Snelling

Anne's Race Report - I don't like the cold. When Amy, Vanessa and I pulled up to the parking lot the grass was white with frost. I didn't want to get out of the car. The car had individual seat warmers. I like that. We reluctantly padded out across the crunchy, frozen grass to registration and then we stood in line to pee. We located Jess and Lisa already warming up and appearing unphased by the arctic conditions. After much debate about appropriate wardrobing issues we were suited up and ready to warm up, but first, we waited in line to pee. We mounted our trusty steeds and headed right out of the parking lot in the direction that other riders were heading, riders who looked like they knew what the hell they were doing. We followed, for about 100 yards, looked at each other and began to renegotiate wardrobe. We were going to need more layers. We returned to the parking lot and got in line to pee. We met our new teammate Jamima, she was in line to pee. Is it hydration or nerves? Gawd, I love the smell of port-o-potties in the morning.

It was exciting to line up at the start with five teammates, I felt proud looking over at a sea of Touchstone blue. The race got under way after the 3-mile leadout and Jamima powering to the front of the pack, where she would remain for the majority of the race. The road felt crowded and difficult to move through and there were moments when I considered quitting cycling and joining roller derby, these girls were intense. Vanessa and I were trying to stay together and move through the middle but we were struggling to gain any headway in the field when Amy pulled up on the outside and said to me "hop on my wheel." Did I mention that I love her. It was very early in the day and we were trying to get a sense of the rhythm of the race, the sudden surges followed by frightening slowdowns when there was an unexpected schism of the field. It reminded me of the scene in Titanic when the boat suddenly splits in two and you think "there's no way that's how that would happen, I mean come on, James Cameron bugs me" but there it was right in front of us, a giant fissure fracturing the field in two with four of caught on the wrong side of it and at a point when I was still half expecting riders to be fixing their hair. It just caught us off-guard, in the middle of reaching for gu, and assessing computer glitches and the front 30 were pulling away fast. I made a decision to take off after it and hope that Vanessa, Amy and Lisa would respond and come with me. It was astonishing how quickly the pack gained ground and it took me a fully anerobic five minutes to finally catch up to the tail of the pack. I no longer felt cold. Looking around I realized that Amy, Lisa and Vanessa had not made the split. Shit. I could see Jess up towards the front and Jamima setting the pace and I told myself to stay focused and hold onto the pack. I started noticing the other teams and thought, gratefully, I'm glad we're not sponsored by Tri-Flow, I mean really, why is that in such large font across their jersey? Tri-Flow? It makes me need to pee.

The group seemed to settle down a bit after the first lap and I actually started to enjoy the race. I mean this course had it all. An assaulting head-wind on the front side, a few tight sand-covered corners, an unpredictable group of unfamiliar faces and of course that stretch of permanently dibilitating rough pavement before the final turn . What more could a girl ask for? Just when I thought things were going to get really interesting, the group was neutralized for a significant portion of the third lap to allow a large group of male racers to pass. I was genuinely impressed by the graciousness of the women during this portion of the race, cheering on the few guys struggling to keep pace with their own group and reminding each other to be careful on the narrow road while this was happening. Okay, I won't join roller-derby. The last stretch of rough road saw a lot of jockeying for position. I was trying to move to the inside of the turn because Lisa had warned me about getting blocked out if I was on the outside. I made the turn and started to move up the inside lane but was pushed off the road into the dirt momentarily by another rider. I managed to stay upright and get back on the road and could see Jamima in the middle of the developing sprint. I tried to push up the hill and felt like I was gaining ground before just running out of race. I wasn't sure how many riders crossed the line in front of me but it was an exhilarating finish and I was happy to congratulate those powerful women in front of me. The MetroMint girls were celebrating and were very gracious finishers. Jess pulled up next to me and we both agreed we were relieved to have a safe finish under our belts. We rolled back toward the finish line just in time to see Vanessa cross having worked her heart out with her solo attempt to catch the pack, followed by Lisa and then Amy smiling her way through her own hard-fought solo effort. I wanted to shout "we're the king of the world" even though James Cameron still bugs me.

Finally, it was great fun to see the Women's Pro 1/2's and men's master teams head out on their race and try to offer some inexperienced support to them in the feed zone. And, the whole trip to Snelling was worth it knowing that Jill won her race, getting to see Pat in action and of course Scott's phenomenal win and $10 purse. Congratulations, Touchstone!

Jess's Race Report - It was brutally cold and I was tempted to start the race with my big puffy down jacket. Fortunately, the cold air lost some of its edge by the time the gun went off at 8:30 -- late as usual. This was by far the biggest race with the W's Cat 4 field split into two groups. Fortunately, the 3-mile neutral start gave us a moment to calm any nerves. Unlike last week, we had six teammates present and were one of the largest teams, if not the largest. Exciting, especially knowing we had an ex-pro Ironman athlete on our side -- welcome Jamima!!

