Big Buck GNCC 2022
Race season has officially arrived! My first race of the year kicked off in Union, SC for round 1 of GNCC. My plan this year is to chase the entire series and race in the women’s class. The only GNCC I have ever been to or raced prior to this was Ironman 2021 (the mudder/river race). To me, that shouldn’t even count. Not even close to what I experienced this weekend.
A little rain on Thursday made conditions for Sunday PRIMO! I really did not think the trail was that rough but some others disagreed. Saturday after the PM quad race, I broke out my Giant Liv Ebike from Sunshine Bike Shop to check out the trail. I am not the greatest on one, wrecked about 10 times, but made it around the track!
Sunday, the race started at 10AM. I was kind of nervous. I have only done a few races since coming back from an 8-month long injury so lots of cobwebs to rid of. I got up to the start line 20 minutes before the race and it still was not early enough. I prefer to be on the inside and not on the outside. I made due with what I was delt. My start was in the tail end of the pack. I lined up with 20 women racers! SO RAD!
The first lap, felt like I was fighting for my life. No one prepared me for that lol so I was in complete shock! I got taken out six times. I for sure lacked aggressiveness. Every time a line would meet up, I would be the one to let off and it really set the tone for my race. I did not ride up to the speed I am capable of. The second lap, I came up on a friend who just wrecked and was injured, I made sure he was good and someone was with him and then stopped to tell the family. My third lap was lots of catching riders and passing them. Nothing very exciting happened on it.
The trail was not very technical at all. The hills were not super huge. The roots were not terrible. A few rocks here and there and one small log. It flowed well and the 11-mile loop went fast.
I learned a lot and have a far better idea what to expect going into round 2. A few big takeaways for me were:
- I have to be aggressive. That’s a given in any race but I am not used to lining up in a race with 800 people in it. It doesn’t matter what class they are in; I have to keep moving forward and not let others dictate the speed I go.
- I need to worry about what I am doing not completely what the other 10 people in front or behind me are doing.
- GNCC’s are more mentally intense because there are no moments available to get “bored” or distracted by outside factors. So much going on the entire time, mentally you have to be in the moment to get through the traffic and carry speed.
Overall, my conditioning is there, I just need to get my mind to handle the chaoticness. I finished P-9 at the first round!
Massive thanks to the Matteson’s for hauling me and all my stuff to South Carolina and for taking care of my start and pit needs! It was fun and interesting! Also, I want to thank the people supporting my mission this year:
My parents
Bonecutter Off Road
Enduro Driven
Fasst Company
Fly Racing
Bike Graphix
Eline Accessories
V3 Off Road
Dunlop
Enduro Van
T3 Fitness
Reset Health & Fitness
Mariah & Robby
Congratulations to fellow Bonecutter Off Road racer, Steve Leivan on his 1st place finish in A+50 at Big Buck! Another congratulations to Morgan Johnson on her solid 15th place finish in the Women’s class on a Beta 125!
This year is for Frank, the best pit crew, the one who would never let me quit a race, the one who has been at 80% of my races, and the best story teller. #FrankTour22
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