About this time last year I headed to the same event not knowing at all what was going to happen as it was my first year racing and that was my first race. I ended up placing 8th and learning a lot about racing.
This year the course was completely changed up, but still had a lot of the same characteristics of last years course. Smooth course, tight switchback climbs, and a great crowd.
I was in the first row lining up to the start. Horn goes off. Everyone wants it so the speed right off the bat is a bit quick but now is not the time to get left behind. I stayed within the first 3 spots as the rest of the group also settled into their spots. There was a climb within the first km and 3 of us broke away from the rest of the group. The pace at this point was not as fast as I would have liked it but I didn't want to haul ass too early as I had no idea what the rest of the course had in store. There was no way to gauge my speed to see what I needed to save for later. So I tagged along in 3rd spot until the first downhill section came. Wow. I think it might be that I started off DH-ing when I moved to Cranbrook which is what gives me the skill on the way down. The two I was following were not going nearly as fast as the course allowed. The next extended hill climb came and I decided to make a leap to start the pace a bit faster. One of the racers amongst us three started at the same pace that I was now doing. At this point I thought we were pretty equally matched. The top of the climb came and now was the downhill right to the start/finish area. I made up a lot of time on the other two racers on this section. I thought I had it. The first hill climb was under way for lap 2 and the guy that was following me made up a bunch of time and apparently has mad climbing skills. He passed me at a good pace on the way up and I didn't see him again. I thought I might be able to catch him again on the way down but he was just too quick of a climber. The rest of the race was filled with harder hill climbs as energy was decreasing. I think I might have given 'er as hard as I ever have in this race cause my legs were aching by the end of the 30km course. In the end this course was super fun and I would end up with 2nd place, and a nice prize bag to top it off.
The race made me realize that Cranbrook must, and does, have a lot of talented riders. We have such a variety of varied terrain here. Most of us riders would laugh at the rock section they set up and power way harder on the downhills.
It was awesome that a good friend came along who also rode the course and ended up with 2nd in his category. Way to go Colin. We both ended up with some pretty sweet shwag and it was a great day for riding bikes. Results
Next up? The Deadgoats in Calgary are putting on The Summer Solstice race at COP this weekend. Time to take out some Deadgoats. This will complete a trifecta of weekends racing my bike. Maybe a weekend off after that is in order...
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