MY FIRST RACE IN 10 MONTHS
I FINALLY GOT TO RACE! I haven’t raced since mid-November 2020, or even ridden since January 2021. I am stoked! The doctor has said I am healed and released to start riding again but supposed to “take it easy”.
My first ride back was like I hadn’t been off the bike for 8 months. It was freaking great!! Each time, I am making less mistakes, my speed is faster than before and I feel great. With all of that in mind, I felt like I could handle the 35-minute Ladies A race. So, I lined up.
Saturday morning, I was a big ball of excitement. To burn off some energy, I pedaled for 30 minutes. I really needed to chill out lol. I was not nervous just so ready! Practice rolled around and I did two laps. This was the first time I had ridden in the woods; I have only been practicing on our moto track. I did not have any meltdowns and wasn’t scared of trees or anything.
The track was freaking sick! It had fast field blasts, fast wood sections, and handlebar tight turny sections. It was great and I was ready to rip!!
During the 65 race, the rain started to come down. I was pretty bummed because I didn’t know if it was smart for me to race with conditions being sketchy when the doctor said to “take it easy”. I wanted to race so bad, so I said screw it. The rain finished up 10 minutes before the ladies race and did not rain at all. Mother Nature knew I needed to ride!
I grabbed the holeshot and took it easy for the first few laps, trying to judge the slickness. By mid-race, conditions were EPIC! Ruts were forming and the dirt was tacky. My pace significantly increased. On my second to last lap, I had a really close call. In one of the wood sections, it was open, fast, and allowed for 4th gear pinned. It was sick. My shoulder was getting sore at this point in the race and I couldn’t maneuver the bike as well. There was a very slight turn in this section and if you continue going straight, it would be smash city into a huge tree. I literally thought I was going to hit it, my brakes did not slow me enough and my body could barely get the bike to miss it. BUT I did! That incident was enough for me to chill out on the last lap and just finish. I ended up 1st.
I had an absolute blast. It is hard to find the right words with how it felt to be back out there again. I have the racing bug like I did when I first started racing. I am ready to get fully back and race AS MUCH AS I POSSIBLY CAN!
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