Mission: Accomplished!

I entered my first mountain bike race this past Sunday in Columbus, GA. I had 3 goals: To finish, to not finish last and to not go to the hospital.

Saturday we loaded up camping stuff and biking stuff and headed up to the campground. Nice campground within 5 minutes of the trail, clean bathhouse and plenty of wood laying around to scavenge for the campfire that night.

We set up camp, and then headed over to Flat Rock Park to get an idea of what we had in store. The race was advertised as being a great one for your first race, so I was hopeful I was not in over my head.

After pre-riding the course after the rain came thru Saturday, I told SuperMan not to let me make plans to do races anymore while drinking margaritas!

The course itself was not terribly technical. There was one part at the beginning of the race course that was marked with a red skull and cross bones and it was there on the pre-ride that I slid backwards down a slick mud hill and got a few new black and blues. Not terrible, but still sobering. About mile 7 on the pre-ride, SuperMan broke his chain and was fortunate to have his alley VMAC along to push him back to the car.

We grilled out Uncle Yammy's chicken that night and I got advise from the veteran mountain bike fellas around the campfire. South Georgia Cycling was well represented across the categories at the race, Wild Bill felt sure we would have some podiums. I wasn't feeling confident in my ability to podium and tried to just drink enough beer & port to let me sleep comfortably in the tent. That really wasn't a problem with our new Made in China Coleman inflatable bed. What was really earth shaking was the freight train that came by the campground at 10 pm, 2 am and 5 am! I thought for sure it was the end of the world at the 2 am, but when I realized what it was, I was ok, but freezing! The cold front had come thru so SuperMan got up and zipped up the windows and we put more clothes on and huddled up. We were nice and settled in snoozing when the 5 am train came thru. Luckily, I am used to the hounds frequent wake ups so the interruptions didn't affect me at all.

The next morning, we got up and broke camp, for Little Toe was competing in the kid's race at 8:30. He followed in his dad Long Toe's footsteps and was on the podium with a 2nd place.

The first wave riders went off at 9:30 and my wave was at 11:30. Women's were the next to last group to go, only being followed by the juniors. For that I was thankful. A mass start would have been too scary.

On the line, I was feeling nervous and a bit weepy (got to love PMS!) Once we started though, I was feeling pretty good and passed a few ladies on the open section. My success didn't last though, as I took one slick turn too hot and skidded out into some weeds, losing a few seconds to get back in. My next triumph came as I passed a beginner male who started before me on a hill climb. He was huffing and puffing and so was I but I thought if I can just get to the top of this hill, I'd be ok. Well, I WAS ok, but had some juices churning, so I laid the bike down and got down on my hands and knees and puked up some water! Just like a greyhound, I felt much better after that, so I got back on and met the guy and passed him again. It was his first race also and I was doing better then him, puking doesn't count against you, right?

The rest of the trail flowed very well and I was at a slight disadvantage because my computer wasn't registering my mileage, but by the time on my watch, I knew I had to be close to the finish. I came thru the feed zone and all my peeps were there hollering, so I was re-energized and sprinted thru the last bit and came across the finish line glad to be done and proud for not backing out Sunday morning.

Will I do it again? Yes. When? That is certainly a good question! I'll have to get back to you on that one!!