Wow, that race in Renfrew on Sunday was pretty darn special. The course was a challenging one with two climbs that really sucked my legs right off and mangled my lungs. (But in a good way!) There were some cool technical features – the off-camber, some funky corners, the fun little ditch and gravel that all culminated in a fun course. Oh and we can’t forget the awesome section in the woods – this was a super section of pedaling and ripping through corners. So yeah, Sunday at Ma-Ta-Wey park was great.

But what put it over into the awesome spectrum was the cheering. Wow – there were people all over the course cheering for what felt like a very long race! Thanks so much for the cheers. It really does help so much when you feel like you’re going backwards to hear someone yell out your name or to yell something like “Vicki, keep pedaling” or “Vicki, where’s your game face?” or “Come on Vicki, catch her on the hill”. These words really do stand out when I’m racing and help so much.

So thanks heaps to everyone for the cheering. I’ll do my best to cheer for you next week in Cornwall.

The race itself on Sunday was a good hard one – as all ‘cross races are. I found the weather to be one of the most challenging aspects of the day. It was hot. Really hot. At points I was debating peeling my skin suit down for a bit or unzipping – but I gathered some self-control and resisted this option. For the last two laps besides having bad thoughts about the climb to the finish line, all I could think about was water.

I really do think we have some of the most supportive and enthusiastic racers out there. It’s so refreshing to see people hanging out before the race – pre-riding together and helping one another with lines. And then after the race, everyone is telling their race story and congratulating one another. There is nothing better (for me) than seeing women who have gradually gotten stronger and better at racing cyclo-cross – this is what racing and cyclo-cross is all about – encouraging people to improve and urging them forward.

A huge thanks to the folks who were out in Renfrew bright and early for set-up and a big thanks to everyone who helped out with tear-down (we got that course down pretty quickly). As always, huge thanks to Bob and Cheryl for their tireless volunteering.