OCup 4 - Albion Hills

I was delira and exira to be to my old self this week. The weather was cooler which was great. I knew I wouldn't need so much water and that I wouldn't overheat.

I had pre-ridden the course and knew that I could really push it because it was fairly non-technical.

As usual the atmosphere at the race was fun and friendly and you start to recognise familiar faces at this point. We put up the tent right at the starting line which was very handy as we could just watch the goings and comings from the comfort of our picnic table.

I brought the wind-trainer this week and felt like a bit of an egit warming up as it's pretty loud! Anyway, once I got over the shame, I realised that it was good as I was able to get the heart pumping before I tackled the first hill.

We lined up at 10 am and were ready to go. Isabelle, Kara, Rebecca and I were in the same group so we there was some pre-race chat of course.

And we were off!

The hills definitely take it out of you but thankfully, there's a great mix of smooth single track and downhills that allow you to get your breath back.

I was really racing this one. I tried to pass as many people as possible. I think my competitive streak got the better of me and I passed one girl on a corner and of course took it too fast and bang! I was down. I got up as quick as I could because I didn't want to be wasting time.

I rode most of the course in my middle ring and hammered up the hills as hard as I could. It really helped that we had had our racing skills clinic with Steve Neal at Albion Hills as we covered some parts of the course and his words kept ringing in my head'- 'outside to outside', 'shift quickly as  you come to the top of a hill'!

I was following a group of girls quite closely and we seemed to be riding at an equal speed. A guy wanted to pass me and I let him go in front of me opening the gap between me and the girls in my category. I found it really hard to catch them. I think they were quick on the twisty trails through the forest and unfortunately, I never caught them again. The last of that group beat me by 1 min at the end so I was mad that I didn't push harder.

Towards the end of my second lap, I noticed a girl in blue following quite close behind. I wasn't sure if she was in my category so I tried very hard to keep ahead of her. I knew once I got to the fairly quick descent at the end that she wouldn't be able to pass me as the trail narrowed before it opened out for the finishing line. I really cranked it and she came in seconds after me.

I came 7th this time - a bit different from my 4th of the first race, but overall, I was really happy with my race. It went much better than hardwood hills and I felt strong. I'm gonna spend this month really training hard for the next one at Buckwallow and hopefully, I'll feel just as strong.

Roll on Buckwallow!