![\"11216721_10206064136301061_3698751853111861042_n\"](\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/11216721_10206064136301061_3698751853111861042_n.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhen I last talked to you, I had taken some time to rest and explore the nearby mountain. That Saturday, I took the gears off of my Cysco Cycles<\/a> hardtail and, after getting some local advice, put a 34×21 gear on it (I was gonna do 32×20, but I somehow I landed here without my 20t cog). Sunday morning, I drove down to Castle Rock for the Beti Bike Bash<\/a>.\u00a0Honestly, I was going with the thought that I’d kind of get my ass handed to me, and that it’d be a good test of where I was stacking up against the supremely badass women who race in Colorado.<\/p>\n I got a little nervous. The last XC race I attended was last year’s TN State Championship race (where I was the only participant). Before that? Uhh… I don’t really remember. I’d never ridden the course, and I didn’t know the other 6 women who were singlespeeding, so my goals were to play it cool at the start and pace myself so that I’d be super consistent for all 3 laps.<\/p>\n The singlespeeders were the last group of 3-lap racers to start (behind 19 pro and more than 30\u00a0expert women). As we climbed the first short doubletrack humps before singletrack, I filtered in to 5th place. The course rolled at first, and I picked my way to about 3rd spot as we navigated a few slick turns and punchy spots. Then, the first climb. We swamped the back of the expert field. It was a battle of who could trackstand at every pitch to let racers granny gearing the switchbacks clear the way. It was incredibly tedious.<\/p>\n I eventually found myself behind the lead SS woman. I decided to stick around there for a few minutes and figure out her strengths and whatnot. Climbing- I had her. I think she was overgeared. Descending- pretty even. The combination of not knowing the course and dealing with the kitty litter turns (which I’m not that good at dealing with) made it basically a draw. So, on the next climb, I asked if I could get past, and she was nice enough to let me by.<\/p>\n I basically had to ride through most of the Expert field. Everyone was pretty nice about it. I’d ride up and politely say that I was the SS leader, and they’d\u00a0move over and let me by whenever there was a good spot. It was still exactly 1.5 laps in before I had a clear trail ahead of me with no more passing.<\/p>\n