Beastway '06

[DirtDiva]

So, I was trawling around the internet one day, and I stumbled on this series of races. It made me think. Hmmm. That looks as though it wouldn't matter if/that I'm rubbish. At the very least it'd ensure that I get at least one ride on real dirt each week. Maybe I should give it a go...

I managed to talk one of my friends into being a little bit curious, so we went along for a look-see on the first night. We stood in the pouring rain and watched everyone go 'round. We were hooked already! Besides, there were only two women racing; as long as we could complete each race, we'd have to end up scoring some points (top ten in each cat get points)! They change the course a bit each week, but you can go ride all the trails during the week (for a small fee) as long as there are no events on. We decided to go along on the Monday (a holiday, luckily) and check it out before we made our final decision. Very worthwhile.

Wednesday dawned and I was really quite excited. As the day dragged on I bacame more and more and more (and more!) scared. By four o'clock I was about ready to explode. Decided not to tempt fate by having that afternoon coffee after all. Thankfully, by then it was just about time to grab something to eat and get changed and all. T was swinging by my place at five and we were going to ride up to the cycle circuit. We made pretty good time - forty-five minutes at a semi-leisurely pace (although it may have just been the nervous energy...).

Got there, filled out our forms, twisty-tied our numbers on and headed out for a practice lap. Definitely glad we did that. There was one monster climb that we had seen before, but there turned out to be a second one that was almost as bad. You know the kind: your legs need to be in the granniest of grannies, but you haven't got a hope of traction until you're well into your middle ring. Suffered a catestrophic twisty tie failure out there somewhere, but at least that was well within my mechanical capabilities (and my number didn't come off completely). Headed back to the club rooms and chilled out (if such a thing can be said of two pants-wettingly nervous folk ) for forty minutes or so before the race.

There were eight women in the line-up this week (plus one in the youth categories): one vet, five masters and two in sport. Halleluia! I couldn't do worse than second in my class! There were only one or two in the women's line up who seemed to be taking it really seriously, so it was nice to have a bit of a laugh with the others while we waited to start.

Got off to a reasonable enough start - behind five, ahead of two. The novice men started just behind us, so about half of them passed me really quickly. One of the women who was behind me passed me on the first monster uphill (not hard, given that I was doing a dead stop, trying to get a foot out before the thistles could get me kind of a move). Next I saw of her she was in the grass, bike upended, tube in hand.

I'm pretty sure everyone and their dog passed me at some point, but most of them were really clear and polite about it. One or two surprised me because the front person called out, but then the person behind didn't. Oh, and the leading woman (also the one who seemed to be taking it most seriously - possibly not a coincidence...) called out that she was coming through, but didn't tell me what side, even after I'd asked. When she called out again she got quite a loud "Well tell me what side and I can move!" It did the trick. [ETA: No, wait! I passed one of the novice men (he was completely done for by then) on a downhill quite near the end. Go me! ]

I never made it more than halfway up either of the monsters, and there was one other hill that got me right near the end in lap three. My drivetrain was making some pretty unhappy noises after a while. (Apparently I talk to my bike; one guy turned his head in surprise when he heard "Oh, for ****'s sake! Shut up an give me a gear! You're having your service on Tuesday!" - guess who was tired and cranky by this point... ). There were a couple of really fun bits too: one fab banked turn that you could go as fast around as you dared, plus a neat wee bump I got a sweet little air off of on my last lap (the marshall there even gave me a cheer for it ). Oh, and luckily I had spotted the photographer at the top of a tough little climb, so he got a big ol' toothy grin instead of a death grimace. I'll post the photo when it's up. If it's good, I might even have me a new avatar.

All in all, a great experience. Everyone was really friendly and encouraging. I even met my goal of three laps (I was unbelievably glad not to have to do another! ), and my top secret, don't tell anyone goal of doing it in under an hour (you finish whatever lap you are on when the leading expert bloke wins - not sure when they give him the bell, but I'd guess whenever he comes around at about the 45-50 minute mark). There's eight more races (and then a team race, but I have no team), so I hope to be completeling four laps by the end of it.

And there you have it. Can't wait for next week!

[mtbdarby]

way to go Kiwi! I love how your personality comes through in your posts. Sounds like you found yourself a new hobby - did T do it too? And glad to hear there were no holly bushes there to grab you.

[DirtDiva]

T wasn't sure how much she had in her, so she did one lap and then went in for a cup of tea. It meant that she got a DNF though (we weren't sure if it would or not), so next week she's determined to do two and get a finish (and then have a cup of tea).

I'm not sure how I'd fare in something where everyone was all hardcore and serious, but this is big fun.

