sm266

I have my first race Sunday-12 miles of flat fast singletrack. Beginning Solo Women catagory. any suggestions? https://chainwheel.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=218

blugrassbri

my biggest suggestion ....Ride fast....

seriously though, pace yourself, many a rider have come off the start line at 110% only to bonk 1/2 way through the race.

drink tons of water during the 1-2 days before the race...eat well...get enough rest the night before...ya know most of the things your mom would say to you when you were a kid.

good luck

Dannihilator

Don't expect much out of the first race. If you place well, good job, but don't be suprised if you aren't placed too well, but be glad you survived and the most important thing, have fun regardless of position.

Mad Dog JR

i think the first race is the hardest, along with the last of the seasson. If you can try and ride the trail a head of time to get familiar with what your up agenst, take note of things like hills, technical sections and places to pass and not to pass and places you should go full out and where you can and should rest a little.

what i do and seams to work with me is to try and find the fastest guy (or girl in your case) and try and stay with them as long as possible or if you are faster... kick there butt and drop em. but for the first race, just see what king of competition you are up agenst and pace yourself along with having fun. but on the next races to come try and push as hard as you can, its crazy... your body can go a lot farther than your mind sometimes, so if you are getting tired and your in pain, just keep pumping. think of positive go get em things just dont kill yourself by going to hard

sm266

Well, it was an experience. I went in with some lame goals-don't be last and have fun. Of course, I didn't really "race;" I kinda just checked out the sport and rode along. A couple of times I forgot that I was supposed to be "racing." I stopped and changed a guy's tire for him; and pushed another up a hill. But after seeing the results and how much I had left in my body, I wish I had gone harder. I'll save that for next time, though. I did notice my confidence level on the bike has increased quite a bit, and I'm itching to maybe pick up a couple of races next year. I had a lot of fun, though.

The thing I wasn't really comfy with was passing others on singletrack. Any suggestions?

dirtbikedude

As long as you enjoyed the expieriance. Thats what counts. Also, helping out the others, although i would not do it during a race, will help you get to know the other racers and you will have people to hang out with at the races which will make for even better time.