SoCal Race #2: Vail Lake

On Saturday morning Hayley, some of my Yucaipa teammates, and I all pre-road the course to get a feel for it and dial in our lines. I have raced at Vail many times, so all the trails on course I've done before, but it was interesting how there was not that much climbing as usual. I knew this meant it was going to be a fast and speedy race! After the pre-ride we ate some lunch and set up our hammocks by the course to cheer on the middle schoolers. Around 6 o'clock there was a SoCal Devo meeting, where we discussed some strategy and got our new team kits! Then I ate dinner and chilled out before it was time to go to bed.

Sunday morning seemed to go by so fast, we ate breakfast, went to the team pit, and then warmed up before staging. I got very nervous before the start because I did not know how I would feel, due getting a cold just days before the race. I had a fifth place call up, putting me in the front row for the start. The start consisted of everyone sprinting to get into the first single track, I was in fourth going in and it stayed like that until the start of the first fire road climb. Marjie and Hayley broke off on the climb and then it was Genevieve, Mady, and me going into the decent. Genevieve then broke away from the group and then it was Mady and I for the rest of the first lap.

The second and third lap I would fall behind Mady, then catch back up, and on the last fire road climb of the race we decided to work together to make an effort to regain time. The rest of the third lap I was by myself and finished in fifth place. I was happy to get on the podium, but not satisfied with my results. I can't wait for another shot at next Vail in just a couple weeks! A huge thank to my coaches, family, and all the sponsors for making this race weekend possible!

SoCal League Race #1 Lake Perris

This year Perris seemed to come so quickly and by time the weekend rolled around I could not believe it would be the start of my last So Cal season! Going into the weekend I couldn't help but feel the usual pre-race nerves because I had no idea of how I was going to do. On both Friday and Saturday I did two laps just to get down the new sections that were added, which I thought  made the race more fun and exiting. The rest of Saturday consisted of hanging out with my teammates around the race venue and getting everything ready for the next morning.

On Sunday I woke up around 7am and got my things packed up and ready to roll and then it was time to hit the road to Perris! When we got there Hayley and I set up everything, which was made easy by my Scicon bag because I knew all my race essentials were packed in it and ready to go. Then we talked over strategy with Coach J and went to warm up. During the warm up I put my headphones on, cleared my mind, and began to focus and think about my goals for the race. Before I knew it it was time for staging, thankfully I had a fourth place call up so I started in the front row.

3...2...1... and were off! Once all the varsity girls took off we all grouped together and made our way to the climb. I expected once we hit the dirt everyone would start sprinting, but the fire road climb was surprisingly set at an easy pace with only a slight sprint at the top to get into the single track downhill. By this time the top six were all together and we stayed in a line for the rest of the fist lap.

Going into the second lap I maintained my top five position, still hanging on with the front pack. The climb came and we started to pick up the pace a little and created a gap on sixth and seventh, once we headed on to the beach I could see everyone cheering me on and I was driven to stay with the pack and hold on for one more lap. 

On the third lap the pace picked up a lot on the climb and I fought to stick with the pack. Around the top of the climb everyone started to sprint and I fell a little behind going into the single track, but I didn't want anyone to catch up to me since the top four were ahead and I had no one to work with, so I petaled as fast as I could. Once I was on the beach I sprinted with the energy I had left and crossed the finish line in fifth place. It was a great feeling finishing in the top five, knowing I would be on the podium for my last race at Perris and leave it on a high note.

Overall I am happy with how my race went, and I could not have done it without all the support from my coaches, family and team. Congrats to all my teammates who did so well, especially Hayley, Marjie, and Mady who all got on the Varsity podium as well! Also Yucaipa got 2nd place division one team, so that was super exiting too. I can not wait till Vail and I'm super exited for the rest of season! A huge thank you to Ellsworth bikes, Kenda tires, Rudy project, ESI grips, PhysioPhyx, Rynopower, Scicon and the Devo team !!!

Petaluma State Finals

Friday afternoon I packed everything up and we started our 8 hour journey from Yucaipa all the way to Petaluma! We arrived to our hotel around twelve in the morning, we were all super tired so we fell asleep right away. Saturday morning started by eating breakfast and then heading to the venue to pre ride the course, which I was curious about because last year it was so bumpy and I wondered if it was  the same or not as bumpy. Arriving to the venue, it was cool to see how many people and other teams were there. Our pit was on top of the venue where every one was camping, which was nice because it gave a great view of the course and was not too far from the start line. The preride went great, spotting out lines to take and talking strategies. And I enjoyed the course, with all its great views and fun descents, besides the bumpy conditions. After pre riding we hung out at the pits and cleaned our bikes to get them ready for racing the next day.
 