[DirtDiva]

OMG!! I left out the most important part! I won womens sport class (20-29 year olds for this series) because the other girl had a mechanical or whatever and pulled out after two laps! (I did wonder how she didn't lap me... )

I rule!

[bikerz]

I rule!

Yes you do! Great write up - can't wait to read the next one!

[DirtDiva]

I'd watch it with the compliments z - I might get a big(ger) head!

[bikerz]

You could always blame it on the swelling from your ill-fated holly encounter!

So where is the toothy grin you promised? (Thanks to Jobob and her ever-present camera, my hill-climbing grimaces are always being documented!)

[DirtDiva]

I've got to wait until they post 'em on the website. So sometime next week, most likely.

[DirtDiva]

The photos aren't up proper-like yet, but if you scroll down far enough, you can see me here. This one's a bit more death grimace than toothy grin though.

Tonight's race went well. Still only did three laps, but I would've had a fourth in me if I'd had the speed to need to do it - a big improvement on last week. 99.9% sure I was the only one in my class tonight. No idea what my time was yet, but it ought to be better than last week, because the course was easier. I did stop about four times to raise my saddle though - bike got serviced the other day and they rather overdid it when they greased the seatpost. I managed to dent a spoke when another rider and I got a little close right near the end. The wheel's not too far out of true, so at least I could ride home. Must make a booking with the bike doctor.

I'm going away for a few days tomorrow, but I'll try and give you a few more details next week sometime. Right now I need some shut-eye. Night y'all.

[Trekhawk]

T wasn't sure how much she had in her, so she did one lap and then went in for a cup of tea. It meant that she got a DNF though (we weren't sure if it would or not), so next week she's determined to do two and get a finish (and then have a cup of tea).

I'm not sure how I'd fare in something where everyone was all hardcore and serious, but this is big fun.

LOL that is such a cool ride report. Love the talking to your bike part.

Congratulations you racing guru.

See your friend has it right - riding and a cup of tea - aaahhh heaven.

Trek- off to put the kettle on - hawk

[DirtDiva]

Thoroughly so-so. Physically I was fine, but I was way off mentally.

It's been a nice, but really lazy week. I didn't want to ride my bike until the spoke had been fixed from last Wednesday, but I couldn't get that done until today, so no riding for a week. And instead of running or swimming or something to take up the slack and help me keep getting fitter, I went to Dublin for three days to visit friends and ate and drank lots instead.

Basically, I just couldn't bring myself to push myself, which is a bit frustrating really. There was one climb I totally know I could clean, and another couple I'm pretty sure I could have made if I could have just set my mind to it. There was one that was just impossible though, so I don't feel bad about walking that one three times.

I also got knocked over by some doofus who didn't take enough space to pass. He had masses of room, but was obviously paying more attention to the three folk chasing him, so somehow he bashed my handle bars and next thing I was on the ground getting up close and personal with some rather long grass. At least it wasn't one of the many (manymanymanymany) nettles about the course that I landed on, so no owies except for a bit of a pedal bruise.

I had some competition tonight, so unless one or both of them had to drop out, I'll be looking at third place this week. Photos from last week still aren't up, but I'll keep you posted.

[Lise]

Cool story and pix! Are you in the top picture (211) or bottom (146)? Where's the holly? Seriously, though, those hills look brutal. Good for you! Looking forward to more tales of adventure racing.

[Trekhawk]

First I must say I love your new pic.
Lise is right good for you getting out there and giving it a go. The thought of racing makes me hyperventilate. Not an issue for me though as I hear you need to stay upright for most of the race and I seem to have a problem with that on my MTB at the moment.

[DirtDiva]

I'm 146. The new avatar is from the start of last week's race - that's my front wheel in the foreground! Oh, and there's no holly, just nettles.

[DirtDiva]

It was a good fast course this week. Flowed nicely for the most part, except for the sharp turns at the bottom of both of the noteworthy descents. Killjoys! Two climbs I didn't make this week. One would probably have been fine on fresh legs if there hadn't been a corner in the middle of it (sometimes my multitasking abilities let me down when it comes to steering and forward momentum up hills). The other was very short and very steep and I had fast blokes right behind me each time I got there, so it was easier to just stop and let 'em past and then push the bike up. Saw a few people rolling backwards on that one, so probably wouldn't have made it up anyway.

I posted an okay time for my three laps, but that was more an indication of the course than my performance - had a major case of dead legs. I think it was mostly to do with the dregs of the cold I've had, and I possibly hadn't had enough to eat or drink over the course of the day. Might not have been a fine performance, but the effort did a good job of calming the jitters I've had all week (have been wasting time stressing over things neither I nor anyone else can do a heck of a lot about - I'm sure you've all been there).

Hope I'm germ-free and raring to go next week.