Deer Valley I-Cup Race

My first year racing, my first year riding and it has been a blast. Saturday morning started out way too early for me. I woke up at 4:00 in the morning to howling wind. I quickly started to go back to sleep when my youngest woke up at 4:30 and decided to read a book. By the time I got her to go back to sleep it was 5 am. No sense going back to bed, Iwould have to get up soon and then I would just be tired. So my day started fairly early. After we got ready we took off for Deer Valley. It was drizzling in on the ride, but I was hopeful. As we arrived in Deer Valley it ws no longer raining...it was snowing, and felt like February! Some people in the parking lot were not sure they were going to race. I didn't care, I came to race and knew it would be fun.

The race was fun. I wouldn't say this was my best race, but I gave it my best. I tried to warm up, but I could not get my legs warm. I finally gave up on the riding to warm up and went to the start line. The start line is always fun you get to know new people and do the pre-race banter. The race did not start out the best. I took off fine, but could not get clipped in. My pedals kept spinning as I tried to clip in. Finally I had to slow down and coast so it would go in...ugh time lost. Once in I took off and started to pass people. I saw Dot up ahead, and was hoping to close the distance. I kept going and one by one picked my way to the top. About 3/4 of the way up I started to have difficulty breathing. I am sure I scared some of the people I was passing, because they could tell that I was not getting enough air in. I figure as long as I am not about to pass out I will keep on going. In this case I knew I was close to getting a little bit of relief. I got to the downhill and tried the best to get through the snow and mud...this was tenative, but I did it then it was off again to get Dot. I could see her up ahead, and there were 3 riders between us, so I kept pedaling hard. We were still going uphill, but not as steep. It was shortly after this point I lost sight of Dot, but I saw some of the riders that were between us, so I could only hope she was not far ahead. Needless to say I never saw her again, but I kept trying. The down hill on the first portion of the course was not my best ride. I tried, but was way too brake happy. I had one of the beginning women finally catch me and wanted to pass, but there was no where to pass. She hung with me for a bit, and then when there was a spot to pass she saw it was uphill and held her pace. I of course took off, and started to pass some of those who had passed me on the downhill. Luckily they were close, so I knew I hadn't done too bad and was still hopeful to see Dot, but had a feeling she was too far ahead to catch. Of course at the same time I am trying to catch Dot I am worried about Heather catching me, because I saw her on one of the switchbacks and knew she was close. The uphill for the second part was a good climb, but at least it was switchbacked up instead of straight up. The going down was much better on the race than when I had pre-ridden it. The switchbacks were cleaned out of loose rocks and it was a much cleaner trail. The worst part was when the pros started to pass. There are not a lot of passing places on the trail. I try to pull over so they can get by as quickly as possible. Most of them are polite and know we are trying to help. I had one come up though that made it a little difficult. He came up and said pro, but of course I had no idea what he was saying. I went "what", and then he said "pro" a little louder. I gave him a place to pass, and reminded him I am racing too. Too bad he just didn't say right or left. Towards the end of the course I had an endo and dropped my chain. Instead of the quick 10 second get it back on it took over 30 seconds, because I was flustered and trying to hurry. After that it was clear riding up to the last switchback which I took, but boy did I struggle to stay on the trail. I had one foot unclipped and was sliding all over the trail. My teammate behind me told me he was sure I was going off, but somehow I kept it together. After that it was flat terrain and a sprint to the end. I ended up taking 2nd place!!! Dot beat me by 3 min and 30 seconds. I definitely did not decrease my time between the winner and me. My goal for the end of the year will be to be only behind the winner by less than a minute.

Climbing the first hill.

Uncertain about the first switchback.

Mandy's race was not as fun for her. It was cold and wet, and she was freezing from falling in the mud and wet. She took 2nd out of the girls and 6th overall. If you look at the pictures below you can see the race on her face.