2020 Has officially started and by now you're probably over the resolutions and the “new year, new me” phase has faded, eating whatever is left in the fridge, and waiting for your first 2020 salary.
Well for me the scariest thing every year is my first race, and maybe a little bit of brokenness. I've just had my first marathon and cross-country race over the past two weekends, and trust me I was shook.
Barberton XCM Challenge
It was my first time doing this race, so I went in blind. Basically I didn’t know what to expect, but I’ve heard from a little birdie that this race is hard. Hard races are good, but then it started raining and I knew things were about to get interesting. I switched to the marathon (77km) at the 11th hour and I think this is the best decision I’ve made so far this year for me and my bike.
I was nowhere near prepared for this condition and I didn’t have the right tires. Barberton is one tough race to start the year with, from now on I’ll be there every year!
The first hour and a half to two hours was basically climbing. I mean you'd think I would love climbing - yes I do - but that day it didn’t feel like it; was more like we're climbing Everest on a bike. It was misty and muddy so I couldn’t see at that point. But I still let the brakes go where I could, everything was just muddy, even my cadence nutrition! And to make things even more interesting, Cobus challenged me to a sprint finish for 6th place. Luckily I had a bit more in the tank to take it.
GP XCO Cup #1
This just felt like a Diesel engine being forced to run on 95 unleaded petrol or a monster truck to race F1. I quickly realized how I felt and still tried pushing, but I ended up staying on one rhythm the whole race, which was enough for 2nd place. Even when my chain broke I didn’t panic, I thought to myself at least this is an indication that I actually put down a bit more watts than I thought. I now know where I am and working on it.
Well back to the drawing board with my team and looking forward to all the ventures this year.
Well for me the scariest thing every year is my first race, and maybe a little bit of brokenness. I've just had my first marathon and cross-country race over the past two weekends, and trust me I was shook.
Barberton XCM Challenge
It was my first time doing this race, so I went in blind. Basically I didn’t know what to expect, but I’ve heard from a little birdie that this race is hard. Hard races are good, but then it started raining and I knew things were about to get interesting. I switched to the marathon (77km) at the 11th hour and I think this is the best decision I’ve made so far this year for me and my bike.
I was nowhere near prepared for this condition and I didn’t have the right tires. Barberton is one tough race to start the year with, from now on I’ll be there every year!
The first hour and a half to two hours was basically climbing. I mean you'd think I would love climbing - yes I do - but that day it didn’t feel like it; was more like we're climbing Everest on a bike. It was misty and muddy so I couldn’t see at that point. But I still let the brakes go where I could, everything was just muddy, even my cadence nutrition! And to make things even more interesting, Cobus challenged me to a sprint finish for 6th place. Luckily I had a bit more in the tank to take it.
GP XCO Cup #1
This just felt like a Diesel engine being forced to run on 95 unleaded petrol or a monster truck to race F1. I quickly realized how I felt and still tried pushing, but I ended up staying on one rhythm the whole race, which was enough for 2nd place. Even when my chain broke I didn’t panic, I thought to myself at least this is an indication that I actually put down a bit more watts than I thought. I now know where I am and working on it.
Well back to the drawing board with my team and looking forward to all the ventures this year.