Despite being the Paris Roubaix of California, the scenery was quite beautiful with rolling hills, vineyards, and blossoming orchards. On the flipside, there were brutal cross and headwinds, dirty corners and sections littered with tacks thrown down by locals. (Is that supposed to be funny?) About halfway through the first lap, the field split and I barely made the break to stick with the lead group. A few seconds later, I was relieved to see Anne come up next to me too; Jamima was somewhere up in the front pulling strong. I didn't realize Anne and I were it until I looked back a few minutes later to see an empty road behind. Shit. What's Plan B? So off we went with the pack of 20 or so round and round. Things stayed pretty calm and chill for most of the time. On the last lap and nearing the last two bends, I found it pretty hard to make my way to the front of the pack--the road sucked and I just haven't tapped into that aggro gene that racing seems to require at these critical moments. Fortunately, because I was sitting in the back for a lot of that last lap, I had a little bit left for the final sprint up that last riser. While I couldn't get into position to lead Anne out (I was not only BEHIND her, but also on the OTHER SIDE of the pack), she managed to dig deep despite getting pushed into the dirt for a few seconds and blow by half the field.

Great race -- lots learned. Also, great to be out there supporting the men (Ken, Dave, Scott, Andrew, John, Sean, Mark) and elite ladies (Pat, Jill, Holly, and Maria).

Vanessa's Two Cents - 1) This is the best report EVER! 2) Heated seats rule 3) James Cameron does bug! 4) It was a brutal day out there at Smelling (typo intended)!

Those things said, I am totally proud of all of us, especially Anne, Jess and Jamima for sticking in there and pulling out great results. I really think that we are learning and evolving and hopefully that will mean some great races down the road. Being out alone on that road, without another racer in sight, reminded me that this sport is about teams. It was so upsetting to fall off and not be able to get back up there to protect Anne in the roller-derby pack. I was there to do a job- get Anne to the end for a win! And I thought about how good it would have felt to have been able to do that job, to see her cross that line in front of me in blazing glory! I thought about how a team makes you stronger physically and emotionally. And I thought about how much fun it is to be part of a team. I stuck in this race, chasing the pack just always out of reach (OK, waaayyy out of reach) because at the end, I wanted to be able to tell Anne "I tried to get back up there to help you!" I didn't stop trying even though the race was over for me (and believe me there were moments I wanted to stop, like say, when I realized my heart rate had been above 185 for 30 minutes..); I didn't give up because I knew somewhere up the road maybe just maybe I could still be of use to Anne or Jess or Jamima. I didn't give up because I knew that somewhere close behind me Amy and Lisa were still fighting the wind like me, alone, in PAIN... I didn't give up because I knew that after the race, I'd be able to share my experience and learn about your experiences. All of us, together... And I didn't give up because I knew Amy had chocolate chip cookies waiting in the car- a slow death in the ditch on the side of road in Snelling or slow recovery in back seat with heat and cookies, chatting with the team. You do the math...

Pine Flat -- Here we go...

Amy's Race Report: So, Pine Flat turned out to be quite a good first road race. We ate, we drank, we didn't crash - those were my three main objectives, at least. Maybe it was the road food, all the driving, or sleeping in a strange bed... but it's hard to not feel bad when you wake up at 5:30 am. I know these are just normal racing things, but, it'll take some getting used to. Once I got on my bike and rode around the parking lot, I felt fine, but each time I stopped, the nerves built up and I wanted to puke and pee at the same time. Despite getting anaerobic on the first steep (and neutral!) hill out of the parking lot, things were off to a good start once we started moving.

The first 45 miles the whole pack rode together. In the beginning, we were checking out the pack, chatting it up, and sticking towards the back in the first set of rollers. Everything was pretty smooth and agreeable and not too stressful. My favorite line was when one girl said, you can go around me, I need to fix my hair. I was shocked but actually relieved that it was so chill. There were a few girls riding no hands and eating GU and I have to admit, I was a little jealous... they had skills. There were moments when people surged and the tempo was unpredictable... it was a little "ugh... ouch... ahh" followed by a "I can't believe I need to use my brakes." I guess that's what you get when you sit in on the back. It's fun to pile more experience in to my little brain. The great thing about being a novice is that you learn so much each time and no matter how many times people tell you things, you don't really get it until you're in it. Just after the turn around cone, the pace picked up quickly and I was caught off guard. I figured it was a little early for a break away, but it's a little disconcerting to fall off so fast. Jess, kicked it into gear and I hung on her wheel to get back on. Maybe I'm a bit dramatic, but it felt like she saved me from falling off the side of a cliff. Then things got organized in the flats and we had a good double pace line where everyone cycled through.

