My first two Mountain Bike Races!!

The Sunshine Coaster and Ore Crusher were so much fun!! Judging by the fact that walking was a painful chore afterwards, I definitely pushed myself to my max, and now, I just need to work on skill!! I found that in both races, being a road racer and all, I was able to power up the non-technical climbs and flats and use those to my advantage, it was just when we hit the more technical sections that I couldn't ride them very fast. I found it very helpful having cyclocross skills for those obstacles that I couldn't ride- being able to dismount and mount quickly and run with my bike until I could get back on.

The Sunshine Coaster was the first mountain bike race that I had ever done, and wasn't quite sure what to expect despite the pre-race talks from my Local Ride teammates. I had a really good start, and was right up there on the climbs, once we hit the more technical trails I lost some ground, but again, was able to make it up on the non-technical climbs that followed! The race was so much fun despite all my crashes, and gave me a taste of mountain biking! I couldn't wait for Ore Crusher after that :)

Once again, we hit the road early and got up to Squamish BC with plenty of time before the race! So we (the team and I) pre-rode half of the muddy (but still epic) course and then it made sense what everyone was saying about there being quite a few roots...! Same as the Sunshine Coaster, I was right up there with the leaders on the non-technical start and then started loosing ground to those better technical racers. Although, I held my own and used my cyclocross skills to get myself through the mud and to the finish were I finished the Cycling BC Youth Mountain Bike Series Race and then did another lap to finish the Ore Crushers u17 race!

All in all, the small taste of Mountain Biking I have gotten these past months has been awesome! Thanks to everyones support and especially to my Local Ride teammates for all the help and encouragement!!


The Local Ride Family at the Sunshine Coaster
Finishing Ore Crusher


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