Coconut Cup #5-Quiet Waters

Quiet Waters is another new trail for me.  It's located in Deerfield Beach FL.  This is the first time in years that the Coconut Cup has raced here.  I came early on Saturday so I could get a few practice laps in.  Like every new trail I go to in Florida, I struggle a bit at first.  There's just something about these Florida trails that is so different than the ones in Michigan.  The terrain was rocky and seemed pretty loose and gravelly in a lot of the corners but by the second practice lap I felt like I had decent handle on things.

The morning of the race proved to be just as cold and crappy as predicted.  52 degrees and light rain.  I was OK with it.  I've raced in conditions like this many times in Michigan.  Not my favorite, but I knew what to wear and how to ride in the rain! I was excited.  I'm feeling super strong right now and I was rested and ready to race.  I knew the weather would keep a lot of Floridians away.  This was a bummer for me.  I love it when more Pro women show up to race against.  Yes, it makes me more nervous, but it makes it so much more fun! Unfortunately, no other Pro ladies showed up to race.  I was bummed and it changed my game plan for the day.  All I needed to do was finish to get my first place points for the series. With this in mind, I decided to not warm up and stay out of the rain as long as possible. I also asked the race director if I could start behind all of the Cat 2 guys. This trail has zero passing options so I thought it best to stay out of their way since I wouldn't be riding "all out." I decided to ride fast but not my usual "ride til you barf or crash." There was just no reason to throw up or hurt myself ;-)

Heading to the start with Tom

I actually started out with the Cat 2 women.  After the first few minutes I took off from them and rode solo for most of the race. The trail was amazing with the sprinkling of rain on it! All of the loose dirt had firmed up and the course was fast!  In the first lap I was flying around a corner and was completely caught off guard by an animal in the trail! I screamed like a girl, jammed on the brakes, and skidded to a stop two inches away from a raccoon.  He would not move out of the trail and we stared at each other in confusion for a few moments. The best part of my first lap was coming through the chute and hearing "HEY BUCKAROO" ( My dad still calls me this).  My parents were in town from Michigan and had braved the super crappy weather to come watch me! So awesome!  My second lap was pretty uneventful.  I was just out riding my bike at a fun, but semi-fast, pace and giggling every time I got some air over the bumps!
I figured today would be a good day to practice drinking out of water bottles like the big kids do.  As I rode through after my second lap I reached for my bottle like a pro...and then dropped it on the ground.  Sigh, I guess we'll stick with the camelback for next time. By the third lap the rain was really coming down.  The trail had filled with an inch or so of water. This was Michigan-like racing at it's finest.  My shoes and socks squished with each pedal stroke, the water poured off my helmet into my face, and mud was splashing everywhere.  You know its cold and crappy when you can't decide if you should leave the warm snot on your face or try to wipe it off with your cold wet sandy glove...

Great day of riding with no crashes, just fun! However, I was glad to be done! I couldn't wait to get out of my soaked gear and into some warm clothes.  Come to find out, the winner of the Cat 2 women should have been Cat 1 so they moved her up to my category as a second place finisher which bumped up my first place payout. Weird day of racing but the first place points are nice for the series!  I'll take it!  Team Stradalli did awesome. Our newest team member Jonathan placed first and Tom finshed 3rd. Stradalli, bringing home the bling!