Wrestling A Bear

Well, here we are. On the eve of the final stage of the British Columbia Bike Race. Multistage racing is a funny thing. When you're in the middle of it you feel like there's so much more left to get through. Each day gets ticked off in its own right, packed full of the same routine. Breakfast (lots of). Chamois cream (lots of). Race. Eat. Sleep. Fit in some stuff which you hope will help your recovery. Fit in some travel to get from stage to stage. Before you know it, each day flies by and then the week is over.

 Water taxi transition to race start!

While, I will be relieved to have a day off eating breakfast at a certain time and getting on my bike to race on Sunday, I will also feel a little sad that it means I will have completed my racing in Canada. The reason I came to race the BC Bike Race was to become a better racer. A full week of racing on technical terrain seemed an ideal springboard for other endurance races later in the calendar. But, even I would not have imagined how transitional the experience would be.

Race ready

Pitting myself against one of the best there is has been incredible. It has also been a bit like wrestling a bear. Every day I have learned more about racing. More about trying to improve aspects of your game that are allowing your opposition back in the race. More about trying to maximise your own strengths during the course of the race to try to make a winning move work. More about a different style of trails and the technical riding skills a cross country rider needs to possess. More about how the girl you are racing against rides so efficiently. Of course, while none of this has changed the result in black and white (with a string of very consistent second places since Stage 1), each stage has become a more intensely fought battle. To the extent that today, after one hour and 58 minutes of racing hard against each other, Wendy Simms and I had a little laugh together. We could both predict exactly how it would unfold. "So, here we are again", she says. Both racing bikes that suited our own riding styles. Climber versus technical rider. Hardtail versus fully. Pro versus amateur.

Battling it out on Stage 5

I'm not alone in the interest that our battle has sparked. Fellow racers at the pointy end of the field have given support as we race by. Spectators, marshalls and event organisers have yelled out encouragement and time splits. At the checkpoint today, when we arrived at exactly the same time 27 kilometres into the race, someone yelled out "Wow, girls. No second, just first and first". I have ridden myself proud. My favourite interview question of the week has been, "So Kim, what's it like to have come from winter on the other side of the world to race your first multistage race, riding in BC for the first time on trails that are new to you, racing on a hardtail and being right up there with Wendy Simms?". I guess I never saw it like that. I came here to race. Brought my A game every day. Never gave up or backed down. And somehow, managed to give the local girl something to think about.

"She came back from the dead like five times."

"It's always good to see someone with heart not giving up despite having odds against them. There are still two days left and if she keeps playing the game to win, her day might be sooner than later."

Full reports here and here

It's a week that I will certainly remember. And build on. And I will definitely be back for another BC Bike Race. If only to prove it can be won on a hardtail. In the meantime, there's one more day of racing to enjoy.

 

Penulis : Unknown ~ Sebuah blog yang menyediakan berbagai macam informasi

Artikel Wrestling A Bear ini dipublish oleh Unknown pada hari Friday 5 July 2013. Semoga artikel ini dapat bermanfaat.Terimakasih atas kunjungan Anda silahkan tinggalkan komentar.sudah ada 0 komentar: di postingan Wrestling A Bear