Reprot from Mansfield, CT 'cross

[ChainsOflove]

Hi Girls

I went to the race at Mansfield Saturday, and had my first cross experience.
It was totally traumatic!

I got there with what I thought was plenty of time -- over an hour, and started to pre-ride. But I freaked on the very first challenge (the steep off camber thing) and almost quit right there!! Luckily, there was a REALLY nice guy at the side line who encouraged me to still try it.

But then i had to get signed up and stuff and wasn't able to pre-ride the rest.
The course was really hard compared to Glousceseter and had a bunch of mountain bike type stuff that was a shock to me as I had not been able to check it out before.

But I hung in and just like hiked thru the stuff I couldn't do, got bruised and cut up, but was laughing my *** off! The whole thing seemed kind of ridiculous what I was trying to do!

ANyway, I really had loads of fun. The crowd there was 95% men and reallly really supportive and friendly. No one was snobby and some of the guys even said "excuse me" (!?) as they hammered by my pathetic situations. : )

Def. need to do easier race next time, but I've got the bug now. I can really see how the racing thing can suck you in. I think I'm going to go to the thing in Canton Mass. this sunday. Since I have no pride left after next week, why not!!:D

[velogirl]

Congratulations on your first race.

BTW, I typically get to a race at least two hours before my start time. This gives me time to pre-ride, reg, warm-up, futz around a little, and relax (important to overcome pre-race jitters).

In CA, we can only pre-ride between races or right after a race starts, so we're pretty limited and tend to arrive early for that reason.

[SheFly]

Congrats o the first race! Don't worry about the technical stuff - that all comes with time. I will be in Canton on Sunday with a LOAD of teammates. Since our race starts at 10, I will likely try to be there no later than 9 (but definitely pre-reg on bikereg.com to get that part out of the way!).

LMK if you want to try and connect - we have a VERY supportive group of women, many of whom are doing 'cross for the first time this season.

SheFly

[ChainsOflove]

SheFLy

Thanks so much for the encouragement. Which team are you one??

Yes I want to be at Canton. Have you done canton before?


Yes I did pre-reg on bike-reg. but I didn't think I'd be required to buy a UCI liscense, and then I was nervous and had to pee about 9 times. :D

[SheFly]

While I have never done Canton before, I have spoken with a number of people who have, and I have heard good things about the course. That said, I will be sure to be there early enough to pre-ride!

I race for NEBC (Northeast Bicycle Club). This is a GREAT group of women - very supportive and encouraging, and we have had the services of a coach all season to help us with our training, racing and skills. I'll introduce you to some of the team on Sunday.

Are you sure you're registered for Sunday? I didn't see your name on the confirmed rider list. And don't worry about the needing to pee issue - it will get worse once you are lined up to start :D . For me, that's when the butterflies start doing the Olympics!

See you on Sunday.

SheFly