FSC #8 Alva

With my sister's gymnastic meet on Saturday and the park not allowing dogs, I had actually planned on skipping this race.  But after looking at the standings, I started to get a little worried.  There's a lady racer that has been creeping up the ladder, and I'm scared to death she's going to steal my 5th place (in the series)  away from me.  I can't let that happen, I've worked way too hard. So after Kiki's meet,  my Dad and I headed to Alva.  We ended up driving almost a total 6 hours there and back just for a practice ride.  But hey, it had to be done.

Alva was not at all what I expected.  I heard it was a easy fast smooth course with some technical sections during the second lap.  Well, I definitely wouldn't call it easy. With it's constant ups and downs, rocks, and tight twisty turns, I found it to be a beater. And unfortunately, these are the kind of courses I struggle with when racing against the women.  They just have so much more power than I do and most of them are on 29er's.  So I was back to being stressed.

Sunday morning came too quickly. And it was time to get in the car for another 3 hour journey back down to Alva.  There was 10 of us lined up to race.  After the whistle blew, I felt like I was on a scooter and everyone else was on a motorcycle.

  I was 8th getting to the singletrack. And oh man did I have some serious catching up to do. Trying not to get frustrated, I began making my way through the course.  Some racers I was able to pass pretty quickly while others I was stuck behind for a little while.  I finally made it to the 4th position and was able to keep my spot throughout the rest of the race.  Now if Holly (the leader) would have been at the race, I would have been in 5th place. Still good in my opinion, but I gotta tell you it was nice to move over a spot.  And maybe one day, I can actually get off the ground and be up on those podium steps:)

LOVE the new team helmet, thanks again LeRoy!!!

Awesome pictures by:  Robin La Manna, MTBmike.com, Christie Burnett

Team Time Trial/ FSC #7 Lakeland

Yep, that's me.  The "caboose who broke loose" from the CycleYouth train:)

My teammates Adam, Sam, Jordan, and Cody ended up with the fastest lap time in the TTT (beating all the adult teams).  With Coach Chris's strategies and the guys teamwork, they were able to bring Team CycleYouth/Leroy's back up to the #1 spot.  And I gotta tell you, chasing those guys for a little while, I was able to break a couple personal records, and hey... I even got a couple QOM's too. Super proud to be part of such an awesome team!!!    

Adam, Sam, Cody, me, and Jordan

 

As the race series rolls along, I'm definitely feeling more confident.  I no longer stress out about who's lining up, and I just feel stronger.  I was super pumped to be racing at Lakeland over the weekend and hoped the technical course would work to my advantage.  Going into the race, I knew it was very important to get a good start.  I didn't want to get stuck behind riders that had to walk up climbs or used their brakes too much.  So when I heard the whistle, I put the power down and landed in the 5th position going up Sprinkler Hill.        

 

 

I passed 4th place on a rooty section taking over her position in the 1st lap.  I thought it would be so awesome if I could actually keep my spot for a 4th place finish. So, I pedaled and pedaled all while looking over my shoulder.  Feeling comfortable with no one behind me, I made my way over to Puff N Stuff.....

After that, I was heading down a flat section - when all of a sudden out of nowhere- I have a lady in front of me.  WHAT THE .......???? Where did she come from??? Oh, she was good, real good... slid right in front of me and continued on. I tried to stay on her wheel and ended up crashing. Thinking back, I don't know how I missed her.  Was I zoning out for a brief little moment,  who knows???? Well,  I learned my lesson!!  And you better believe I won't be letting my guard down again!!  Another 5th place finish for me.

 

Way to go Sam on your 1st win of the season and congrats to the entire CycleYouth Team!!!

 

****awesome pictures by:  MTBMike.com, AG Factory Racing McCarty Training, and Miss Christie