Sunday morning we woke up early to pack everything from our hotel room and leave to the venue before traffic.  Once we got on site we went over our bikes to make sure everything was running smoothly and set up our trainers to warm up, since Varsity girls were going to take off at nine. It was weird having to get everything ready so early because I am used to racing at noon, but thankfully racing early meant no wind! We decided to change our warm up a little due to racing so early, and once we finished we quickly headed to staging. I got a third row call up, which I was happy about considering there was nearly 40 girls. The announcer then counted us down and then it was go time!

The start of the race was a solid fireroad climb that felt like forever. There were a lot of girls pushing to the front and some that fell back, causing me to lose track of what place I was in, but I saw my sister in a group not to far ahead so I tried the whole first lap to catch up. Going in to the second lap the group seemed to get farther and farther, leaving me all by myself for the most of the climb. I really pushed myself to increase my pace to shorten the gap, but I couldn’t see the group anymore. There were some close calls on the descent with all the dusty corners and turns. The third lap felt the longest and I was all by my self with no one in site infront or behind me. Going through the last parts of the course I knew I would finish in that place and once I crossed the finish line I couldn’t help but feel disappointed with myself.

My result was 16th place, which I was not happy with, but not every race can be perfect. I can’t belive how fast this season went by and how next year will be my last season, it’s crazy how time flys. I am really looking forward to next season and hoping for improvement. Overall this season was great and I thank all our sponsors and the SoCal devo for getting me where I’m at today in my cycling journey. Can’t wait till Socal season 11!!!!

Socal Finals: Tehachapi

Going in to the weekend I couldn’t believe this was the last socal league race of my junior year, time flew by! Tehachapi started with driving out Saturday morning to get to the venue and to pre ride. When we arrived we decided to preride late afternoon, so we went to our hotels and relaxed. Once five o’clock rolled around we geared up and went off on our preride. Mid way through,  Hayley’s back tire got a sidewalk tear, thank goodness we had our gup handy or we would have had to walk the rest of the course. After we finished it was time to head back to the hotel and continue our usual prerace Saturday night.

Sunday began by waking up around seven to eat and get ready to leave to the venue. Once I got there I watched the races and cheered on some of my teammates. Time seemed to go by so fast and it was already time to warm up. On my warm up I decided to change up my tunes and listen to happier  songs to relax and losten up. Right before lining up we got a Pep talk from Coach J, then we off to stage. I had a fifth place call up, putting me in the front row to start. It was starting to heat up so my dad put a ton of ice in my back pockets, which was freezing but I knew it would be well worth it.

Once we got sent off the top eight were all in a pack going up the fire road, but once the single track decent came the top four broke away. I was right with sixth place in front of me going on to the next lengthy climb, and fifth was not too far in front of us. I tried to keep their pace but my legs couldn’t keep up, and by the end of the first lap I was all alone. Passing feed zone I got a new bottle and cranked my way up the long fireroad. The whole second lap I was by myself , but I could see my sister catching up to me, so I tried to increase my pace. Going in to the last lap I could see sixth place just about done with the fire road when I just started. Quickly trying to catch up, I sprinted the last part of the climb, but I could not see her anymore when I got to the decent. By the switch back climb I could see Hayley just behind me, and I knew I would have to kick it up a notch if I wanted to keep my placement. The rest of the lap consisted of making passes to girls in other classes and hoping I could maintain my position. Crossing the finish line I came in seventh place, which I was not too exited about, but not every race can be perfect.

With seventh on the day and sixth overall, I felt Unsatisfied, but it makes me determined and motivated  to do better next season. Yucaipa got third for that day and second overall, which was super exiting for the whole team seeing our hard work pay off. Also I was stoked that Yucaipa got the most consistent girls team in the socal league! This season has been so much fun and I am thankful for my coaches, family and sponsors who have helped me to be where I am at today!

Sea Otter Classic 2018

Leading to the week of sea otter I was just waiting for the week days to be over so we could head to Monterey! This was my first time attending Sea Otte, so I was super exited to have the opportunity to   Go. Around eight o’clock Friday morning we packed up everything, put it in the trailer and started our six  hour journey to the race venue. The drive felt forever, but the scenic views made up for it. When we finally arrived I was shocked of how big the whole race venue was, and our camping sport had a great view and was located in a great spot!

Saturday was the most eventful day of the weekend, it started by waking up early to pre ride. Due to the course being thirty miles long we only pre rode some of it, I really like the feel of the course and how flowy it was. After the preride we cleaned up and went for “the walk” with the whole team. It was super exiting to meet some of our sponsors and take time to talk to them. One of the highlights of the walk was going to the Ellsworth booth and meeting Tony Ellsworth and get the inside scoop on the new xc full suspension bike, theTruth! After hitting some more booths it was time to go back to camp, so our legs would rest for the next day. Around six o’clock we spontaneously decided to go to the beach! The beach was at high tide, so we couldn’t see the tide pools, but it was still super fun. Then we made a quick pit stop a chipotle for a prefect pre race dinner, headed back, and hit the hay! 

