You never know what to expect heading into the first race of the season. You don’t know whether you worked as hard as everyone else during the winter, or whether you ate too much over the holidays. The only thing you do know is that the pace will be faster than last year. It always is.
I felt really good at the start of this race. At first the pace seemed slow. I was out front, but I held back trying not to go too hard. Eventually I let a couple of riders go by, including Brad. I stayed on Brad’s wheel for a while, because that is almost always a good place to be. Just before the single track, I decided the lead rider was putting too much space between us, so I passed Brad and tried to chase him down. I don’t think I ever caught him. In fact, some other rider came up from behind and passed me at some point. He faded quickly, however, and from then on I pretty much held second place for the rest of the race. Not that there weren’t other riders close behind. Occasionally I could here Brad yelling at me, which helped me stay focused and keep pedaling. I was sure he was going to pass me any minute.
So I finished second–the best I have ever done at Red Rock. But it was a little bit hollow given that Keith flatted and had a DNF. I guess that really means that I still have no idea whether I worked hard enough this winter. Until Keith is in the mix I can’t be sure of anything, and Jason offered plenty of proof that the group will be significantly faster this year. Jason came in just behind me in third, with Brad in fourth.
But enough about my race. The best part of the day was the 9 and under race. All three of my kids were racing, including Natalie for the first time. Austin and Cole took 8th and 9th place in the 9 and under boys. Natalie took 6th place in a small field of 9 and under girls. You can see the whole thing right here: Red Rock Video