Hello Wind!

For the second time in a row, we faced a full field as well as howling wind was howling at the Bariani Road Race. The wind caused the field to split early. I managed to hang on for a while but eventually got gapped. I spent a good chunk of time (and energy) trying desperately to close the 20-30 foot gap for what seemed to be forever. (And, I reached an all-time HR high of 200 in the process. The things you learn...) Never closed it but fortunately had two-three others to work with to keep me company on the last two laps. Here's how we fared:

Cat 4:
Anne, 7th
Vanessa, 11th
Amy, 14th
Jess, 26th

Cat 3:
Emily, 21st

Merco - Big Fields Aplenty!

Vanessa (25th), Amy (26th), Anne (32nd) & Jess (52nd)
Scott Herring (34th, Cat 3)
John Ormsby (20th, Cat 4 Masters)
W's Pro/1/2: Janeen Thorpe (32nd), Olivai Dillon (33rd) & Maria Monica (42nd)

2008 Race Season Starts!

The Touchstone W's Cat 4 Team, as well as members of M's Cat 3, 4, 5 (masters and elite) and W's Pro/1/2 Teams, are looking forward to another fun, challenging and safe race season. Race reports coming soon!

San Ardo Road Race

We were on the fence with this one, deciding at the last minute to drive the three hours to make the race. It was a typical Anne and Vanessa show- lots of chaos but somehow it all works out! Anne forgot her kit. Luckily I had two pairs of shorts (who brings two pairs?!) and she had a long sleeve jersey and vest so we could make something work. We had mechanic/manager/coach Fritz on board. Turns out this was very handy as Anne was all set to race in her vest, but evidently you are not allowed to race without sleeves. Did anyone beside Fritz know this?! So Anne made a last minute change to her long sleeve jersey (even though it was in the 80's at the start). There were nine tri-flow girls in the race, making up a third of the field. Somehow though it was me, Anne, awesome Denise from Norcal and a few others who were on the front the majority of the time. There was a bad crash caused by an inexperienced rider who unfortunately took out some great girls including Kelly from Dolce and Melissa from EMC. Very lame as they were riding well and definitely would have been in the mix for the finish. Anne was amazing the entire race (so strong!) and we had a great time despite obstacles like trucks, sketchy riding and charging pit bulls. We broke the field down to about 15 from 30 about halfway through the second lap. Then came the finish- an uphill with a left hand turn at the crest and a short straight runway to the end. Anne stomped it, rocketing up the climb in her big ring. I was trying to hold on but almost died on the hill (ouch!). At the turn, instead of giving up, I got mad. This helped to get my legs back under me for a sprint and I managed to pass several girls just in time to witness Anne duking it out for first with a tri-flow girl. It was so awesome to see her cross the line! I was squealing. It was totally Anne's race. She is riding super strong and it is a joy to see her in action. The tri-flow girl won by a hair but I think Anne is the true winner. Our placings: Anne 2nd, me 4th. Check out the video!

Mt Diablo TT & Lafayette Crit Weekend July 14th & 15th

Mt Diablo Hill Climb/Time Trial, Saturday, July 14th














Warming up.....






Lisa leaving the start ramp....
















Anne making her way up beautiful Mt Diablo...

The Crit
Lafayette
Sunday, July 15th:

Anne finished 8th in a full 3/4 field -

Pacific State Bank Grand Prix & Burlingame Crit Weekend

PACIFIC STATE GRAND

PRIX:
After the debacle at Mt Hamilton where I crashed out of the race before even reaching the second mile (argh), I took several weeks off to recover. Decided to get back into the game with a couple of criteriums this weekend starting off with the Pacific State Bank Grand Prix in Stockton. While warming up it was a bit disconcerting to see two crashes each take place at the same corner in a men's field, so I was glad that our group took the first lap at a moderate pace to scope out the course. Our group was pretty small (a total of 10 racers) so it felt like a manageable field-a good first race to get back "into the mix." A note for those thinking about doing this race in the future: There are quite a few corners in this race, which I found challenging. Some of the corners are paved unevenly, like the one where the two racers went down. Relatively speaking the straightaways on this course seem on the shorter side, so cornering skills and getting well positioned going into corners are key to win primes or finish well in this race. I was glad that we were in a small field. The race really got started when the strong Webcor racer (who I believe had already taken at least one prime) went for a breakaway, bringing along with her another racer. Although only two of them broke away, they did achieve a nice gap and one that the rest of the field was concerned with.

