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...
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