Should I "race" ?

[kimikaw]

We have a women-only, beginner-friendly mountain bike race here in 3 weeks. The course is a 4 mile loop with very little climbing and hardly any obstacles.

I will definitely try the course ahead of time to see whether I can do it on my bike, but...what do you ladies think? And will any of you be there (Beti Bike Bash)? .

I have my eye on that event. Not this year...but hoping some year - maybe find a way to combine it with a work trip out to Golden. Looks like a great beginner race.

Not to mention I like how they are encouraging women into mountain biking- and from the videos and coverage I saw on last year, women of all ages.

When I was out in Golden last Sept I also saw signs for a Wine, Women and Wheels MTB event in CO. Yeti/Yeti Betis help sponsor that one, which also looks interesting, but kinda fluffy (at a nice resort, yoga involved, my kinda event if I'm honest)

[jessmarimba]

I need to try the downhills a couple more times before I commit. The race starts on a (relatively) steep downhill on a fire road covered in loose gravel, before turning back something like 150 degrees onto singletrack. So basically that fire road sorts everyone, and it scares the bejeebus out of me. But hey, there aren't any water bars on the course

(I meant to go back and mention that the beginner race is 2 laps, but I bet you guys figured that out )