On to day two of my race vacation.

Back on the mainland, out in Port Coquitlam at Castle Park, to race DEVO/Donkey Cross. Last year, this was my very first race; my best friend, dog, sister, my mom, and a guy I was dating were there to cheer me on. I had bought my bike just the day before the race, and had spent the evening practising dismounting, running, carrying and remounting in the dark at the park across from my old apartment. I was quite excited to be out to race.

Not my image --- was sent my way, credit to???

So, it was nice to come back this year. A year later. A new category. A slightly different course from last year.

The CrossRoad Racing team had a tent set up right near the barriers and behind the waffle truck. It was a beautiful and sunny day, but the course had been touched by rain, so it was a little damp. I was hoping for a full blown mud fest.... #bitterdisappointment

Since I was racing Intermediate, I had all day to hang out, cheer people on, warm-up and get ready. That's one benefit to racing late in the day. On the downside, it's also the last race of the day, and the course is usually pretty chewed up and drastically different from how it starts in the morning. The grass had really been churned into a few muddy pits and slippery sections (insert big happy face here).

There were a few women racing in the Intermediate category, and it was nice to see some familiar faces. I was somewhat regretting racing two days in a row, especially with such a hilly and technical course the day before. My legs were feeling quite stiff.

This was our first race with a call-up, based on the previous race's results. I was happy to be brought up to the front line. Though...there weren't too many women left on the back line!

We waited for the single-speeders and the intermediate men to make their starts, then we queued to the line. When the whistle was blown, we did our best to explode off the start line and get a hole shot for the first corner. It's funny, when I was racing in the beginner category last year, my starts seemed so much faster and explosive. I guess, in comparison to the others racing, it might have been, but in comparison to the other intermediate women....well, they are all pretty fast too! My starts no longer are my advantage.

I was mid-pack on the first lap of the course. Again, getting stuck behind people cornering slower or not handling the technical sections well, slowed me down too. In a course as long and curvy as this, it really helps to get in front of as many folks as you can.

I really enjoy this course, mostly because of the pain it causes. You've got a mixture of fast sections, tight corners, energy-sucking grass sections, muddy uphill hikes, somewhat sketchy downhill-off-camber places, barriers that are almost always too high for me, off-camber corners, and muddy-grassy-uphill bits. It's a challenging course and one shouldn't take it lightly.

Image by TLBVELO

I was really losing steam at about the 30 minute mark. I was in the chase with another girl, fighting to keep in front of her and to keep on her wheel when she was in front. It was a back and forth battle, which I thought I had won when she stumbled on the climb...until she caught up to me on the last lap.

She and I battled it out constantly on that last lap. And then we got to the uphill mud pit in the grass, leading up to the last muddy grass sprint before the final corner to the finish line. She and another girl whipped by me in that muddy pit of wheel-death and kept their speed, while my legs decided they had no extra gas to give. I barely had it in me to sprint to the finish...not that I needed to - there was no one else in clear view behind me.

All-in-all, Donkey CX was tough. It was enjoyable and fun, and I'll certainly come back next year...but next year I'll have fresh legs. ;)

You can view all the race results here: http://vcxc.ca/results/donkey-cross-2016-results/ -- I'm in the Intermediate Women's Cat. I managed a 7th place finish in my category...second to last.

You can view my Strava details here: https://www.strava.com/activities/717222000
I had some pretty decent achievements, according to Strava, but not everyone uses Strava! So, it's not the most accurate source of info... :) ...but I'll take it!

I do want to say a big thank you to all the sponsors, organizers and volunteers that make cyclocross here happen. I wouldn't be able to have so much fun this time of year if it weren't for you. So thank you. Many times!