My First Race

3 Pages 697 Words

My First Race

My first mountain bike race was an experience I will never forget. The day started off before the hot sun had even rose. The morning dew was still lying on the ground like a blanket of crystals. As I loaded up the car with the help of my parents, I realized that I was extremely anxious and ready to go. Pulling out of the drive way there was no stopping until we reached the race site, an hour and a half away, at Kickappoo State Park. When arriving I remember seeing bright neon orange signs directing us through the park and to the registration table.
After registering and buying a one day racing license, I realized that I was not ready to go. So I frantically ran to the car, unloaded everything that I was going to need including my bike. Then I quickly put my bike together and made sure everything was in the best working shape it could be. However, I would find out later that this was not the case. So after getting everything ready I jumped on my bike and went for a quick warm-up ride to get my aching muscles loosened up. When I returned from this ride, I did a quick look over of my clean bike and was ready to start the race.
When it was time to start the race my stomach was a nervous mess. I honestly thought I was going to be sick, but the time had come to start the race. The starter explained all the rules and how the course would be marked off, then counted down from three. As I heard him say go my adrenalin took over my body and the race was on. Riding this course before I had some insight on the harder parts of the trail, this allowed me to pace myself and not burn all of my energy at the very beginning. As the race went on my heart and breathing started getting faster and more intense. As this happened I realized that I had to bear through the excruciating pain and plow on.
Once we got further into the trail, everyone realized that it was a muddy mess that smelled of rotten leaves. So much to our surprise a...