First Race

[Simon]

I recently took my 13 year old son (Sam)to his first mtb race and he finished an excellent 3rd [smiley=nod.gif],though an excellent day there wasn't much for me to do ,so after many years of saying I'd never race as I'd spent many years of my youth racing Moto-X [smiley=laughing.gif],since then taking up any form of racing never really appealed to me,so I bit the bullet entered my first race in (as I was informed after I'd entered) the very competitive veterans class (40-49yr olds most of which are sponsored),have to say I was more nervous than I ever was at any MX meeting ,no idea why,anyway my bike got many an admiring glance you very rarely see K2 carbons over here especially with a gold s/arm ,anyway had a great start and plodded on,inevitably I made a number of mistakes [smiley=redface.gif],didn't know the course and suffered with really bad calf cramp on the last lap [smiley=worry.gif] (thought I'd have to pull out),though I think I should of done better I eventually finished 28th out of 45,spoke to some who finished behind me (and they rode some very light weight rigids)and they where very surprised it was my first ever race,that made me feel better,I also found out I finished only 3 minutes behind a younger relative of mine who came 21st,he's been racing for years,have to say looking forward to the next race,now I know what to expect the nerves should hold,my son again showed me the way and again finished 3rd and he's not even running clipless yet,I think that puts him 2nd in the his series, [smiley=laughing.gif] Simon.  

[Scott]

Thanks for sharing!  Great story and a tip 'o' the hat to you and your son!  Last year was my first attempt at a steady racing program- smartcycles.com and I had a lot of fun-not as much as might be had if I had a son racing too!  Being in the same class and having a motocross past also I can understand your not wanting to compete-I swore I'd never do a steady course of racing also but by allowing myself to think of the course as my challenge and not other riders I eliminated the stress of rivalries and had a much better time of it-plenty of riders tried to pull me into them but I stayed focused and enjoyed whatever the routes tossed my way.  Keep us posted, Simon.

[Trail_Thumper]

My hat is off to you Dad! Good job! I've been looking to get my Daughter into racing but there is nothing out here in So Cal for the kids. Give that kid a high 5 for me!

[sammydog]

I was having a great race on the weekend until about 15km into the race (about half way), when I got the worst stomach cramps I have ever experienced. Rode another 200m, tried stretching but I felt like I had a few broken ribs.

Needless to say I got a DNF and I'm not real happy. It probably didn't help that it was about the 6th day in a row that was approaching 40 degrres celcius and I had ridden on most of them.

I can't wait though for the next round in two weeks.

[Simon]

Just thought I'd give an update,just had my second race,what a difference when you've done it before,had a better idea on the pace to run and less nerves,had a reasonable start and just kept going,only got overtaken once and he promptly crashed and never saw him again [smiley=laughing.gif],my bike ran faultlessly [smiley=nod.gif] an we did loads of overtaking,all on short steep hills dispite the lack of tread on my rear tyre (damp rooty conditions) we just sailed by whilst they seemed to just scrabble for grip (F/S & Hardtails),the track was great lots of fast single track,short steep climbs,and a section of excellent verticle drops one after the other interupted by 180 deg turns,all in all great fun and finished 14th much improved from previous result of 28th,my son (Sam)had a good race coming 5th,still leaves him second overall in the series,he's put on a growth spurt and I think very soon he'll of out grown his Orange sub3,luckily I've got a spare medium Oz frame which he's already bugging me to build up for him ,it'll be great turning up at the races with us both on K2 carbon's,Simon.

[Scott]

Thanks for the update-great reading and sounds like ideal Oz race conditions too, especially for your suspension setup Simon!  Congrats to you and your son, and let us know if/when they start posting results pics from your races.  They did for a couple of ours last year then stopped-it was by a photo business and I guess we (mtb'ers) spend on equipment rather than pics.

[sammydog]

I guess it is on the topic of first races, I have my first endurance event in a week.

I've entered in a 5 race series of 8 hour races. Should be good but I have no idea how I will cope. I haven't set myself a target (km's over the 8hrs) yet and have no idea how I am going to pace myself.

All I know about the race is that the course is 9.7km each loop.

[Simon]

Scott, results etc www.gorrick.com there is often  some pic's posted but don't think I'm in any [smiley=upset.gif] not worry just enjoying the racing.

sammydog, good luck for your upcoming series [smiley=nod.gif],sounds gruelling,but enjoy it.

Simon.