Winters Road Race

So, it came... and it went! It was my first road race ever, and after the preparation and all the nervousness I had about the race, I'm glad I signed up.

My class was the very last group to start. One of my Team Revs teammates, Pam, was in my class, too, so I at least had a familiar face in the group. The closer I got to the start line, the more nervous I got. A lot of the ladies in my group had a couple to three years of experience, and they were EXTREMELY nice and helpful. I chatted with them a bit, joked, got some tips from them (and from Heather Nielson, a CAT 2 friend of mine. Thank you!)I think that the cold weather got 20 degrees warmer once I was about to start. We got a brief about rules, some mentoring, and the whistle blew.

Off we went into a neutral start for half a mile. We actually got stopped at the intersection were the race starts because the pro men were passing by. We then kept going. I was usually within the first 5 women. Pulled once. Kept having to protect my front wheel because some of the less experienced girls were all over the place, but that was alright, I just kept my cool and didn't do any sudden moves.

The rollers started, and some turns. On one of the turns, a girl pushed another one into the other lane... with a truck coming. Lots of "shits" were being thrown out there. Another one hit another's wheel. More yelling and some "talking to." The feed station came and a girl (an experienced one) cut me off and nearly hit my front wheel, to where a "what the hell?!" was yelled by me.

The climb. Well, I stayed with the group for a while. Then I got dropped like a rock. Pam and I were pretty close, so I just kept her pace. The descent was fine, too. Easier than I remember, but I'm also comfortable with my descending skills.

Pam and I then worked together for the rest of the race. We made quite a good team, even though the winds were, simply put, a bitch out there. The fact that we had each other was good to give our legs a break and we were able to encourage and talk to each other. We had big groups and small groups pass us, some of which were scary because damn! I've NEVER been in the middle of a group that huge before!

The second lap was good as well. Harsher winds but again, we were able to get a break because Pam and I were working together the whole time. By the time that the last kilometer came, Pam said that she didn't have the legs for a sprint, so if I could have it if I wanted it. We decided to just cross the line together so we could show the Team Revs men that the women can join up and work as a team, too ;)

I learned a lot at this race:

- Riding in a group with unknown riders is scary, but I'm glad I finally "felt" what it's like to be in a group like that in a race setting.

- Protect your front wheel and handlebars at all times.

- Talk and communicate, even if you don't know these people.

- Work with someone if you can.

- Always take your registration confirmation.

As far as results, Pam and I got the same time and 10th and 11th place, respectively. 2:39 hours and a hell of a good time. Now that I got my first race under my belt, I'm very excited for my next race, which is Cyclebration.

Sly Park, Round Two and TT

Sly Park

Randy and I went back to Sly Park to camp with some of his family friends. There were a LOT of people along with 13 dogs. Yes, lots of barking. We also had to watch out for land mines... yup.

The first night we just hung out, ate dinner, hung around the camp fire. People drank and it was hilarious. I actually drank a beer, which took me forever to drink since it was a 40, but I still drank it. Got relaxed, that's for sure. One person almost fell on Randy. Hah!

On Saturday we went out on Mormon Emigrant Trail for an easy spin up. My legs felt like lead, but the more we rode, the better they felt. We did about 20 miles on the road that day. Then, we decided to go out on a mountain bike ride, where I didn't crash, and called it a day for riding. The rest of the time we hung out, chatted, ate good food, and hung around the campfire. We went to bed around 11:30PM due to having to wake up early for a 6:30AM ride we were doing with Noah from Team Revs. Problem: There was a baby that cried every effin' night at 3AM. Did I get sleep? Hardly. A bitchy morning for me was in tow.

