Tuesday evening was the WTNC at the UBC course. It was also my second crit race to date.

Monday night there was a lightening storm...which I slept through. Tuesday, was windy and blustery, with bits of rain here and there. Riding out to UBC after work was challenging against all the headwinds - but I managed.

I made sure to be ready and in the line up for the start time this week. Last week was a bit of a scramble for me, figuring out where to go and when.

The women's cat 1-2-3 rolled out first, followed by the men's cat 5, and then finally us women in the cat 4 group. The start of the course was slightly uphill, followed by a sharp right turn onto a flat and then downhill section, sweeping right corner downhill, and then another right corner going back uphill before the last right corner heading uphill and up past the finish line. It was a short and fun course.

I found the lap board this time, so I had a better idea of how much longer we had to race and how much energy I should expend. I found that I was holding back on the downhill sections because I didn't feel too comfortable getting that close to the pack in the corners. I had no problem getting ahead in the uphill sections - which I proved about midway through the race when I took the lead for about a quarter lap. My efforts were squashed when we had to neutralize for other racers to get by, and a bunch of the girls passed me...kind of defeats the purpose of being neutral?!?

My legs were certainly burning and feeling tired from the long riding I had done over the weekend. But the fatigue seemed to disappear after I got a couple laps in, and I was able to ignore it.

Last lap I tried best to stay tight with the pack and when we got around the last corner, I started to pick up my pace to sprint to the finish. I could only get so far, because I caught up to the wheel of a Glotman rider who was not going as fast as I, and I couldn't pass across the yellow line to get by.

Still, I finished in 11th place, feeling strong and happy about the entire course. I've now been out front, at the back, in the middle, squished on the side...I love how unique each race is, depending on the abilities of each rider and the course. I'm looking forward to next week's race, back at the Burnaby location.

Do you race crits? What was your first experience like?