lisa morgan

Last weekend I had originally planned to do a US pro race in Wisconsin, but working through the logistics it was getting a tad pricey, so I found something a bit closer, the Raccoon Rally.  The race was held in Allegany State Park in western NY, a few hours drive south west of Ottawa and was part of a bigger weekend festival that included a road race, downhill, trials, short track and 3 distance options for the main XC event, plus a bunch of kids races - a fantastic weekend of racing during which the weather held out brilliantly.

I had a little drama a few days out when I went to ride the main loop of the course.  It was a 30 miler split in to a long loop and a shorter loop that cut out bits of the long loop.  After only 1/2 an hour I managed to put a gash in my tyre that wouldn't seal, had to walk over an hour back, and spent the rest of the day finding a shop that hadn't closed down due to the recession!  Lots of small towns...  Fortunately the first open shop was a Maxxis dealer and the Ignitor he had in 26" (more 29" than 26" in some places over here!) was perfect for the mud on some parts of the course.

The next day I managed to get the full loop in and discovered the main climb was quite the slog and very muddy under the grass.  It was also very hot in parts on what wasn't the warmest of days.

On Saturday I felt the need for an intensity hit-out after days off with the sciatica before the marathon, then a nasty gastric bug after it, so I entered the short track race after a morning driving through the local Amish area.

The course was very cool including some very tight singletrack in the middle and lots of features to make it interesting.  I was the only woman entered in the 30 minute event but took 3rd overall and had a blast!  There was still some trials happening after that - all set in natural rock features in a different area of the park.  I love watching these guys do their thing - such an amazing combination of strength and skill.  Even a chick giving it a go which you don't often see...

The main event on Sunday was a heap of fun too.  I'd been a bit worried it would just be a slog because there was very little singletrack but it turned out as a race course it was a lot of fun.  During the first lap there were a lot of people around including those from the other categories doing different lengths, and a lot of the tail ender beginner class riders were stopped resting and forming a bit of a cheer squad (lots of kids on half bikes with parents - guess the parents needed a rest...).  Between that and the guys handing out water at the summit and having a bit of a party about it it was a fun loop.  The second loop was a bit lonlier but still a good time even as the hurt set in in a big way heading up the 4 mile climb with plenty of sucking mud to sap the energy even further.

I'd traded places with a couple of girls early in the race and after about 20 minutes was in second place which is where I finished, utterly smashed but happy with how I went.  In that sense, I felt the Kiwi came out on top versus the Raccoon ;o)

Monday was a long drive home via Niagara Falls and tonight I went out and did a local womens TT race - a 15k'er close to home.  Met lots of cool chicks and went pretty well.

At the moment things are gearing up for Canada Day (1 July) which I'm really excited to experience in the Capital - everyone keeps saying it's a huge event - there is a 4 day festival starting tomorrow so I'm looking forward to getting out and experiencing what I can around my training - I've been out and got my flag and my t-shirt