Mtn biking with a twist

[tadrscin]

Ok so I wanted to try something different. I wanted to try zooming in while a rider was coming towards me using a slower shutter speed for a different effect. After a few test shots I decided that 1/6th of a second with a moderately fast zoom would get what I wanted. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time to work on this due to the impending rain. I was using my flashes off-camera so I lost the ability to use 2nd curtain sync which I really wanted. I think I need to get a flash bracket and try it again with my 430 so I can get the 2nd curtain sync. Here's the best one, but as you can see I didn't get the rider centered in the frame so the zoom effect isn't centered on her like I wanted. In order to do this I had to switch to manual focus and hold the camera so it would be where the rider would end up. I couldn't move the camera as I didn't want to pan at all. If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can do this better I certainly like to hear them.