Date: April 22, 2001

Event: Michaux Lives

Name: Kristine Oesterling

City: Pleasant Gap

State/Province: PA

Country: USA

Age: 26

CLASS +/or Age group: Senior Women

Category: Expert

Team: Team Harrisburg

XC Race Bike: Steel hardtail

Conditions: Rocky!

Email: ko_22@yahoo.com

Did you do anything special (apart from the whole training lifestyle) to prepare for this race?

I ate a lot the night before because I knew it would be a long race on Sunday.

Did you achieve your goals for this race?

No, I placed fine, but I didn't feel I was personally riding very well. It wasn't a very good day for me, but it was still fun!

Were you strong from start to finish?

I did a real dumb move and forgot my shoes for the race. I didn't get any warm up since I was running around looking for shoes and cleats to borrow (thanks Sue H. for the shoes!! and Mark Laser and friend for the help getting ready!), so I was pretty slow in the beginning and got faster as the race went on.

Did you change your race strategy after encountering the more difficult course this year?

Some of my friends pre-rode it and gave me a run-down of the course. I knew it was important to pace myself and that the dirt road climb at the end wasn't the finish this year so I had to keep that in mind.

What was your favorite part of the course?

I liked the twisty, faster, rocky part of the course (3 mile trail?).

When did you put the hammer down?

I went the wrong way about 2/3 into the race (after Rattlesnake) and probably lost about 4 minutes. Once I got back onto the course again, I was pretty mad so I rode as hard as I could to the finish.

Due to the heat and difficult course did you have any problems with cramping or dehydrating?

Since I wasn't wearing my own shoes, I got foot cramps pretty bad but that wasn't due to poor hydration. I had someone to hand me a bottle at the top of Dead Woman's Hollow which was helpful! The heat definitely made it tough though.

Did you have any unusual problems?

The shoe thing, going off the course, and then I lost about 20lbs of air out of my rear tire after the dirt road climb and just rode the last 1-2 miles like that because I didn't want to waste time fixing the flat. It was a frustrating race but still fun!

How would you rate the course?

I liked it a lot, except for Rattlesnake and the newer trails after that section. They were definitely the toughest parts for me to ride.

Were you happy with the way the race was run?

Yes, they did a great job. Quick results and prize hand-outs were nice!