Oh, and bitchy I was! I didn't eat breakfast in the morning, due to feeling like a damned zombie and never wanting to punch a baby so hard in my life (this is a figure of speech, people. Don't go all "OMG YOU GONNA PUNCH A BAYYYYYYYBEEEE???" Sheesh...). Met up with Noah and, to our surprise, Lance as well. We started riding up, nice and slow, the way I like to warm up. It was pretty chilly. Lance had darted in front of us and was a bit ahead. Noah, Randy, and I were catching up in the mean time. The ride was pretty good, not too cold after a few miles on climbing. Then the real climbing started. We caught up with Lance and then went ahead of him. He said that the steeper climbs were harder for him (ummm.. I think for everyone!). My rides are always no drop rides, so we'd wait for him whenever we couldn't see him behind us.

HWY 88 came up, and we decided to definitely go on it and ride towards Silver Lake. We rode, and climbed, and chatted, were afraid to get hit, but that's what happens on those highways. We got to 8,000 feet of elevation and we decided that, yup, we'll go down to Silver Lake even though we're going to have a horrible climb back up. Down we went.

At the lodge in Silver Lake, we got water and rested a bit. We saw people throwing axes and looked like rough mountain people. We were in spandex. Lance started ahead of us while Randy, Noah, and I were taking our sweet time. We decided to head out. The climb wasn't as bad as I thought it was. It was a steady climb... with motor homes coming close to us. We didn't get hit, which was awesome (derp). We caught up with Lance and went head. Finally we hit the summit again at 8,000 feet. The downhill-[ish] started. At the turn, we also heard lots of gun shots, which is typical for MET. I have posted pictures of me wearing the Team Revs jersey. It looks like we have targets in on our chest and back... and there are gun shots, and we're in spandex. Four people in spandex with targets on. Food for thought.

No, I'm kidding. But it's still funny to think about.

We turned onto MET again and had some climbing to do. We obviously didn't have enough. After a few miles back into MET, we started the downhill/rollers. Randy's bike was being a prick, so he couldn't go too fast (no 50 mph, haha!). I got into Noah's draft, and because I'm short and he's not, I didn't have to do much of anything! A few more little speed bumps, some more fast downhill, some sketchy parts, and we were back home. No accidents and no technical issues except for Randy's bike not liking life at the moment.

Overall, it was 65 miles and about 6,700 feet of elevation gain in 4 hour and 59 minutes of riding time. Sweet! It was a good ride. I was less cranky the more I rode, too, which was fantastic. We went back to the campground after we dropped off and said our good-byes to Noah and Lance. Everyone was there. Some packing, others drinking and chillin'. Awesome times. We packed the bikes up and headed to Randy's parent's, where we showered, ate, and I passed out on the couch for an hour.

Time Trial

Unfortunately, due to lack of sleep and some stress, I started to feel really sick. My throat was hurting during the MET to Silver Lake ride. I took Monday off, and decided to Time Trial yesterday. The wind was brutal, I was feeling ill, but I went anyway. I talked myself into going. The way out was painful due to the headwind being so strong. The way back was nicer, but it still hurt. I looked at my speedometer and I was going around 26mph, which I haven't really done on the way back on the TT. It was the fastest so far. I sprinted to the finish line at 29.1 mph, whereas last week I could only sprint to 27.2 mph. Overall, it was better. My time, even though I was sick, is the best I've had this season! 27:41 minutes. My goal is to get a sub 27-1/2, so I'm getting closer. Practice, I suppose. Practice.

I still feel sick, but maybe an easy spin will help ;)

Winters Pre-Ride Report

Now this... this ride was something different! The only "road race" I have done in the past was the SF Triathlon, and that was more of a circuit race and I (obviously) wasn't working with a team.

We met at Steady Eddy's in Winters at 7:45AM (I had to wake up at 5:45[ish] AM on a Sunday. Wtf, mate?) and had some caffeine. After 3 hours of sleep (eff you, allergies) the night before, I needed it. At 8:15AM, we all started to get together in the parking lot and rolled out.

The whole team stayed together on the first lap. Matt L (designated team capitan for this ride) gave us tips, techniques, proper etiquette, what to do, what not to do, when the pace was going to pick up, etc. There were 11 of us, I think. The first 10 miles had rollers, flats, more rollers, and annoying wind. When we got to the climb, that dreaded climb that sounded as if it were worse than Iowa Hill came up, I didn't realize I was on it. So much for this horrible hill in the race. It wasn't bad at all, it was mostly all in my head because OMG HILL (you'd think that I'd be okay with hills after the Death Ride).

