Bonelli Park - Kenda Cup Race 2 - 3/13/16

I was very surprised that I was going to LA for a mountain bike race when I got pulled out of school on Friday even though my parents had already paid for the race and we all packed up our clothes. I read my book most of the way there and then played on an iphone until the battery light popped on just before Grapevine.  We stopped, checked what our choices were, then drove back 20 miles to an O'Reilly to get the new alternator for our Forerunner. My dad fixed our car in 45 minutes and we were off again.

We arrived to the hotel around 10:00pm, unloaded the suitcases and the dog, it was 10:25pm and I went to sleep at 11:00pm. The next day was better though. I woke up and ate a delicious breakfast my mom had made and packed before we left. Soon after that we all went down to the park so I could pre-ride the course (yes, even the dog went). I pre-rode the course and decided that I loved it because of the long, steep uphills. I also loved the amount of hills and the technical downhills. Also, the grassy corners at the start/finish.

After my pre-ride, we stayed to watch the cat 1 and pro races. I watched Nathan Barton race his Cat 1 19-23 class and get 3rd - awesome job Nathan! The pro women race was good to watch because I got to see Katarina Nash and Shayna Powless. In the pro men's race I got to see Trevor DeRuise, before he face planted, Todd Wells and Topher Lewis. They all raced really well. I was exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel at 5:00pm. We ordered a pizza delivered to our room and were all asleep by 7:00 (8:00pm daylight savings).

On race day morning, I was so nervous I didn't eat anything except a Nature's Bakery bar and one Chomp. I was in the first row with all of the 13/14, 11/12, and 10U but got shuffled back to a second row start, which made me a little mad. My start wasn't bad but my lungs were burning when I got to the first uphill. I passed a 13/14 racer, he passed me back, and then I passed him again and stayed in front this time. I also battled with another 11/12 racer that rocketed down the hills. I was scared of him and wanted to get a big gap between the other racer and me. I finally succeeded on my second and last lap. I felt great through my race thanks to Julie Young's personalized training plan. I finished and thought I did well. Then I found out I got 1st.

I was really happy. Thanks to Roseville Cyclery for the tune ups on my new bike. Also, thanks to my parents for letting me go.

TBF Race #4 Mountain Bike Madness 2/28/16

I was so excited for race #4 because I had my new carbon Specialized Stumpjumper Hardtail (carbon awesomeness on Strava). Oliver at Roseville Cyclery helped my parents buy me this awesome bike.
I did my usual 4 mile warm up around the oaks. The only thing that wasn't good was that I had gone to my friend's birthday party the night before so I was a little tired. My mom helped me get a front row start again. I had a great start and stayed with the lead group this time. I was almost taken out by a bad crash. A kid wasn't paying attention and skidded sideways into a wooden post, banging into it. We were all going pretty fast but luckily no one hit him.

After that I had to catch up to the lead group of 6-10 riders but we weren't paying attention and missed our turn, ADDING about .2 miles to our race. We were all very confused when we came back to  the middle of the pack. I basically sprinted all of the way across the levy to try and catch the rest of the field. I thought, 'It would be a shame for me to miss the podium for missing our turn.'

So thanks to Julie Young's awesome training, I sprinted (or tried to sprint) the whole first lap. I passed as many Novice High School looking kids kids as I could find. I got into my second lap and sustained a very good pace. I only passed one novice HS kid on my second lap and had no idea how I finished. I rode as hard as I could and got FIRST in HS Novice class out of  30 racers.

Thanks to Roseville Cyclery for sponsoring me, Specialized for the AWESOME bike and Team RC for the support. Also, thanks to O2Fitness for the bike fits and training.

TBF Racing #3 Mountain Bike Challenge 2/14/16

I was very excited that the 3rd race went counter clockwise. I like that better because at the start, I can warm up with a little climb. Also, because there is a lot of technical uphill.

My mom (thanks mom) made sure that I had a front row start. I had a great start and was within the top 15 races I was dropped by the lead group but was still making passes as we got to Oak Alley. Surprisingly, I caught the lead group but was dropped again and was left to just passing other people. that were not in my category. I didn't make it all the way up Little Moab but had a strong first lap.

My second lap was also strong and I battled with another fast racer named Leo. He would drop back, then come out of nowhere and nearly pass me.I had to sprint from the start line, along the beach, to the finish line. I had to do that because Leo was right behind me, catching me really fast. I thought he was going to catch me at the end but I was lucky. I finished 4th out of 39.

 I have to thank Julie Young as my coach because I had the strength to stay in front. Thanks to Roseville Cyclery for always keeping my bike is great shape, Team RC for the support and TBF Racing for the awesome races.