This was the third Mohican for me and by far the worst conditions of the three, but it was the best performance I have had at the Mohican. Basically my first goal was to get up the beginning climb and into the single track before the mass of riders clogged up the single track. I did it!! I was so excited. It made the single track, although muddy and slick, so much more enjoyable than years past. I was able to go my own speed and not have the stress of being stuck behind slower riders.
The next 40 miles were very mud filled, but exciting. This was due to me and another female competitor riding as though it was a regular xc event. We pushed each other to ride our best at a fast pace. We traded the lead a couple of times and at one point I even had the lead. She stopped at Aid one to deal with a hydration pack issue and I kept going. I did take a moment up the trail to deal with some chain suck and lube up my chain and sure enough she came up on me like a charging bull. We were back at it. We stayed together up through Aid 2 where she got a little bit of a gap, but I caught back on and we battled a bit longer until I had to succumb to her pace and back down a bit. I was now in my own race to keep a solid 2nd, finish the race without blowing up, and keep myself and my bike in forward working motion. Especially since the rains, wind, thunder and lightening picked up at this point in the race.
This is me happy to be finished. Notice how the bottom half is less muddy. Right before the end, as if I had the energy, I had to cross a swollen creek that was hip deep for most but almost chest deep for me. It was crazy. It should have been quick, but being short I could not lift my bike high enough and the wheels got caught in the current and began to take me with it. Unbelievable, I survived the race and now in the last mile I am going to be swept away in a swollen creek. It took a bit for me to get across, but luckily here I am writing this post.
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