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!!!