I got a good start and I was where I should be. As we came into the woods we had already caught up the back end of the beginners Men's category, therefore, it was stop and start. My mech was playing up, it seemed as if I broke it. Luckily, I hadn't. As we reached the top of one of the steep climbs it happened again, unfortunately, my chain snapped. My natural race instincts kicked in - I started running. It turns out I gained a couple of places by running, they didn't last long!
From watching people in cross, I naturally coasted down the descents, jumping on and off all the time. I had already decided I didn't want to pull out as I approached the main aren. So, when people said it wasn't worth carring on, I told them I wanted to finish.
A thought popped into my mind as I was running into a lumpy bumpy part of the course. It was to drop my seat down low and to turn my bike into a sort of balance bike type thing!
My favourite part of the course was so much fun when you didn't have any pressure on you. I flew down the long descent having the time of my life!
The best thing about breaking your chain is that everyone cheers you on!
As I entered the home straight I pumped my legs as fast as they would go, hoping that the girl behind me wouldn't catch me up. As it turns out, I didn't come last, I came 9th out of 10. It turns out I'm actually quite good at running!
