1. Don't put off changing your brake pads until the evening before the race
2. Remember to take your shoes with you
I did the usual early morning trip down to Rotorua for this race, a
nd with a hectic week of work behind me, I was looking forward to getting out on the bike in the sunshine and carving up some quality trails. I arrived nice and early and registered, got back to the car to kit up and realised that the shoe bag that usually contains my riding shoes was in the car, minus the shoes that should have been inside. Some grovelling got me a pair of loan shoes that were probably a size or so too big for me, but hey, beggars can't be choosy... They also had special ventilation in them (ie. holes in the toes), but at least I got to ride... Thanks Cindy!!!
We headed off from the start line and along some of the usual trails before turning off left at "Mad if you Don't" and climbing steeply up towards the likes of "Frontal Labotomy" to head down "Corners" (FUN!). My feet felt a bit floppy in my borrowed shoes, but actually not as bad as I thought they would. There was A LOT of climbing in the course, but also quite a bit of fir
e trail, which made the course much faster. The trail conditions were superb and it was such a beautiful day. My complete fail attempt at changing my own brake pads the night before meant that the levers on my front and rear brake were uneven and my braking down some of the steeper sections of trail was sketchy at the best of times... Very distracting and certainly made me appreciate the amazing work my bike mechanic does... But anyway, who really needs brakes??? (insert nervous laugh here)
I crossed the line in 2 hours 51 minutes (ok for a 45km course) in 3rd place in open female, and 5th place overall female... Then handed back my lucky shoes and headed off to get my brakes fixed...
2. Remember to take your shoes with you
I did the usual early morning trip down to Rotorua for this race, a
nd with a hectic week of work behind me, I was looking forward to getting out on the bike in the sunshine and carving up some quality trails. I arrived nice and early and registered, got back to the car to kit up and realised that the shoe bag that usually contains my riding shoes was in the car, minus the shoes that should have been inside. Some grovelling got me a pair of loan shoes that were probably a size or so too big for me, but hey, beggars can't be choosy... They also had special ventilation in them (ie. holes in the toes), but at least I got to ride... Thanks Cindy!!!We headed off from the start line and along some of the usual trails before turning off left at "Mad if you Don't" and climbing steeply up towards the likes of "Frontal Labotomy" to head down "Corners" (FUN!). My feet felt a bit floppy in my borrowed shoes, but actually not as bad as I thought they would. There was A LOT of climbing in the course, but also quite a bit of fir
e trail, which made the course much faster. The trail conditions were superb and it was such a beautiful day. My complete fail attempt at changing my own brake pads the night before meant that the levers on my front and rear brake were uneven and my braking down some of the steeper sections of trail was sketchy at the best of times... Very distracting and certainly made me appreciate the amazing work my bike mechanic does... But anyway, who really needs brakes??? (insert nervous laugh here)I crossed the line in 2 hours 51 minutes (ok for a 45km course) in 3rd place in open female, and 5th place overall female... Then handed back my lucky shoes and headed off to get my brakes fixed...
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