Anyway, we got to the race and got our numbers. I went to look for my teammates since they had my new bibs. Now I have a full kit! I changed and went over to where my teammates parked to talk some strategy. I then kind of sort of joked and said, "I was thinking of doing the E3/4 race to warm up."
"I am, too! Do it with me!" My teammate Lauren said.
"Okay." And that's all the convincing I needed. I went over to register for the E3/4 race.
I've never raced in a group of 66 people, let alone 64 dudes (Lauren and me being the two chicks). The plan was to just stay in and get a warm up. We did, and it was pretty easy. I couldn't see much since most of the guys towered over me, but I settled after a few laps and felt fine. It's a completely different than racing with ladies. Everything was going fine and dandy until I heard the announcer say, "Rider 278, you're in the wrong race."
"Am I rider 278?" I asked Lauren, and she nodded. Ugh... So I was right; the ladies at registration fucked it up.
I pulled out of the race to chat with the officials. After being given a run-around, asking if I entered the wrong race, me telling them that no, I entered the correct race, wrote it on the entry form, and paid my money and that the chicks at registration made the mistake, not me. After working registration at so many events, you'd think I got this handled, right? The race promoter was pretty awesome, though, and was able to settle the debate I had with the USAC official. I mean, really, how many times do I have to say that I didn't register twice for the WP/1/2/3 race (wtf?) and that I signed up for the E3/4. I eventually got back in the race and was able to settle back in and get a my warm up. Everything was going great until we had 4 laps to go. Guys were making stupid, stupid moves and were getting really sketchy. Lauren and I decided to drop out. On the lap following the one we dropped out on, there was a crash, which later on turned out to be a drama-fest, mostly by guys in their late-30s and 40s being cry babies.
Racing with men is gross. I don't know how many times I got sprayed with sweat. Ugh.
We then lined up for the WP/1/2/3 race. It was a fairly big field with about 42 ladies at the start. There were a couple of Vanderkitten racers and a bunch ofblue dots Metromint ladies as well, who kept doing the norm: Attack and then attack some more. The whole race was pretty uneventful, really. I was happy I stayed with the group. Since I was still recovering from my cold and was having enough coughing fits to make people feel uncomfortable, I was pretty happy that I was even able to participate in the sprint, which didn't go very well, but I tried... while coughing.
Having so many teammates in the race is great. When I felt like my lungs weren't going to cooperate and when I wanted to throw in the towel, seeing so many of my teammates gave me the boost I needed to keep going that extra lap. It's also awesome to have so many teammates in a race, reassuring you, telling you that they're behind you, working tactics, and rooting you on mid-race. Red Peloton has been so awesome!
Kristen, the W1 in our race, got 5th, all the W3s got respectable placings on such a stacked field, and Sam won the W4 race! Overall, it was a good day for Red Peloton.
"Am I rider 278?" I asked Lauren, and she nodded. Ugh... So I was right; the ladies at registration fucked it up.
I pulled out of the race to chat with the officials. After being given a run-around, asking if I entered the wrong race, me telling them that no, I entered the correct race, wrote it on the entry form, and paid my money and that the chicks at registration made the mistake, not me. After working registration at so many events, you'd think I got this handled, right? The race promoter was pretty awesome, though, and was able to settle the debate I had with the USAC official. I mean, really, how many times do I have to say that I didn't register twice for the WP/1/2/3 race (wtf?) and that I signed up for the E3/4. I eventually got back in the race and was able to settle back in and get a my warm up. Everything was going great until we had 4 laps to go. Guys were making stupid, stupid moves and were getting really sketchy. Lauren and I decided to drop out. On the lap following the one we dropped out on, there was a crash, which later on turned out to be a drama-fest, mostly by guys in their late-30s and 40s being cry babies.
Racing with men is gross. I don't know how many times I got sprayed with sweat. Ugh.
I'll be racing with the guys as future warm up again, thought. That was a lot of fun!
We then lined up for the WP/1/2/3 race. It was a fairly big field with about 42 ladies at the start. There were a couple of Vanderkitten racers and a bunch of
Having so many teammates in the race is great. When I felt like my lungs weren't going to cooperate and when I wanted to throw in the towel, seeing so many of my teammates gave me the boost I needed to keep going that extra lap. It's also awesome to have so many teammates in a race, reassuring you, telling you that they're behind you, working tactics, and rooting you on mid-race. Red Peloton has been so awesome!
Kristen, the W1 in our race, got 5th, all the W3s got respectable placings on such a stacked field, and Sam won the W4 race! Overall, it was a good day for Red Peloton.
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