Wards Ferry Road Race

Lots of smiles from the Men's Cat 4/5 Team!















Women's Cat 4 Team undercover... We survived!

McLane Pacific

McLane was going to be my first race riding without my trusty teammates. I made a point to arrive the day before the race so that I could either drive or ride the course, time permitting. That was a good move, because finding my way just to the start of the race was not as straightforward as it appeared and it was definitely good to scope it out. I recognized several of these roads as the ones that I had raced on just the week before at Snelling. And Snelling was a tough race for me. If anything, this hardened my resolve to stick to my two goals for McLane Pacific - don't get dropped and stay safe. I managed to drive the course loop (there would be two 23.4 mile loops during the race) with just enough daylight remaining to get a sense of the route and its challenges. From the vantage point of my car, the two key critical spots looked like the climb starting at about the 17 mile mark, and then the twisty roads and cornering in the 1-2 miles heading to the finish of the loop.

The morning of the race, conditions were near perfect. Almost no wind and probably the first day in a long while that I did not need my knee warmers. As I was getting ready to head out and warm up, I met Melissa from EMC who kindly (and very diplomatically) suggested I may need a bit of help readjusting my numbers. Thanks Melissa for preventing me from taking off with parachutes on each side of my jersey!

The race started out at a good pace at least 15 minutes late. After the debacle at Snelling the week before, where my legs had the strength of overcooked spaghetti after mile 7, I had a much better sense of what to expect.

I had heard that there were 70+ riders in our group. I'm still not sure if that is the case (as the official results are STILL pending and it certainly did not look like 70 or so riders to me), but I can tell you that riding in that particular pack was eery; I did not want to be anywhere in the middle of it - if that meant riding off to the side or off to the back - so be it. And thats what I tried to do for most of the race.

The first set of corners we approached did have the huge accordian effect with the corresponding huge expenditures of energy after each to keep up and not lose the wheel in front of me. I could tell that this would get old very quickly. But as each new corner came up, it became easier to anticipate the bursts and I actually caught the rhythm to it. Also, on the first straightaways, around the 10 mile mark, there were a few attempted breakaways - each one caught by the pack. Then the hill that I had anticipated would be a crux; at the top of it, hey wait - I still felt good. Now for those upcoming corners which I knew would test my beginning-level technical racing skills. Everyone around me rode into those corners well and held their lines. What a relief at the end of lap 1 - still with the pack, riding safe and feeling strong! OK, now for lap 2..

Lap 2 started out with a rider's tire blowing out loudly - definitely jarring some nerves. No one went down, and all was safe. During this lap, there were several more breakaway attempts. One rider alone, another breakaway in a small group - each caught by the pack. As we headed up the climb on the second lap, the pace was picking up and at the top of that climb there was a sucessful breakaway of what looked like about 10 riders - they were off charging it. Then another breakaway group that I managed stick on to, of about another group of 10 or so riders. We stuck together through the the upcoming twisty roads. As we headed to the last mile of the race, the pace was picking up and we were getting caught by the other riders behind us. As we head into the finish, I was so stoked to be feeling this good and finishing with the pack that I had not set myself up well for a nice push at the end. I was blocked in.

Just yards from the finish line, I heard a terrible noise behind me - not the standard "bike hits ground" sound that I heard in an Early Bird, but something different. Holding my line, I quickly crossed the finish line with my other goal attained - staying upright. Unfortunately, not too far behind me, a crash had taken place impacting several riders. As it turns out, the crash so impacted the field, that the results from our race have not been officially published yet! Hope that those riders are ok -

All in all, it was a good race and a great day of riding. Congrats to Jill and John for strong finishes in their categories!

Menlo Park Grand Prix

The Set Up...

The sun was out, the weather was warm, and the race didn’t start until a respectable 10:00 a.m. So, I picked Anne up around 8:15 a.m. because I am trying to be a “prepared” and “responsible” racer. Anne is sick. Anne has been puking. Anne is dehydrated. Anne should stay home in bed. But Anne is rallying for me. She is racing to support me! Anne is awesome! It makes me feel really great. It reminds me I damn well better do good!

We arrive "on time" and in one piece despite my erratic driving. It’s bright out. There are lots of people there spinning away on their trainers. There are lots of teams and tents and official team cars. We make finding bathrooms our number one priority (it’s a ritual now). The registration is smooth, they have things like jolly ranchers and tootsie rolls and red vines for the taking! This is no Velo Promo race. They have a podium there for the winners! I’ll admit it, I eyed it… I thought about how I wanted to be on it…

I felt nervous but not too much. We “warmed up” by riding around the parking lot. This makes me calmer. I am starting to believe more in this arriving early and “preparing” thing…

The Course...

Nothing like tight, ninety degree turns, a narrow road, big gutters, huge grates on each corner, and exposed roots pushing through broken pavement. Some girls get off the line; they decide not to race because the course is scary. Anne and I sit in. I pretend to be tough but my heart is racing and I have to pee. Anne has to pee. Anne is looking pale and is trying to keep from puking or passing out. I feel bad that she is racing for me but I am also really happy to have her there. The support feels amazing.

The Race...

According to Greg LeMond, "It never gets easier, you just go faster." So that’s what Anne and I did. We went faster this crit. Not because we wanted to, not because it felt good, but because the other girls were going faster! These girls were strong! They had team members! They wore skin suits! They used TACTICS! But on every single corner they slowed. It was frustrating. It was scary. There was the usual weird jostling around. There were girls who would let gaps open up. It was hard to find a comfy space or a wheel to stick to. I started talking and then kept talking- “Hold your line!” “Pedal through god damn it!” I find that talking helps with the nerves. I tell a Velo Bella girl that I like her pretty pink Look. She looks at me like I have two heads. I ride Anne’s wheel. We go to the front. We let the pack come up. We pretty much just ebb and flow with the group in this manner for awhile. Then a break happens. At first no one responds. Then I realize they could stay away. Anne and I discuss this break. We try to rally the group to chase it down. I go to the front and pull. Anne comes up and pulls. Anne is hauling ass! I am on her wheel and we make headway. Did I mention how incredible Anne is?? No one else comes to the front. I start yelling again. “Let’s go girls!” I am cracking myself up, I am all fired up. I can’t figure out why no one wants to catch the break. Why is everyone ignoring me?? Then I realize why- the break has a Dolce Vita girl and a Velo Bella girl. Their teammates are with me, slowing down the pace at the front of the pack. Team tactics! How beautiful! I pick up the pace and work with girls who don’t have team members up the road. Anne is there. Every time I get a little tired I get on her wheel and she guides me through. I love Anne! We catch the break. And then, just like that, after what seems like an eternity of scary corners, it is the last lap. The pressure is on. There is a surge. There is lots of jostling. There is a lot of yelling. I am hesitant to work my way up because these girls are scary on the corners. Right before the last turn I am about 10 back and I hear tons of “click click click!” The girls are getting into their biggest gears. I do the same thing on the last corner. Rounding the turn, the group breaks wide open. A girl in front of me all of a sudden cranks her wheel left and endos. I think “Wow! She is on her head!” I weave around her and head for the line. And just like that, our race is over. We both feel like puking. But we are alive. We are going to live for another day of racing…

The Podium...

...is not as cool as I thought. I am fifth. It is embarrassing standing up there. I don't like people looking at me. I have tootsie roll stuck in my teeth and need to pee...