Sara Macdonald rocks!

I wrote this near the end of 2007 this as part of a nomination for Dunedin based XC rider Sara Macdonald for Cycling Champion of the Year. She runs weekly women's riding groups from R&R Sport in Dunedin. Check out http://www.rrsport.co.nz/ or http://www.mountainbikingotago.co.nz/ for more details. I think it captures the starting point and progress of my riding since 2005 :)

Nomination for Sara Macdonald:

Since joining the R&R Sport weekly women's riding group in late 2005, I have seen improvements in my fitness, my technical skills, my confidence, and my overall enthusiasm for the sport. Before joining the group, I was riding my bike (very) occasionally with my boyfriend for very short rides and pushing my bike up the hills.

I remember on my first women's ride, Sara took us to the top of Signal Hill and I was easily the last person on the climb up. The next ride I went along to took us up Highcliff Rd to Karetai track on the peninsula - again, I was last on the climbs! But I persisted, and I managed to build my fitness up.

By the time I left the group at the beginning of 2007 (due to a move to Wellington), I was the fittest I'd ever been in my life. I was also riding tracks that I had struggled to get up (or down) a few years ago, and could ride for hours at a time. I owe a lot of this to Sara - her advice, assistance, leadership, organisation of skills/maintenance classes (and patience with me in the early days!) is something I will always greatly appreciate.

It was fantastic having a regular riding group to go out with. It meant I knew exactly what I was doing on Monday nights, and it also meant I got to ride heaps of tracks in Dunedin which I never would have found without Sara's leadership. I met some great people on the rides, and I was quite sad to leave the group when I moved up to Wellington.

The highlight of my time with the women's riding group was the ride to Pulpit Rock in September 2006. For me, this was quite an achievement because I had never been on a 4 hour (ish) ride before, and in previous years, I had been excluded from the University MTB Club's rides up to Pulpit Rock because of my lack of fitness. Thanks Sara for making this ride achievable for me!

Since moving up to Wellington, I have gotten a bit more involved in racing - both MTB and road. I know that I wouldn't have been at the stage I am now (both fitness and skill-wise) without Sara and the womens riding group. I miss the Dunedin women's rides, but have managed to find some great riding buddies up here in Wellington to ride with. I am looking forward to my next trip down to Dunedin, where I can hopefully catch up with Sara and all the friends I made being part of the womens riding group. Sara is a great role model and an inspiring leader. Her commitment towards taking the weekly womens rides (and helping out women like myself) is something that should definitely be recognised and commended.