Botriver Heights Offroad Ladies Intro Class RR

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Buff

Grey Hound
Joined
Aug 14, 2008
Messages
7,591
Reaction score
153
Location
Western Cape
Bike
KTM 690 Adventure
Botrivier Heights Race Report
Introductory Ladies Class
By Cat Parish

Last month I participated in my first Off Road Race. I can honestly say that the bug bit me big time, exhausted as I was, I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to race again  :ricky: I was on an adrenalin high afterwards and wanted to share this sport with as many ladies as possible and my only wish was that I could convince more ladies to join the races.

Well, that wish came true  :thumleft: The Western Cape Off-road Club recognised the fact that the social and ladies class can be very intimidating for novice lady riders. The club decided to experiment by creating an introductory ladies class. The idea being; to create a class that wouldn’t be as intimidating and ladies could hone and improve their off-road riding skills, until they were ready and confident enough  to enter the Social and Ladies Class. Hereby, developing and promoting the sport amongst women in the Western Cape.

The response was overwhelming. In the end, there were 11 entrants in the introductory ladies class. So on the day, which was predominantly male dominated, I truly believe the Intro Ladies Class received the most attention  :3some: Even our 3 more seasoned riders, which enter the Ladies Class, Riana, Rikki and Martie, joined us at the start to show their support. We were so grateful  :thumleft:

But let me take you back to the beginning of the day.

The introductory ladies class race would take place on the Junior track, that was altered slightly to decrease the difficulty level, and keep the riders close enough to the start that recovery would not be too difficult.
This meant that a time slot would need to be found, and the most convenient time would be in the afternoon. So we were set for 2:15pm. Only problem was, that the majority of us had to be there early to support our partners or children during their race. The day became very long and this added to nervousness, excitement... nerves and more nerves  :eek: Clearly evident by the path I had paced out to the porta-loos  :redface: Some ladies mentioned that they couldn’t eat; the waiting was just setting everyone on edge  :blob9:

Eventually, we said enough is enough and many of us kitted up about an hour and a half before the race and rode around on our bikes. This definitely helped settle some nerves. I reckon we were the keenest riders on the day, and all of us were ready for race briefing in the starting area at least half an hour early . Once we cheered on the 50cc junior classes of the starting blocks, we had our race briefing. And boy, were these the most attentive bunch of riders ever  :salut:. Dave was patient and answered all our nervous questions.

And then race time. By this time, my mouth was filled with the taste of bile  :tard:; I was convinced that I would stall my bike as my hands were shaking so badly  :sad1:. After a few quiet words for protection over me and all the ladies taking part in the race and asking for some well needed peace, my heart rate started returning to normal just in time for the green light.

First off the grid with Karen, the pressure was on. I know that the idea of this race was for us ladies to have fun, but who knew I had a bit of a competitive spirit in me. I was determined that no-one would pass me, or at least I would try my best to hold anyone off for as long as possible.
Right from the start, the route was quite technical (well, in the eyes of a novice rider anyway), a steep downhill, then over a slight ditch, some off camber gymkhana section and then to a rocky off camber, sharp left to a steep rocky field till it leveled out again. But there was no way that you could let your guard down.

The minute I thought, okay, some easy riding to follow, then we had a fairly tricky downhill with a sharp turn to the right. Riding on an off camber was new to me, and proved to be nerve wrecking on the first lap, but by the third lap, my confidence had grown and my little TTR didn’t let me down  :ricky:.

There was a small little river bed that we crossed. This race was a good milestone, as to how much I had improved since my first race. The dry riverbed crossing still looked like the Grand Canyon, but the intimidation factor wasn’t there so much this time.
Then came the fast stretches, and here is where my little TTR125 didn’t have the legs to compete with the bigger 230’s  :frown:. Alison Droomer snuck up behind me and made a pass on me, I didn’t even hear her. I got such a fright; I almost careened down the erosion contour embankment we were riding on . Is it wrong to want to install rear-view mirrors on a dirt bike? :nono:

I tried, my damdest to stick with her, determined to make my place back. For goodness sake!!!
Alison has been on horses and quad bikes, but this was about the 3rd time she was on 2 wheels. I totally underestimated her when speculating on the podium spots. So in the end, I had to lick my wounds as I had to watch her disappearing into the horizon  :notworthy:. Do I perhaps sound bitter?  :color:

We then entered a really cool singletrack area. Started with a sandy decent, then cool twists and turns, uphills, downhills and around hills. I really enjoyed this section. This was followed by a short fast section again. And here is where the fight for third place began. Mother and daughter team (Garfield's wife & daughter), or so I thought at the time, past me by on their, yes yes yes CRF230's. I mean, my little bike ran out of gears. Greta and Sharne, are little machines  :thumright:.

But let me tell you that this Mother and daughter team had their own little competition going, it was each woman for themselves  :eek: I had a good chuckle when Sharne stalled her bike right at the bottom of a really deep river bed crossing. It was huge. Mother Greta got off to help her daughter get her bike out. Once the bike was up on the other side, Greta had to walk back down and up again to the other side to get her bike through. This is when Sharna started her bike and hightailed it out of there, leaving her mother to still fetch her own bike  :imaposer: Not wanting to let Sharne get away, I too quickly tackled the obstacle and “tried” to chase her down.
So you see, in a race, even with Mother and Daughter, it’s each woman for herself  ;D

But it was two ticks and Gretha had passed me and Sharna, leaving Sharna and me to play ping pong for third place.

In the end, I believe fitness lead to my downfall, by the third lap I was tired and making really stupid mistakes.

Mistake 1: When you need to stop your bike at the check point, use your back brake on gravel, otherwise you might end up sprawled out like a starfish at the Marshalls feet. At least he had some entertainment.

Mistake 2: When someone is blocking an obstacle and you are forced to stop, lean towards hillside of the camber, otherwise you might end up rolling down the hill. Note to self, laughing is not going to get you back up the hill, but I could at least see the funny side of it. Oh and get fitter!!! I kept dropping my bike over when trying to kick start it. Thank you to Kobus (Garfield), my designated marshal for the final lap  :thumleft:

Mistake 3: Ensure that you are in the correct gear when tackling a hill, and if by chance you are going to stall and fall, stay clear of the barbered wire  :eek7:

Mistake 4: And I think Kobus liked this one. When going downhill, and it’s sandy….actually….it might’ve appeared to be a mistake overshooting the tight lefthand corner, but I planned to do that, really I did  :eek:

Oh well… plenty mistakes to add, but it’s all part of the learning curve  :thumleft:

3 laps done and dusted and I arrived home to a hero’s welcome. You ladies are just awesome  :hello2:

So I placed 4th, but was really happy and proud of it.
Greta placed 1st
Alison Droomer 2nd
Sharne Landsberg 3rd

But really all the ladies did great  :headbang:

A huge thanks to all the marshals, Dave (Beserker) and the WCOC for the amazing course you created for us.
Shred Bettys for the cutest hamper, and Cayenne@Droomers for sponsoring the Class Trophies.

It was great fun and can’t wait for the next. So any ladies out there who are thinking of starting this sport, just PM Buff and he will pass on my details. Please come and join us for the most fun you’ll ever have on your dirt bike.

Our next little ladies training get together will be on 5th April, details to follow.

Here's little video that Hubby put together of our event... Botriver Ladies Intro Offroad on Vimeo
 
Top