FSC #4 Alafia

Hmm, which race should I do? Kid's or Novice?? I watched the pre-ride video on Drew's site and it looked a little crazy, my Mom freaked. She thinks I should stick with the kid's race...she's scared to death I will get hurt. So, my Dad and I signed up for the Endurance Factor clinic. We figured that we would make our decision as to what race to enter after that.

I had an awesome practice with Martin. There were some trails I have never been on before. Like Shelly's Loop and Rabbit Ears. I was able to clear most of course on the first attempt. On the more technical stuff, I cleared on the second attempt, thanks to Martin's advice. The decision has been made, I'm going to sign up for Novice. Can't wait to race!!

Race day: My only goal today is to complete the race, even it means coming in last place. I have to be realistic, take a look at the people I am racing.

Well...the race did not go as smooth as the practice did. I didn't want to burn myself out, so I took my time getting into the woods. Big mistake... now I know the importance of being up front. My Dad and I came across lots of riders who were having a hard time making some of the rooty climbs. With all of the stopping, I started getting frustrated. This brings me to my crash #1, I hurt my knee pretty bad. I hopped back on the bike and finally start to catch back up and then crash #2 happens. I slide out on some dirt going into Bridges. I'm OK, get back on the bike only to have crash #3 on the big drop on Bridges. That one hurt REALLY bad!!! It took me a while to get up. This race course was really beating me up and I could not wait for it to end!! My Dad said that if I wanted to drop out, it would be OK, I said I'm NOT dropping out!!! I barely made it through the rest of the course. I didn't even get to ride down Rabbit Ears because a man was in the way. Finally, made it to the finish line and found out later I came in 18th place out of 24. Wow, that was hard, can't wait for the next race.

Squeaking at Santos

Well...Dan and Ron, my Dad did fix my brakes. Sort of I guess, now they are squeaky and I think he ruined the pads by accident. Got to give him credit though, he tried. Hopefully, after he replaces the brake pads, they will be good to go.

Anyway, can't let some squeaky brakes keep me off the bike. So...we headed to Santos for the weekend. The camping trip was awesome. The weather was perfect, put in about 35 miles, and had fun hanging out with my family.

First time making pancakes, what do you think? OK they do look a little weird, but hey they tasted awesome.

Better Than No Riding

I'm having some issues with my brakes. I only have one that works and the other one is leaking out fluid. I guess my Dad is waiting on some kind of a bleed kit. With that, hopefully he can fix it for me. In the meantime, I don't think it's a good idea to ride anywhere crazy like Carter, with only one brake.

So...we decided to do a little road riding. We headed out the door and over to the LongLeaf trail. It's good practice for my sister because she wants to start doing triathlons next year. We ended up having a fun 15 mile ride.

Can't Get Any Better Than This

Have you ever had one of those days when you just don't want to get off the bike??? Today... I had one. At a crisp 82 degrees we were riding at Morris Bridge. The weather was awesome!! No worries ...just doing what I love and wishing the ride didn't have to end.