Hill Billie Hustle

On Sunday it was time to do the Hustle. The HillBilly hustle up in Duntroon, near Collingwood. We drove up on Saturday night and got settled in the hotel. Went to bed and then was woken up nearly once or twice an hour until 4am.

I rode to the Nordic Center from the Holiday Inn for a warm up and then got my number sorted out and rode the course. I liked the course and found it a good challenge. I tried to ride over the three logs before the sharp short hill and found it faster to run up for me.

It was quite a bit colder than it had been in some days so I struggled with how to dress but figured it out. I was a bit late to the start, but things got going and I got up near the front fairly quickly.

I was on the new Nemesis with Rhinos just glued on and found them to be great, I wasn't having any handling issues. I followed for a bit and I didn't like the lines some of the other riders were taking, so I went to the front and pushed the pace. I was out front a bit but not getting the gaps that I really wanted.

I wasn't really breathing hard but my legs were a little flat, but I was still ok. With two laps to go the Team Chch rider put in an attack and I started to pick it up to follow when he dropped his chain. I pushed a bit, but again the legs were flat and then the breakfast wasn't really agreeing with me. I had to check up for a second to burp and almost puke, and that was all it took. I tried to close and got close heading into the single track, but couldn't close it enough, so I just rode in for third. Not really happy with how I felt.

Thanks to Lesley C for cheering me on and Rose! I was worried about Phil R, as he dnf'ed and said he didn't feel well.

Aly raced after and finished third. She struggled a bit with breathing as well, not breathing hard just lungs felt raw and wheezy. My legs were flat so perhaps I over did it during the week, or I just couldn't bring it all together.

I did some tempo riding tonight and felt really good, and really came to the realization that I wasn't really picking good gears so I tried to change gears less and just try to keep spinning more and keep the flow going.

In any case we headed out as soon as we could as we had planned to look at the park where Nationals were planned.