Brian Harris - Oakland Composite, Sophomore
My dad and I drove down to the race on Saturday morning. I almost missed the pre-race, as we got slightly lost on our drive, but saw and joined Arlo as he was riding to catch up with the group. On the pre race, I found out how fun the course was, and got excited for the race. After the pre race, I went back to the tent where the girls were warming up. The girls started staging and I went up to watch the start in addition to a rendition of the national anthem by Oakland Composite. Soon after their start, I went back to the tents to get ready for our warm up. During the warm up I was excited and even tried the energy blocks and stuck some on my frame for the race. After warming up, the Sophomore and Freshman boys started to go to staging. In the staging area, I was excited but also nervous. When the announcer said go, we were off! Going up the first hill, I felt unsure of how to pace myself for the rest of the race, and think that I started slightly unfocused. In this I think I was not aggressive in keeping position or in passing towards the start. On the hill just before the first downhill, someone in front of me slipped and caused me and a few other riders to have to stop. I ran up the hill, and got to the downhill before them because I knew it would be hard to pass on the downhill. After making my way through the rolling hills, I reached the first ascent and think I should have gone faster. I think I overestimated how big or intense the climb was, and think that I gained a lot of time in this place on the first lap. After making my way up hurl hill, I passed through the feed area with a pretty full bottle, so I didn't take any. My second lap felt pretty good, but I think I felt best on the third lap for some reason. I think this might mean that I have to do a longer warm up or pre race to get ready for the race. After the race, I went back to the tent and got something to eat, and got ready to watch the JV and Varsity boys
Brian Harris, sophomore boys, Oakland Composite 28 / 34
