Granoque

Granoque. A true Love & Hate relationship for me...

But first... HUGE thank you to everyone that made this event happen. Marc, you rule.

Thank you to Everyone. The ones who spend their hours getting the trails ready, the sponsors, the DuPont's for letting us tear up their estate. Great venue, great cause, great $$ raised.

Thank you's to everyone cheering. It really was quite motivating (and surprising!) hearing my name yelled out from everywhere. Thank you to Diane for warning me not to pass when I would have ended up in a water pit if I had!

The love & hate....
Love.... such an awesome place, awesome group of people, the day of hanging about - A blast!
The single track.. some of the best. The sun was shinning. Truly another awesome venue.

Hate...
See, my mountain bike and I don't get along with each other when there's not rocks, roots or mud under her tires. We develop this failure to communicate.... I say move forward when I pedal, she says nope, you gotta pedal faster. I couldn't.
This SUCKED for me. Grassy climbs, dirt flats and a paved road climb. Not friends of mine.

This was another race that my time at the front was limited to the starting line.


Sorry out there for all those who cheered. Yesterday was not my day. From the start I feel back on the first little climb to the tower, met with the bottleneck coming from the backside of the tower, managed to pass a few on the little downhill before heading into the FUN twisty section (did I mention FUN) even passed another after the grass/gravel flats. My first lap did not have a groove. My finishing position had already been determined. 5th out of 7 in my class. (Only hubby gets to crown the boy's with a medal this week.. a great 2nd place finish!)

I began cramping in my first lap. Even though I had and was drinking plenty. Even during endurance races I didn't have cramping like this. I made sure to drink my bottle empty before finishing lap one where hubby was kindly waiting with a fresh bottle. (I'd share the picture he took here but... um... it's really really awfully embarrassing). I was dreading a second lap. But the second lap was an interesting mix... The second lap is when I enjoyed the singletrack even more. I somehow got into a fun groove (even while getting sick throughout, my stomach had turned and needless to say this race's pre-nutrition regiment won't be repeated)

Granoque is a blast to ride, mostly. I still hated the grass... but moreso that paved climb. But heck by the second time up it I was going to the finish. It didn't even matter.

But I can't wait to tackle it next year! (and I might even keep my 'cow' bracelet on til then)