Provincial Championships: Kelso Conservation Area ~ This is Home

I have been waiting excitedly for this race ever since I found out that it would be held at Kelso -- my home turf. I have been racing the Kelso Tuesday night series for about 8 years now so I can ride the trails in my sleep!

The course that the Kelso team put together was fantastic! There were plenty of hard trails with lots of rocks and roots and twisty part but also plenty of fast, high speed trails. I was really happy to be riding ugly up (in the down direction) again. This is a steep trails with a rock drop at the top and roots at the bottom that is tough but lots of fun once you get the hang of it (plus I felt like a rock star riding it).


Race day came with a lot of nerves along with a lot of excitement. No matter what happened I knew I would have fun riding the trails I love... the only problem was that those trails had been rained on the night before and were quite slick.

I started the race quick in order to make it to the hill first because I knew I would be able to go up fast. I've felt strong on the hill recently and wanted to use that to my advantage. I led until halfway when Kelly passed me, with Nicole hot on her heels. I tried to stay on their wheels but, at the top of the hill, my stomach cramped up. I hadn't eaten quite enough before the race and I had drunk too much water. I pushed through the cramp but it slowed me down and the girls managed to open a gap.



I continued to chase, riding with the ladies from the other category that started at the same time as us. I ran into some trouble later on in the race when I came off on the slick rocks. It was also a surprise to me that the course went all the way up the second hill because the original course that I had ridden went only halfway up.

Going onto the second and last lap I could see Nicole and Kelly, still together, climbing up the hill. I continued to push hard, giving it everything I could throughout the whole lap, but I just wasn't able catch them. Both girls were super strong the entire way.

I managed to hold onto third and finished strong. I am super happy with how the race went and it was a good end to my season. I really felt that I had given it my all and that's all that matters :)

I also came third in the overall standings which I wasn't expecting after crashing on my arm mid season and having a few rough races.

Thanks to Clif and Endurance Tap as well as the Liv ladies for making this season awesome!





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