Collegiate Racing!

So my first collegiate mountain bike series was a blast :) I loved racing for the Fort Lewis College Cycling Team! Here are some mini-race reports from each weekend:

Gunnison race: For my first race I really had no idea what to expect. When we lined up on the start line I recognized several of the girls, but there were several new faces as well. We raced over in Hartman Rocks, and it was an awesome course! Once you get over the ridge and drop into the trail area, the riding is smooth and super flowy. There were several climbs, but they were all pretty gradual and spread out throughout the race. There were also a lot of rocky sections, not too technical but quite a few big drops and gaps. The only thing was once you got up on the rocks, it wasn’t always easy to see where the trail went and pretty much everyone got lost a couple times! My race started off pretty slow, especially since I had only been in Durango a week and wasn’t acclimated yet, and Gunnison is even higher (like 9,000 ft I think?). But as soon as I got into my rhythm I was flying and passing up the field. I ended up in 3^rd and I was stoked! A great finish for my first collegiate race :) The rest of the FLC team had some good finishes as well! The next morning was short track for me, and I didn’t feel too great, just since I worked so hard, at altitude, the day before, and it definitely showed in my performance. The course basically climbed up along the ridge, and then down collarbone alley. I can’t remember exactly but I ended up somewhere in the middle of the pack. Camping was fun too! We had a pretty sweet campsite, and we played a lot of shuffleboard in between races :)

Sol Vista race: The next weekend we went to Sol Vista (such a long drive…) which I was looking forward since I am more familiar with the riding there. The course was kind of a combination of both nationals courses, AND WE DIDN’T HAVE TO GO UP THE GIANT HILL!!! Which was pretty exciting. Basically we did a start lap of the beginning from this years nats course, then climbed where we had come down, kept climbing up the course from 2 years ago, with some sweet new singletrack, and then down the same epic descent from 2 years back. So it was about 6 miles and we did 2 laps. Sorry if that’s too confusing! My race started off really well. I was climbing strong, and sitting about 4^th or 5^th I think. But on the waterfall section of the descent, which is really loose and steep, I slid out and hit a tree with my leg locked out. It took me a little while to get back on the bike, but I was somehow able to get down, and then do my second lap and finish the race. I lost a lot of time, but still pulled out an okay finish. The next morning I wasn’t able to ride, which meant no short track. When we got home I got my knee checked out and turns out I dislocated it, but they didn’t think I tore anything which is good.

Womens A start

Durango race: Since my knee was still messed up I didn’t get to race in our home race which was a bummer, but FLC did really well with lots of good results in all disciplines! Since I couldn’t race I took a ton of pictures so I’ll post some here :)

FLC B men leading out the short track

Fielding racing dual slalom 

Winter Park race: This was my first time riding at Winter Park, and even though it’s only a half hour from Sol Vista it is way different. The XC course climbed and climbed and climbed and the first lap felt like it took forever! The climbing wasn’t technical, mainly fire road, and wasn’t too steep expect for a few sections. The descent was sooo fun though! It was rocky, but not really technical, and had a lot of big, smooth switchbacks and you could just fly down it! We did 2 11-mile laps. The start was pretty cold, but I warmed up pretty quick. I was still struggling a lot with my knee, but riding didn’t feel too bad. My first lap was pretty slow, but the 2^nd lap I went all out and felt awesome. I think I finished mid-field, which I was happy with. As soon as I stopped though my knee completely locked up, so I decided not to race short track the next day. Once again FLC performed very well! Another highlight from the weekend I have to mention was our amazing tent that Kaila brought :) It was one of those large canvas tents, and it had bay windows and an awning and was pretty much a mansion. We slept 8 people in there, so we were cozy and warm!

End of XC

Daniel in DS practice

Greg leading out in DS

Overall the season went great for our team! There might still be one more race, then nationals in a few weeks, and then cyclo-cross season starts. I am hoping my knee will heal up soon so I can race more!

On a side note, college has been going great :) Durango is amazing, and I love being able to ride literally right outside my dorm. The Fort is really cool, and all my classes are going well. I think racing and riding has been my favorite thing so far though! 

a little late...

sooo i know this is quite late, but i finally got around to making a blog and thought i might as well post my race report from nationals. enjoy :)

Cat 1 Junior Women 17/18 at the start line

We're all so smiley :)  

me approaching the finish

We started the race on my favorite hill ever (NOT) (which, by the way, lewis' garmin told us had a 23% grade) starting at the base lodge, heading off on our start lap which would be followed by 2 laps of the complete Pro course. The course was a two-leaf clover shape that was 4.32 miles long and had an elevation gain of 710 ft. The first side of the course consisted of a recently cut trail that switchbacked up the mountain, then made a sharp u-turn and generally leveled out until reaching the base area at which point it turned and went straight down. This first descent was quick and fast, with many steep drops and berms that were basically wall rides. Incredibly fun, but it was filled with holes since it was cut just a couple weeks ago and there were numerous times I thought I would surely go over the bars! After passing through the feed/tech zone it was up the hill of death again, and then several more uphill switchbacks and into the aspens where it leveled out. This is also where they apparently brought in rocks to make what was a sad excuse for a technical section, especially for a Pro course. Then it spit us out near the top of the mountain-cross course and followed last years course to about halfway up the mountain (on nice smooth trail!). The final descent was next to a dirt road (really guys?) and again really rough and extremely sandy and sketchy. Towards the bottom there were a few sharp, rocky switchbacks and then joined the super-d course to the finish line! (Which was super fun!) So overall, a fun course to race on (minus the roughcut-ness), and the climbing layout was much better suited to flatlanders like me! But definitely not technical, and not quite what we expected for a nationals course. (Also, the start lap was the second half, after the death zone.)

           When we went up the first climb I was feeling great and powered up to sit in third for a short bit. But when we hit the long climb, my body wasn’t quite ready to maintain the pace, and I got passed up by most of the field by the end of the start lap. The first real lap I wasn’t doing too great, definitely feeling the altitude, and wasn’t really able to push myself as hard as i wanted. I would find myself closing in on people on the descents only to have them leave me behind on the climbs. But after a frustrating lap, I started the second lap (which was oddly my fastest lap) determined and was able to catch and pass 3 girls. I went into the final descent right behind ellen, but wasn't able to catch her by the finish. But i gotta say I was happy with my finish! The competition was fierce and everyone did awesome!