CCCX MTB Race #3 - Fort Ord

Submitted by Cristina Mann | March 24, 2010

Hey Y'all, here's my race report from our most recent Mountain Bike race, last Sunday.

How did I spend MY first morning of Daylight Savings? On my bike, of course!

Crystal clear skies, fresh seaside air, frogs croaking in the ponds, and the buzz of neighboring Laguna Seca. That's what racing at Ft. Ord is all about. Oh yeah, and sand... and climbs... and sandy climbs.

We had two racers in the Beginner Women's group of 4 - Edith and myself, while Carolyn rocked it in the Sport category. This race was a little longer than the previous race @ 17 miles. The 3 lap course consisted of many mean dirty climbs, swoopy hard rutted downhills, fast ice plant infested meadows and a couple sneaky sections to keep us on our wheels.

After my previous experience racing at Ft. Ord, where I took it easy and just cruised the whole time, finishing with the desire to do another couple laps, I thought I should actually "try racing" this time. So my first lap was fast, but tough. I powered up all the climbs (no cylcocross style run-a-bike for me!), bombed some jarring downhill, and cranked my way along the flat sections. I finished the first lap feeling tired, but pretty good. Lap 2 caused me to question why I didn't fuel better before the race. Pedaling on, I tried to hydrate myself better and slowed my pace a bit... remembering at each death-climb that I had to do this one more time. Lap 3 came with a crash: zero energy and total body ache. I wanted to quit. I stopped, listened to the frogs, gazed at the trees, and made mental notes about proper fuel and hydration for next time... duh.

We all finished our races, Edith and Carolyn both knocked out 3rd places in their categories ~ with some super fit and challenging ladies racing against them. I did finish, took 4th out of 4, and actually got a medal.... my first ever medal for anything athletic. Thank you, CCCX, see you next time... and next time I promise to be more prepared.

Founded in 2002, Velo Girls fielded our first little "race team" for the Livermore Hills Road Race in 2002. In the fall of that year, we announced the formation of the Velo Girls Racing Team. The team, comprised of almost 40 brand-spanking new racers, was developed as a true grassroots program. We provided skills clinics and training all fall before making our racing debut in 2003.

That team has continued to develop, now completing four full seasons of racing action! And we've grown beyond the development phase, with women competing in national pro events and regional CAT 2 through CAT 4 races. We've also got a strong masters presence. In 2004 and 2005 Velo Girls was the winningest women's team in northern California and Nevada, with individual racers ranked at the top of the NCNCA BAR, the Bay Area Women's Cycling Association Points Series, and the USA Cycling national rankings. Since 2002, Velo Girls has developed close to 150 new women racers through the team and our highly successful racing development program.

In recognition of our commitment to developing cycling in the US, Velo Girls was selected by USA Cycling as the 2003 Women's Club of the Year and the 2004 Division II Club of the Year.

In 2006, Velo Girls was once again honored by USA Cycling as Women's Club of the Year, and further recognized as the top team in Northern California and Nevada for developing and retaining more new racers than any other club in the district, winning the NCNCA Club Challenge. It just doesn't get any better than that!