Genevieve Whitson Elite Road Cyclist

Since landing in the States 8 weeks ago I've spent most of my time racing my heart out on the road doing a lot of criteriums and stage races..so when the Full Moon Vista crew told me there was a Fat Tire Festival taking place in town I just had to do it. I just needed to brush up on the mountain bike skills in a very short space of time and find a bike to ride..

My dirt buddies Kyle and Frank took me out to Dryer Park (30 mins out of Rochester) the saturday before the race and we hummed around sections of the course to get a feel for it. My team had given me a great 29 inch Gary Fisher mountain bike to use and this gave me the chance to 'become one with the trail'. I took this a little too literally taking too big over the handle bar slams within the first hour. Exhilarating and a little painful at the same time, but a good reminder to keep my weight back. This was my first time on a mountain bike with 29 inch wheels and I am hooked. I was descending, corning and in general just riding single track faster and with more balance and I think that when I do get another mountain bike I will seriously be considering going for the bigger wheels. There is still a fair bit of debate around the 29 inch mountain bike. They are slighter heavier with a bigger rotating mass, but they have less rolling friction, better traction and rollover obstacles with more ease. I really was surprised how much more confidently I seemed to be handling the trails. To add to the argument for the 29 inch bike, a fair few of the top USA mountain bikers are now racing on them and it doesn't appear to be slowing them down at all. That said, the bike was perfect for the race which weaved it's way through Dryer's single trail and made for a whole heap of fun. I don't often smile in races but I had a big grin on my face on Saturday.

I was really excited to see some of the roadie girls Natalie and Shana on the start line showing that they can definitely mix things up. We went off with the guys for four laps with the temperature in the late 20's and it was only 9am - back up bottles were definitely required. My legs felt like feathers (this is highly unusual but could not of come at a better time!) as we launched up the first hill and I knew I was in a for a good race. The single trail at Dryer's is technical, but not in the sense of huge rocks, roots and massive drops. It is instead very tight single trail where you have to negotiate your handle bars through trees that are engufled around the track and make a lot of 's' bend turns that are difficult to get speed on. This for me is usually my worst type of mountain bike trail. I've always struggled a bit with this type of riding but on Saturday for some reason I just seemed to be in the groove. I was having so much fun and I love the fact that on a mountain bike you have to be present in the moment. You can't go off into day dream land or you'll no doubt body slam into a tree or hurl yourself down a bank, never to be seen again...okay so maybe a bit dramatic, but it can take a while to climb back up a cliff.

The course was 95% single track (YAY) and 5% gravel road. It had a couple of really tricky sections including a zig zag descent down to a bridge followed by a sharp sandy not-a-lot-of traction climb. If you had your gearing all wrong, you wouldn't make it up, so it was a case of not getting too carried away with hitting a hard gear on the downhill. I had a few close shaves with my shoulders going through tight tree sections, and I am definitely on the small side for bike racing, so I am wondering how the guys got through?
Going into the last lap I thought I was winning but then I heard a guy in the feed zone yell out 'They are just 15 seconds up the road..' and I got confused wondering how I hadn't noticed a female rider in front. This mystery rider turned out to be the guy in front of me that I had spent the last 3 laps chasing down, but he must of borrowed a motorbike in the last lap because he took off and I never saw him again.
Rolling in first place was a great feeling, topped off with the coolest trophy I've ever had. Victor from Trail blazers who organised the race apparently hand made them himself and if there is ever an incentive to do one of his races again, the trophy has done the trick. As for the rest of the crew, Shana got 3rd and Natalie came in 4th. Frank ripped it up in the men's race to finish 7th after four crashes that had robbed his chances of a top 5 and poor Kyle suffered an epic attack of cramps that stopped him dead in his tracks on the 4th lap. I can sympathise now that I know what cramping is all about and it can literally ruin a race. Kyle probably wasted a fair bit of energy before the race tweaking my rear brake as well - BIG THANKS.

After the race Natalie and I drove to her parent's cabin just outside of Naples in the Finger Lake region. It was absolutely stunning and did not fit Natalie's description of a small house in the woods (more like a two storey wooden mansion). The cabin is up a dirt road in a relatively isolated area and the drive up there kind of reminded me of that movie 'Deliverance' but without the kid on the banjo. There was no power at the the cabin and I did not miss it at all. It was great to get back to basics and light up the campfire where I got to try s'mores. For any kiwis/aussies reading this, a s'more is like a more sophisiticated version of the toasted marshmellow with a layer of chocolate and biscuit base. Also highly addictive and dangerous for serious athletes..

On Sunday I got to check out Ontario county park. The view itself is worth it even if you don't like to mountain bike. I've loaded some photos at the end of the gallery that will give you an idea of the area. The legs felt really bad but we just ambled along and I tried to get some photos of a beaver - this was unsuccessful : (

I've got another 3 weeks in the States before I fly back to the UK, with about 8 races left on the calendar. It's going to be a shock to the system going back to the real world, after what feels like a 2.5 month vacation for me - well my kind of vacation anyway. I am sure that racing and riding bikes is not everyone's idea of a dream holiday, but I have always struggled at sitting around for extended periods of time.