Many miles later we hit the hills... there were some bumps just before the big hill and I was concentrating on hanging on to wheels... I think there was a line of about 6 or so people in front of me. When we hit the big hill, I looked back and I only saw one person behind me. The group split at some point and continued to fall apart. On the super steep part 2 girls took off. I tried to catch them, but I was at my max for a while and sadly dropped off. The crazy thing was that there were a huge number of people on the hill. I had a hard time picking out my group because it looked like a party on the hill with people climbing everywhere. There were 2 other girls behind me that I decided to buddy up with for the descent. One was a mountain biker, so I got behind her and we dropped the third one. We rode the flat together (well, to be honest, she pulled me practically the whole way.) I pulled for a minute and she said, let me get in front, we've got company behind us. The front two were way out of sight, but we tried to keep away from the other girl who ended up catching us in the flats. The 3 of us hit the last hill all together, and the girl I worked with got 3rd, I got 4th and the other one got 5th. We were all pretty close, and my legs were shaking as I crossed the finish line. Lisa finished shortly after and Jess not long after that. Everyone looked great - super strong up that last hill! It was a fun and beautiful course and luckily, no rain. It was great to see the elite women kick ass and then TS mens 5 do so well, too. We look forward to next week where we'll have the whole team back together again.

Jess's Report from the back: I'm so proud of Amy! And, the whole team too. Given this was our first road race, I thought we did really well as a team. A BIG thanks goes out to Mo for giving us a suggested play by play we used that day. Just as she urged, we stayed together through the rollers and flats, keeping Amy and Lisa sheltered from the front and doing what it took to keep us in the pack. At one point, I was able to glance down at the computer -- 41 miles down and only 2:10 in the saddle -- it's amazing what working together can do, which is what the whole field did for the most part. A few miles later, I felt the lactic acid building in the legs for the first time. Dread. The climbing was still up ahead and I was hanging on to the back, barely, shoving food in as fast as I could. Around mile 47 or so, before the final right hand turn up Watts Rd., the field started to break apart with gaps all over the place. Fortunately, Amy was well in position up front to take it from there. Although gapped, I could see the lead group of about 5 girls, then Lisa between them and me. I contemplated turning it up to get to Lisa but I was done. So done. A Velo Bella came up behind me and we worked together for a little while until one of the steep sections came and I couldn't hold on any longer. By the time I hit the steepest section of the climb, I caught my last glimpse of Lisa and the Velo Bella. From that point on, my race became a training ride to the finish. Relief. No more pressure. I was alone for a while, including through that fast and narrow descent. Fun! I occasionally passed some straggling riders along the way, including a guy who was plagued with cramps just 2 miles from the finish. (In any other circumstance, I would have stopped and given him a Gu...but not that day! Not even a nod of the head or word of encouragement. All I thought was 'Good luck buddy!') With only 1km to go, I was thrilled to know I had just one more steep, outta the saddle hairpin turn. I passed a guy just before the finish that grumbled, "I don't know why I do this...." At that point, I looked up and saw the whole team up on the bluff above the finish line cheering me on--Lisa, Amy, Pat, and Scott--and our trusty photographer Elmar--and thought that's why!

Big congrats to the W's Pro/1/2: Maria Monica (1st) and Kelly (3rd). Pat--sorry about your mechanical difficulties but you looked awesome pulling the field along on the O/B section of the course! Also, Ken had a great finish, taking 8th in Men's Cat5. Chris A came in some place after. Scott Rossi placed in the top 20 in Men's Masters Cat4/5. Results should be up soon.

Lisa's Race Report: Much of what Amy and Jess wrote applies to my race report as well. The race was pretty reasonably paced for the first 43 or so miles. Jess pulled out a great move at about the 17 mile (?) mark, picking up the pace enough to concern some of the other riders - in turn initiating those ladies to work harder, pull the pack and work for us. The whole group worked well through the rollers and the flats - it was actually quite fun to work in the rotating paceline that we had going for what had to be at least 20 miles. Its amazing the ground you can cover at such a nice clip working together. That rotating paceline was one of the highlights of the race for me; I really enjoyed working together with the entire group. The race though changed about two miles from the start of the climb. Amy and I asked each other how we were feeling - we both said we felt good. But as we started up the climb...well, maybe I wasn't feeling so good! As soon as I saw it happening it was over: first, I lost the wheel in front of me, and then, the break with the pack. But our goal was achieved - Amy was in the break - woohoo! - and our plan had worked. Amy was looking strong. I figured I was going to do the climb at my pace within my level of capability, thinking that the pace of the pack would start to wear some racers down. No such luck. I was dropped like a hot potato. And I too passed the gentleman with the leg cramps - he was clearly disappointed. At the last climb, after riding as hard as I could through the final seven miles, I heard everyone cheering me on. I was proud to cross the line; yes a bit disappointed that I had not been able to hang with the pack, but pleased none the less that I finished my first road race. My sense of what to expect, what is possible and what one can achieve was definitely brought to a new level. A huge congrats to Amy who rode a GREAT race, and Jess who pulled out the tactics. It was great fun riding with you both.

Thanks also to Mo, Pat and the Elite ladies for all of your feedback and beta on the race.