RMR's race was different today. There weren't as many racers, the wind was even more brutal than before, and the pack seemed to stay together better than usual. Plus, dare I say I'm getting a little better at this? I was only lapped by the breakaway and nobody else. I even caught on and rode with the breakaway for a couple of hundred yards before I'd had enough of their pace.
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. As the race started the guy next to me took off in a sprint. As I watched him go, I realized that he's getting over to get out of the wind. I wanted to be out of the wind too, so I chased him down. The bad thing was that this set a super fast pace from the get go. I liked last week's start better when we all rode easy to the first turn. Sprinting off the line kind of burned me out. Pretty soon, most of the pack had come around, and before long I was off the back, again.
The bad part of the race happened on the last lap when Sling yelled something at me. What he tells me he yelled was, "Draft!" but what I heard was, "You're flat!" I had been thinking that my bike felt a little funny, so I believed what I heard and pulled over. I glanced down at my tire just as another rider passed me. It wasn't flat! I got back on and worked my butt off to catch, pass, and beat the girl who had passed me.
Here's my teammate, Shanna. She's super strong, and I hope someday I can keep up with her.
After the race Sling and I went over and did a lap of the Hell of the North course. The gravel section was a bit more challenging when pushing into a headwind. It's a lot more fun when you can get some speed and fly over the gravel. We only did one lap because Sling got a flat and we decided we should get back. That ended up being a good decision. By the time we got back home his tire had a huge gash in the side and the new tube was sticking out. Time to get some new tires...always buying new tires.
The End
2 years ago
4 comments:
Just remember "fast" is all relevant. When we hit the hills I'll be watching your little rear disappear ahead of me.
I didn't race this week at RMR because of the triathlon and being on kid duty in the afternoon. But I brought my youngest two to RMR, though, and watched the C Flight.
We saw you rolling past a few times and my daughter screamed at you to go faster. I think she thinks that's a proper form of encouragement though I can tell you from experience it's not something I want to hear when I've been dropped.
But good for you getting out and racing again. Once the UCA races start it will be interesting to see how your (and my) training pays off against the proper competition.
Are you registered for Hell of the North? I signed up today. So far it looks like Jamie, you and me. Ski Utah represents again! I hope we have clothes by then!
Clothes are in! I picked mine up after the race Saturday. I guess I should have called you.
I'm not registered yet, but I will be. I'm glad to hear that I'll have some teammates out there this year. Last year there were only four Cat 4 women...total. I hope this year we'll have that many just from our team!
Post a Comment