[GW] Weekend Womens Cx reports

[Lee Penn]

Well, what a fantabulous weekend for me!
I got to race both - yes BOTH weekend races!

Ham Lake - second 
Lined up with a very good start position and the desire for an excellent start - was hit from the right by June, who was hit on her right by a junior - ended up losing loads of time there are the start.  Had some work to do in order to regain a strong position.  I thought this was a great course, and I learned a lot navigating the soft sandy sections and the mud pit.  I don't know if I could have beaten Emily (c-rider 2006) if I had had a stronger start....  but I couldn't catch her by the end of the race.  I need more single track experience so that I can reduce lost time on hard turns on challenging terrain....  I was soooo happy to see other rodents racing well in this race (and the next race too!).

Drome race - FIRST!

Driving up to Blaine, my friend Carl (I rode up with him) says to me, looks like we'll be racing about two feet above the water table....  I pre-rode this course four times - once with my friend Carl, who's a pretty strong B-racer.  As we were going aroudn the course - he corrected himself, noting that we were going to be racing BELOW the water table at times... (aka - trench of death).  I got some good advice from Sara regarding lines to take etc...  There was the one left turn//up on the switchback section that took me three tries (two crashes) to figure out how to ride.

Lined up with a very good start position, but somehow I didn't have that whateveritisthatidon'thave holeshot push whatever...  First lap - I was in fifth position.  Right, my work was cut out for me.  I felt strong, and by the end of lap three (I think), I was in first position.  At this point, my focus was to keep my speed up but not make any mistakes...  Ditch of death was in reasonable shape during most of the c race - I rode it with no problems.  On my second to last lap, the guy right in front of me endo-ed, so I jumped off and ran it in order to avoid his bike and legs....  Then, when returning along the trench of death, I went down in a big smooshy mud puddle...  Yeah baby.  At this point, I was in first position, so I jumped up quickly and ran the bike to a reasonably solid spot before remounting - good remount - only a small amount of time lost.  Last ditch of death - I ran it... Last trench of death - I went down again....  Finished first for the c2s! I was soooo happy!  This course was absurd!  Just absurd, which is exactly what made it so fun!

Prize highlight is my carbon fiber pen and a t-shirt that fits my son....  He was very pleased with that t-shirt prize!  It was fun to see other rodents racing well in this race!  Especially the Gaines brothers!

Lined up for the B3 race.  I was excited, but there was a lot of standing around - my first B-race!  I started getting cold, and my muscles starting saying things like - epo epo epo (extra pale ale) - there is epo back by carl's (my friend with whom i came) van - epo epo... yeah yeah - quiet down there!  The men head off.  I'm still cold.  The women head off - it's like pedaling with tree trunks instead of actual legs!  Ok - note to self - spin a little after first race prior to second race - don't let yourself get cold.  Alright - I'll do this lap - surely I'll warm up and loosen up after a lap.  As I was approaching the first barrier, I heard Barb H. scream that it was about time to me...  No man - I'm still a beginner!  Ran the ditch of death...  Had no problems in the trench of death aside from not going as fast as I would have liked... totally in dfl position and totally fine with that!  Second lap - ran the ditch of death - almost crashed in the trench of death, but prevented the crash by unclipping and putting my foot down into the giant puddle of death - foot immediately said - wouldn't you rather have a beer right now?  brain said - yeah - heart said yeah - I DNF-ed after two laps.  Totally worth five bux!  Went to Carl's van, retrieved a bottle, and went to watch people at the ditch/trench of death.  I was soooooo  relieved to see other riders having trouble in those sections!  I later watched some of the A-race, and I saw similar stuff....  Like Sara, I found this comforting.

What a grand weekend.
Currently, June is in first position for C-CRY with seven races....  I have a shot at this if I have a good race this weekend - so...  Milaca - here I come - and YES - I will be racing the C-race (maybe the B, too).

Thanks for reading,

Lee
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