2014 O cup #3 - Sir Sam's - All about the rocks

My first time to Sir Sam's!   I loved it!
The terrain & course was totally different - more technical & rough & steep!  Like nothing I have raced before!

Pre riding on Saturday - first lap around - I found the climb up to be not as bad as it looked from the bottom, the twisty trails at the top to be pretty rough/rooty/rocky so really happy for full suspension, and the downhill to be really pushing the edge of my comfort zone for steep downhill switchback corners plus general steepness!

 And...one other thing...a BIG pile of rocks on a bmx section at the top near the chairlift that concerned me.  First lap of pre-ride I checked it out but decided to save riding it for pre-ride lap 2 when I was riding without stopping to chat so much and had more of a riding flow.  All I decided about it at that point was that it looked like the right side was the better way over.

Then pre-ride lap 2 happened with no chance to try the BIG pile of rocks. By then they were running Eliminator races and had the section closed off!  So....I watched a whole lot of people ride over it (mostly Elite riders who make everything look easy) and noticed that the line I was thinking to ride over looked best.

So I finished pre-riding Saturday thinking the start hill wasn't too bad, the BIG pile of rocks was concerning but I had a plan and have ridden so many piles of rocks lately (though not with such BIG boulders!) I was confident I could get over it, the twisty trails at the top were all good & fun, & the downhill I was respectful of & a touch nervous of.  Those double black diamond  & caution signs on the downhill trails were having full effect on me!

Then on Sunday....race day...

I had a terrible start!  Total opposite of Mansfield!  I was called up to the front row again (so cool - love lining my wheel up like that!), they said go...and a whole bunch of people zoomed ahead of me!  Bleah!!  So I had to settle in to climbing up the ski hill and try to pass whenever I could.   The past 2 O cups had nice wide start hills so easy to pass...this time it was not easy at all because the trail up was like a goat path switchbacking upward with just a few wider spots.   But...I was able to pass a few people on the hardest sections of the climb - there were 2 extra steep sections my bike made me climb faster - no jet pack super power - just because of having fewer gears -  I had no choice but to suck it up & pedal!

Yeah! 

Then it seemed like 2 mins later we were at the BIG pile of rocks.......and......

Oh yeah - I was pretty pleased!  And suddenly conquering those BIG rocks made me see the whole rest of the technical stuff on the course as fun instead of scary.  Especially the downhill & all those switchbacks.  Yahoo!  Still thinking about the downhill trail.  So much fun...and with all that the blur of a race still on....and another 5th place finish!