Steilacoom Race

When I started out this race season, my goals were pretty simple. I wanted to be a competent "mid-packer".  I was going to be happy with top ten finishes. I knew some might be better than others, but top ten seemed to be a good goal for me.

At the beginning of the season my first couple of races were fraught with mechanicals and were very frustrating. But, then the races seemed to get a little better and I started to really enjoy myself out there. Racing didn't hurt as much this year. Sometimes I would even smile while racing.

Then, I started focusing on my nutrition and understanding what to eat (and what not to eat) when I was training and racing.

Then I got a new carbon bike.

Then I started really doing well as a Cat 3.

When I got a couple of upgrade points, I figured I had gotten somewhat lucky and that my performance had probably peaked for the season.

Then I got a couple more upgrade points and things started to become clear to me. I'm actually not a bad cyclocross racer after all!

Two weekends ago, I raced at Steilacoom. It is a course that is always featured in the Seattle CX series. This year, we did it twice. It is sort of boring, has some hills and has absolutely no technical features to it whatsoever. For some reason I was REALLY nervous before this race. I was full of self-doubt and was thinking I would have a bad race.

Then the official said "go" and we were off.

The pace started quickly and I tried to settle in as I knew there was a hill in the first stretch. I was in 2nd position when a racer flew by me so fast I didn't even know what to think! Actually, I thought to myself, "Yikes! It is that girl that had just upgraded from Cat 4. Holy crap she is a Cat 2 on the road."

We lined up for the barrier section and these girls really flew during this section. I began to get nervous.

Then the downhill section came upon us. That is where it all happened.

I panicked a little bit and realized these girls were getting away from me. I flew down the gravel hill but picked a horrible line. My brakes weren't really working right either, so I double panicked.  The result? I ran a girl off the course and she almost hit a tree. I feel horrible about it. Very bad thing to do to a fellow racer. It was a huge mistake and I learned my lesson. I apologized to her profusely, but I still think she hates me. I would probably hate me too.

Oddly enough, I have a set of pictures (thanks to Brian Koder) of the entire event. It is good stuff. Check it out.

There I am, I realize that I've taken the WRONG LINE in a gravel downhill.
Photo courtesy of Brian Koder

Here I am running her off the trail. Notice the tree in front of her? And, no, i am not really smiling.
Photo courtesy of Brian Koder

I am yelling, "I'm so sorry......" Man, did I feel bad.
Photo courtesy of Brian Koder

The last photo is Brian Koder jumping out of the way as the rider (the one I ran off the course) narrowly misses him. Doh!

Anyhow, I feel bad, it was wrong. I won't do that again.

So the race progressed on. I played it safe and tried to conserve energy. There were 4 of us in the lead, then there were 3, then I realized it was just me and one other racer.  Towards the end of the course I began to think about what it would be like to win the race. I focused on clean lines and not making any mistakes. We rounded the last part of the course and my road biker instincts kicked in. I was going to ride this girl's wheel until the sprint. I was going to beat her in the sprint because I knew I could.

Then I did it. I won the race.

It was great. I didn't do a fancy salute, or finger guns or anything like that. I just smiled. I was really proud of myself.