The descent can be a little sketchy if you suck at handling your bike. There's one shady spot that got me at first (no depth perception for those of you who don't know, hurr hurr. Shadows confuse me. I know how my horse feels...), but I followed Randy's line because he doesn't suck at handling his bike, so it was all nice and dandy. We met up with Pam, Steve, and Don G. The rest of the team were waiting for Barbara. The five of us at the bottom decided to head to the rest of the course, where Don, Pam, and I didn't take a turn and went up some little hill but didn't see Steve nor Randy behind us, and that's when Don's lightbulb saved us all. We turned around and went the correct way (Randy and Steve asked a Davis guy if we had to turn or go straight... we had to turn). We rode. It's pretty flat. William came zooming by the other direction. Waved. We got to the end of the first lap and we waited for the rest of the team.

When some of the members came, Matt told us that the reason that Barbara took so long was because her cleat broke, but a mountain biker had a shop in his CamelBak (typical, pfft) so he helped her out. We all came back together and started planning the mock race.

Rnady, Pam, and I were in a "team." Mike and Steve were in another one. The five of us were to be in the breakaway. There was the main group and Matt and Rob were in the chase. Off we went into the breakaway. We kept a good speed. When the rollers started, the pace slowed down, I saw a gap between Mike and Steve and went through it. Randy followed. The two of us broke away from the break away. I've never been in a break away so most of the time I was "wtf do I do? Kay... go faster.." Randy and I kept taking turns pulling. Around mile 8, we saw the group about a minute or so behind us. Yeah.. they were catching up quickly. The group caught us around the middle of the climb, which hell, for a two-(wo)man break away, it wasn't bad! That and I suck when there's any sort of wind, so I was sort of happy. My heart rate was at its threshold and holding on for dear life, but it's all good.

Randy and I kept working as a team once the group swallowed and left us. The way down the hill (which I led the second time) was a lot easier. No wrong turns. I messed up once with Randy's signal to pass him so I can pull. Durr. I didn't see his elbow signaling me. Oops. I pulled after I went "??? WAT!?" and he corrected my dumb ass. I pulled for a bit, died a little inside and then Randy led the rest of the way in. We saw Don E spinning in and Randy asked, "wasn't he in the group?" I figured he flatted again (turns out that was the case). We got to the finish line and after realizing that I didn't die, spun back into town. Randy gave me some tips on what to do during the race. We decided that we may go back to work on some strategy. Mainly, eff the breakaway until the very last lap by the lake.

We got our crap back into the car and we headed to Guadalajara in Davis. I had a torta (holy hell haven't had one of those in YEARS. Made me miss Mexico!) and we chatted. Apparently Matt thought that the group was going to catch the breakaway way before they did. Yay! We then told stories, laughed, poked fun, the usual crap that goes on with the non-stuck up cyclists (c'mon... we all know who those are). Probably because we had a lot of cyclocross and mtb'ers in the group... and ones that JUST started road racing (me), so our head hasn't gotten too big for our helmets (good thing they're adjustable... ahem).

All joking and sarcasm aside, the things I learned were priceless:

- Breaking away hurts.

- A two-man break away will get swallowed up.

- I now know what it feels like to be swallowed up by the main group.

- Working in a team is essential!

- Without communication, you're nothing out there.

- Hills are never as bad as people make them out to be.

- I can keep up a decent pace without an iPod.

- My bike sucks because it's heavy and has heavy wheels, but it's fantastic when I get those things rolling on the flats!

- The wind will suck, but it won't kill me.

- I can, in fact, survive a "race pace," even though I felt like I have died a little... or a lot.

This was a great experience. Thanks to Matt for organizing this. I know that it can sometimes be like herding cats (at least with me.. woo attention span!). The race will also be a good experience. I don't expect a lot from it except to get some good experience for future races. I'm looking very forward to it!