Big Ring Classic

We are back from the cheese state!

Our trip was a lot of fun, but way too short. All I have to say is that people from Wisconsin sure know how to put on bike races. 

We arrived late Saturday afternoon. The race venue was already filling up, so we put up our tent and unpacked immediately. Then Scott finished putting his bike together so that we could pre-ride the course. 

Almost done!

The race course was different from Nationals in several aspects. There was a little more climbing, and more doubletrack. The singletrack was all really tight, with a lot of rocks. Hopefully the race promoter will throw a few more climbs into the Nationals course this year. Doubtful, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

After pre-riding the course we ate dinner and went to bed. Our race didn't start until 2 p.m. the next day, and it was a really nice feeling knowing that we didn't need to rush around in the morning. That's the beauty about camping out at the race site. 

Making coffee in the morning...

The fields were packed full, so people started setting up tents in the woods....

Stumbling around with my eyes half-open in the morning and getting my coffee fix...

Scott relaxing the morning of the race...

After we ate breakfast we watched the early races. There was a really early morning trail run, and then the youth categories started going off.

Now I know why so many fast racers are from Wisconsin. They start riding at birth. There were kids on bikes EVERYWHERE. It was really cool watching them race too. The race promoters called up the series leaders, and there were a ton of spectators cheering them on. 

This is just one wave going off....

There was a little girl leading this wave. She took off at the beginning and all of the boys were trying to catch up. It was awesome!!!!

Eventually we headed back to the tent to start getting dressed. I had a total sock dilemma. It was close to 80 degrees, so I couldn't decide over fashion (argyle) over function (shorter socks). Naturally I chose fashion :-)

About an hour before the start I started getting really nervous. Really, really nervous. It had been so long since my last XC race that I was totally out of my comfort zone. 

Before I knew it I was lining up with a lot of fast women. I stopped counting at 28 racers. The promoter called up the top 20, which meant that I was stuck way in the back. There was a slinky effect once the promoter said "go." I could see a bunch of women in the front already moving away before the back of the pack started moving. 

I think my body went into shock during the first 5 minutes of the race. Carey had warned me that the start would be insanely fast, and she was right. I felt like I was going to pass out. Because my start was so bad, I got stuck in the back of the pack during the first singletrack sections. There was a woman in front of me who kept apologizing for riding the rocks on the slower side. Little did she know that she was in front of a really sympathetic person regarding singletrack skills. Believe me, I knew how she felt!

Before I knew it my first lap was done. My legs did not feel fresh, but I wasn't that concerned about it. For the first time ever I didn't beat myself up about not being in the front. I just reminded myself that it was a total training race, and focused on myself...and not hitting any trees. 

The course was about 8-ish miles and we had to do 3 laps. I think my race was opposite of a lot of the other racers. They went out super fast, but started to fade towards the end, whereas I felt horrible in the beginning and started to feel better and gain on people during the last lap. I ended up 8th overall out of the women's field. The course was so fun that I wanted to keep riding, but unfortunately we had to get home. 

The drive home was a lot better then most drives. Normally I've been racing for 12-24 hours, and getting out of the car is excruciating. This time I felt great! There's definitely something to be said about shorter races. They are extremely painful while they are happening, but afterwards isn't so bad. 

We had to stop for a picture when we saw this elephant. Scott really dug it's glasses! Hmmm...I wonder why?

My post race recovery is always a recovery drink followed by greasy cheeseburger. It works well.

Well, time to get motivated. We got home really late last night. I think it was 2:30 a.m. by the time we finished unpacking the car. Now I need to hop back on the bike. I have a 5 hour ride scheduled for today!