have some of these guys come by, as the ones I know will shout out some encouragement to me as they rocket past! There are some good peeps in this sport!
I cruised to the finish, rode a cool-down, threw down some post-race nutrition and made it back to the start/finish area to see Cam come through to start his final lap. By now the sun was shining brightly, the temps were near perfect at 65-70, and just a little wind! Awesome. Cam brought home the W with about a one minute gap on second.
No pics of me, but a couple of Cam and three of one guy who chose to "ride" the rock garden:
All in all, it was a good day for the Vardaman-Kirkpatrick Team. A Cat 2 win for me and a Cat 1/Overall win for Cam!
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