At the final state round held at Lidsdale this weekend, I rode as hard as I could along the first uphill piece of singletrack to find not only had the other girls gotten away but, pretty soon, I couldn’t even see them in the distance. As the race went on, other symptoms of being seriously run down continued to appear and became harder to ignore. In the end, I decided to choose health over pride and was thankful there was no pressure to pull a miracle – I needed to finish ninth or better today to win the series, and with only three of on the start line it was hard not to feel overwhelmingly happy!
The racing has stepped up a level this year and a big thanks is in order for Craig “Spoon Boy” Amour and Duncan “the X-Fusion Dude” Miller who pulled the whole series together. Thanks also to all the local clubs and competitors who ensured great tracks to ride on, and adrenalin-pumping competition.
It would have felt pretty incredible to finish the season on a stronger note although, in terms of experiences and race results, it’s been a pretty dream-like winter – helped perhaps by the fact that a warm sleeping bag in Lithgow this weekend is as cold as I’ve been (think: not very!)!
Photos: Kath Bicknell
Kath Bicknell 