Pukete Winter Fun Series Race 4

Yeah, I made it! I actually got to ride my bike again. So... what happened to races 2 and 3? Well, that was the six weeks or so we had of various coughs and colds and inclement weather. But race 4 was a beauty.

The sun was out, the rain had stopped, and the track was fairly dry - quite tacky in places (if that description can be applied to sand) with the odd soft wet muddy spot. I hadn't been riding in ages (apart from a couple of brief 'urban' rides), so I was out for a good time - not a fast time. Although, I had a few goals to achieve - start fast, get a good position into the singletrack, do four laps, and have fun.
I decided to start near the front this time, and found myself on row two of the grid. Hmm, possibly not the most suitable position, but I figured we would all get sorted out and seed ourselves on flat grassy start loop. GO! I was off, flailing my legs, spinning madly on my 32:20 gearing and surprisingly doing quite well at keeping up with the gearies. I was happy to let some of the keener looking riders pass, figuring they were fitter than me. We hit the singletrack and things slowed down. Nice. No, not nice that I was now being held up... but nice to learn that I wasn't any slower than some of the fitter and 'faster' riders - I am not losing too much time on these faster riders in the tight twisty stuff.

A bunch of riders in front peeled off down the 'hard' line. I still haven't ridden it yet, and after hearing it has been a bit soft through there, decided to play it safe and take the 'easy' line. Suddenly I had a clear track ahead of me and flowed through the tight curves, then climbed the previously slippery slope to merge back in with some of the people who had been ahead of me... there had been a bit of a mishap on the 'hard' line, causing a traffic jam. Sweet.

I was still following my "go like the clappers" strategy, so kept my legs turning over for the rest of the lap. I was certainly feeling it, but I promised myself I would settle down for the second lap. My second lap just flowed. It was great. I relaxed, rode as smooth as I could, but still tried to keep some urgency in my riding. Lap three... phew! Okay, now I was feeling a bit tired. Strangely though, I didn't feel completely knackered yet. More flow, a little bit of a struggle here and there, but I survived.

"43 minutes 20 seconds". Wow! I have beaten the cutoff time of 45 minutes. I have qualified to do another lap. But... what is this... people are stopping and getting off their bikes?!!

Now I had a dilemma... keep going, or stop now with everyone else. I had had a good ride and still felt alright. But, what about my goals? Start fast: check. Get a good position into the singletrack: check. Do 4 laps: ... Oh, yeah...

The fourth lap was hard. And it was slower than my others, but I had the warm happy glow that I had earnt the right to do that fourth lap and was going to bloody well enjoy it! I got back to the finish in 58 minutes 15 seconds. Not bad. And my checklist? Do 4 laps: check. Have fun: check.

My three achievements from the race were: 1. First woman; 2. DFL (I was the last person on the course!); 3. Proving that enthusiasm can outlast lungs and legs, and provide enough propulsion to keep me going!

I'm looking forward to the next one in another weeks time. :)

Thanks to Greg Gibb and Michelle Philburn for the great photos.