We took a couple of turns chasing down the break successfully, which I must say was really a good workout for me not having ridden at race pace for several weeks! Unfortunately, the race was cut WAY too short (we were supposed to stop at 40 minutes or thereabouts) and the final lap was upon us much sooner than most of us had expected. Although a fun race and great workout, disappointingly, our race ended at about 31 minutes. I ended up with a 6th place finish and $10 which paid for lunch at a local burrito shop.
BURLINGAME CRITERIUM:
Burlingame was an exciting fun course! Our race started early (7:50a) which meant one early wakeup (more coffee please!) . Cat4 was a full field (34+ racers starting) and the entire race was fast from the start. All of the corners were pretty nice except for one on the western side of the course which had some dips, and where the pavement was uneven and went from pavement to brick back to pavement again. A little unnerving at first, but I found that after the first couple of laps I felt good riding on the inside of all of the corners. The stretch before the start/finish line is nice and super fast. Getting positioned well before that final corner is key going for a prime or the finish. The pace was strong for most of the race and the race went by quickly. From my vantage point there were no crashes in the field, however, one woman dropped her chain going for a sprint on a prime (ouch!) but she manuvered herself out of the way really well so the field was not impacted. There was a nice-sized crowd and it was exiciting coming in for the last lap. This race definitely has an "event" type feel to it and its easy to see why it's so popular.

Berkeley Hills Road Race Report

What a relief when last Saturday rolled around! I had been thinking all week of the BHRR, all the in's and out's, dips and bumps of the Bears loop. I train on this loop. Anne and Vanessa won the Pinole TTT for WCat4 on this course. I could visualize exactly when the burn was going to set in (well, you never really can visualize that exactly). And now it was finally going to get underway. I was stoked to see Vanessa and Anne at registration. At this point of the season, we've done enough races to know that the next two hours were going to be tough. Unfortunately, we were missing our comrades Jess and Amy, but knew that they were with us in spirit - or in the case of Jess, cheering us on at the Bears. The race got underway at a decent pace but things started to change right after the first turn on to Castro Ranch. That first hill on Castro Ranch may be short - but there is something steep about it. After that little hill, the pace picked up. We rode in bursts to Mama Bear. The decisive break was made by a lead group at the mid-way point of Mama Bear. Vanessa and I had the lead group in site and raced to get back on. We were joined by Kim from EMC and a couple of gals from NorCal and Pegasus. We fought hard to catch up. I heard friends on the sidelines saying in encouragement "Looking good!" I thought - wait a minute, I have chocolate Gu and snot all over my face, how can I look good? But anyways, I digress.
Coming down Pumphouse for the first time we were fighting hard to catch back on. At probably THE most technically worst spot possible on this course - at the twisty river bed crossing just before coming back up the little hill to make a right on San Pablo for our second lap - we were passed by a men's group, forced to slow down, and then....Kim's chain dropped. What a bummer!! Amidst all the riders and the chaos, Vanessa and I were able to get with the NorCal woman and the rider from Pegasus. Approaching the Bears the final round, I was feeling the burn in my legs bad.

And now I have to say its amazing how collected and poised Vanessa is in moments like these when you need strong words of encouragement the most. Just when I didn't think I had it in me to kick it in more, Vanessa's words of support made me want to ride faster. Thanks Vanessa. By the time we got to Papa Bear, I think both of us were seriously stoked to be so close to the finish line - to see it in sight. We crossed the line and Anne was just behind us!