Copperopolis- Anna-2022

Date/Location:	April 16th, 2022 – Milton, CA
Distance:	43mi
Place:	1st, Junior Wm 15-18
Teammates:	Robin Soares, Shantelle Tupaz, Troy Soares

Today I'm doing the Copperopolis Bike Race. I'm riding in my mom's division because there was no one in my division. As we get ready to ride, the rain stops. Thank you God! The race director then counts us off. We take off. I haven't bike raced for a long time and my goal is to not get dropped on the first lap. I'm also racing with a friend of mine that does triathlons. Her name is Shantelle. We are all in a straight line, figuring out what pace we're going to do. After about a mile, Shantelle takes off! We don't try to stay with her though because we all want to stay at this pace. Also the road is very bumpy and it's really hard to bike fast right now. After Shantelle takes off, I stay with this other girl who is biking.

After about 2 miles, we start the big hill. So far it feels really good. Thank you God for the energy. As I'm biking up, I'm slowly pulling away from the girl. I'm not feeling tired so I keep pushing. I don't see my mom right now, she is farther behind. I know she'll catch up though. I get closer to the top and the hill gets steeper. I'm able to keep pushing and get over the top. Now I just have a long bumpy road.

As I'm biking, I see my mom behind me. I keep biking fast and I know that she will soon catch up. Up ahead the road splits. The arrow points straight, but it looks like a driveway. The race director warned about this section, but I'm really confused. As I'm looking around, my mom catches up. Now we're both confused. We decided to go one way, then a bike group flies by us, going the other way. Oops. We turn around and head the right way. During that time the girl behind us in our race, passed us. We work together drafting to catch up to her. Every once and awhile the road gets smooth and I enjoy it. But then it goes back to being very bumpy.

We have been biking forever but we still haven't caught her. We are getting close to finishing the first lap and heading back down the mountains. As we get closer to the top, a biking pack passes us and my dad is in it! I work to stay with them. I draft with them down the big bumpy hill. I enjoy the challenge of not falling off my bike as I zoom down the hill. I accidentally cut in front of some of the guys in the group. Oops, I don't mean to do that. I plan to tell them sorry at the end of the race, since we're speeding down the hill. I enjoy riding behind my dad though, it's just like what we do in our training rides! I can put my training to practice now! As we are biking, I see my dad's water bottle go flying off his bike. I know we can get it after the race. We get to the bottom of the hill and they take off. It was fun biking with them while it lasted.

I can now see the girl up ahead of me. I work hard to catch her. As I start the 2nd lap, I catch up. We work together for a little bit and then I pull ahead on the uphill again. This time the hill hurts a lot more. As I get close to the top I catch up to a lone biker who has been dropped. He's not going super fast so I try to stay up with him. We get to the flat and I start drafting. It's great to find someone to work together with. I asked him if it's okay if I draft behind. That way I hope he knows that I'm willing to help draft for him too. He says it's fine as long as he stays ahead.

As I'm biking, I'm getting tired from the long ride. It would be nice if I was done by now. I feel God telling me not to give up and keep pushing. I work hard to stay with the biker guy. After a while though I let him go and go back to my own pace. I was happy I got that draft that gave me energy and helped me work hard. As I'm biking along I keep looking back but I don't see either the girl behind me or my mom. I dropped my mom on the downhill because I love riding really fast downhill even though it's scary. Otherwise, she would probably be right up with me. I'm sort of used to the bumpy sections on the road now. It's still hard to bike on them because I'm bouncing all over the place. I can still see the man up ahead and I try not to let the distance between us get any bigger.

As I'm working hard to bike, I know I'm then getting close to finishing the second lap. I can see the mountain range up ahead and bike hard towards it counting down the miles. I get to the bottom of the hill and start the climb towards the downhill. I tell myself not to look back until I reach the top. I feel like I'm going really slow and that someone's going to pass me. But I keep working hard for God and don't look back. I finally get to the top of the hill and look back. There's no one there! Thank you God! I start down the downhill. I love this section but it's definitely bumpy and scary. At one section, I almost fly off my bike. Thank you God for keeping me safe! I hold on tight to my bike that is jiggling like crazy. My bike's kind of old so this might wreck it, but I guess that's okay. I'm enjoying biking down the hill when I look down and realize my chain has jumped off my bike from all the bumps. Oh no! I quickly stop on a flat and get the chain back on. It took me a little bit because I'm not used to standing up, but being in a crouch position over my bike. I'm able to get the chain back on and jump back to finish the race. I continue biking down the hill, when I realize my chain jumped off my bike again! I get ready to stop and as I look down again, the chain is back on! Thank you God! I keep biking down the hill moving my pedals so the chain doesn't fall off again.

At the bottom of the hill, I can see the finish. I work hard pedaling hard around every corner. I get to the last till stretch and work hard. I push to the finish line pointing to God. Thank you God for giving me the energy for this race. I did not think I'll be able to do so well with such little training I have. I appreciate him giving me strength. He also kept me safe on the bike. After the race I congratulate everyone and also learn that you're not allowed to draft in other groups. You can only draft in your biking group. This is a mistake that I learn, but I'm happy that they still have me in my own category so I didn't hurt anyone on the podium. I will definitely be more aware of that for future years. My overall time was 2:42:56.

Praise The Lord, For He Is Good His Love Endures Forever.