Blitz to the Barrel - A Bundle of Fun

Post crash, trying to make up time

The Blitz to the Barrel, Dash for Cash. 
An event I have avoided for the last two years.
An event that scared the heck out of me.
An event that I was not going to partake in.

Until, Eric Eastland, promoter extraordinaire, came up to me at Sisters Stampede.

"I have a spot for one more woman. Will you do it?"

Sue Butler was standing right there; she gave the the look of, "Come on, do it."

How could I say no?

So, for two weeks I worried.  What had I gotten myself in to?

And then I realized I needed to practice. With the help of a couple of friends, I learned the lines and by race night, was feeling pretty good about my ability to get from Wanoga to 10 Barrel without killing myself.

The group of women racing was amazing.  Strong, confident, powerful women.  Katie Compton, Kelli Emmett, Joanna Petterson.  I felt humbled and honored as we lined up for the start of the race.

I'll spare you the details, but in a nut-shell, I had a horrid start, crashed early (and hard) because I was following the wheel in front of me way too closely, and then spent 50 minutes chasing, chasing, chasing.

I crossed Century, at the bottom of Funner, 8 minutes into the race, in 9th or 10th.  I came out of the single track and into Tetherow in 4th.  SWEET!  I held on to 4th place and finished with a less than stellar effort to chug a beer.  Well, the effort was stellar, but the results were ugly.  But, I got it down and then smiled a big smile.

Not my best event.

The boys raced next, then there was a band and arm wrestling and loads of silliness.  The event was a blast and I can't wait until next year.  In the meanwhile, I will be working on my hucking skills so I can take the jump at the golf course!

PS Thanks to Whit Bazemore for the photos!