This weekend I'm doing my first expert race, my second race ever. I was feeling insanely nervous about it, like I had a rock in my stomach. The other women in the category are amazing (yes I looked up the start list and their previous race results). I would be so lucky as to eat their dust.

After suffering some anxiety, I made the decision last night to just have FUN. I'm not racing for a team, I have no expectations, it's a weekend away, I have a new hard-tail bike to try out . . . I thought for a second about moving back down to Sport, but they are only racing 12 miles. If I'm going to travel all that way and pay to ride, I want to get my money's worth and do the 18 mile race. DFL it may be for me, but I'll have fun doing it.