Sunday morning started with waking up, eating breakfast, and getting everything ready to racc. On my warm up I started to get pumped for the long race ahead. I thought about how it would be like going race pace for thirty miles and how hard it was going to be, but I was determined to give it my best. Riding up to the start line it was getting hot, so we put some ice in our back pockets to stay cool.   Once we took off the first mile felt really fast and I tried my best to keep up. A couple  miles in the groups split and it was just my sister and me working together to catch up.  The most challenging part of the first half of the course was the sandy steep uphill that I had to run up, it felt like forever and my calf’s were on fire! The single track was full of making passes and keeping up the pace. Hayley and I stayed together until after the feed zone, where I was able to break away and stay all by my self the rest of the race. There were many fun single track decents and some long climbs. The last fire rode climb I felt strong and gave it my best to stay at a constant speed. The last five miles was a rolling single track with many ups and downs. My legs were very tired at this point so I used all the energy l had left and finished in 9th place!

Overall this weekend was beyond amazing and I had a lot of fun. I was pleased with my results considering this was my first Sea Otter. I’m so proud of all my teammates and how well they did! A huge thank you to all the sponsors who made this race run so smoothly, can’t wait till next year!!!

Vail:SoCal race # 4

Sunday morning my sister and I woke up early and got ready to pre ride the course. On the pre ride we scouted our lines and stopped a lot on the Varsity add on to dial in our confidence on the tarantula decent. I really enjoyed how the course was layed out and I was pretty exited to race later that day.

After pre ride we chilled out at the team pit and got everything set up. Once it was time to warm up I got all my gear and got my legs spinning. The sky started to clear up and the sun was beating down, it was hot! I decided to put some ice cubes in my back pocket before we lined up to keep cool. I was fortunate to get a call up and had a front line start.

The first lap felt really short and I was sitting in fifth place, with my sister just seconds behind me. I was really close to making it up marine core, but I had to run about 10 feet of it. I could see people not to far in-front of me so I really tried to pick my pace up, but my legs said otherwise, they were starting to feel the effects of a double race weekend.

Second lap my sister and I switched from fifth and sixth through out the lap, we each would switch off leading in an effort to catch fourth place. I felt really confident on tarantula and I felt like I was flying down the single track. By the end of the second lap Hayley and I were  neck and neck!

Third lap seemed to be the most painful lap of all. I made my break from Hayley on the first fire road climb and was alone the rest of the lap. I could see fourth place really close to me but I was unable to catch her by the finish of the race.

I finished fifth place! I can't wait till league finals in a couple weeks to push my hardest and give it my all. I'm so proud of all my teammates and thankful for everyone that made this race run so smoothly. Stoked to race for the next three weekends and happy to have a double 5th place race weekend!

Golden State Series: Bonelli

On Wednesday the Devo team met up to preride the course, it was my first time riding in Bonelli. The course was a little challenging, with some steep hills and bumpy down hill, but I still was exited for the double race weekend to come. On Saturday I woke we early, ate breakfast, packed my things and left to the race. When we got there we registered and hopped on the trainers. I was sure to keep hydrating because I knew it would be a hot race.

Every cat one girl started together on the starting line, this made it a little tricky figuring out who was in my age group. Mid-way into the first lap I felt my legs start to get in the rhythm of racing and I started to pick up my pace. I could see a girl ahead of me that looked my age, so I set a goal to catch up to her before the end of the first lap. I caught her right before the last decent to the finishing area, and managed to create a gap. It was starting to heat up A LOT going into the second lap. Second lap I felt much more comfortable on the descents and my legs felt better on the climbs. The heat was starting to get to me, but I thought just one more lap. Going to the third lap I switched out my bottle and stared with a good pace on the climb. My legs were starting to get tired, but I saw another girl, so I increased my pace to catch up to her. The rest of the third lap it was a battle between her and I. The second to last steep climb she got in front of me and I started to fall back, but kept in mind that the finish was not even a mile away. Before the last descent to the grass I sprinted to the single track and secured my spot in front of her. The finish was full of many twists and turns, and once the straight away opened up I stood up and sprinted to the finish!

Once I finish it was immediately time to start the recover process for Vail on Saturday. I did my cool down then I went to check the results, and I got 5th place. I was happy with my placement because it was an improvement from the week before. After packing up, we got Chipotle and made our way to Vail for the high school race the next day!