Cherry Pie 2011
Racing for a piece of the Pie!
hill in this race...in my mind and listening to others, it seemed this way.
Hills and me do not mix. Ken told me it was a power hill and it is perfect
for me. Michele and Leslie signed up...pre registration only! I was stuck,
once Michele does something I have no excuse! :) My last hope was my Coach
would say "NO do not do this are you nuts" so when I asked him I was
thinking about it...he said "yes, do it, it is a power hill and it is your
hill". CRAP! So I bit the bullet and signed up. I was stressed all week and
had visions of getting dropped first lap, there was no way I could climb
this mountain or any mountain fast. The night before Ken was showing me
video of the hill and racing, it looked like a mountain on the computer
screen. I asked Ken if I had a fever!
So we arrived and I went first to look at this hill. It was a hill but yes
in fact it is a power hill! I was still in fear of being dropped and I was
starting to think I was ill! I pre-rode the course and my legs were burning
just slowly coming up that darn hill. Michele told me it did not look as
large to her this year as it had before! I went to warm up on my trainer on
a hill where we parked. I was hoping to have fallen over off of it but then
Ken came and fixed it...darn him. Leslie showed and we talked, she is a good
climber so I knew she would be OK. Amber a new recruit whom we met at the
women's holiday party signed up too, it was her first race! So there were 4
DBCRT ladies ready to rock.
At the start, girls were asking stuff that made me fearful of them and they
separated out the female juniors out of our group, whew! There were 31 of us
on the start grid. They started us at the top of the descend hill, I had
never started a race down a hill but OK, I knew I could stay with them at
least for the downhill and through the first turn! Leslie and I had a goal
of not working on this race, the headwind was brutal and it was not worth
it, we had to save ourselves for the finish. Michele was not feeling well
and I am so proud of her to even suit up to race with us as ill as she was
feeling! Whistle blew and we were off. At the bottom of the hill, I
remembered I did not take my ritual GU before the start of this race....crap
I was really gonna suck!
Up the first hill, no problem. Many more laps, no problem...I was then
thinking WOW I am still in this race near the front....miracle! I was not
even taxed out which was surprising me! Once I figured out the laps and the
turns and who was scarier than the others I was sitting waiting. Leslie was
always next to me or in front of me so I could see her the whole time. I was
ready to cover had she needed to go in a break. Thank goodness she did not!
I was starting to think to myself, is this over yet cause I am getting
tired, no GU and this hill. Then I saw the lap counter 2 laps to go, oh I
could do 2 more laps! The pace picked up. I knew I had to get to the front
and be at the first one up the hill at the finish, it was my only hope to a
top finish...power up it. Last lap, Leslie was on the outside right, I was
on the inside left, going into the last chicane at the bottom of the hill, I
moved up the outside left, it was clear, I powered around the left to take
the inside last left turn, it was clear, my path was there....my speed was
27.8mph into that turn...I looked at Leslie, she looked at me...she started
to move, I kept straight and all of the sudden....the girl on my right came
into my front wheel and her bars came into me...MID TURN...I pushed on her
and then pushed her off me, yelled something at her and somehow by a miracle
kept it upright. I went from 27.8mph to 20mph according to my SRM. I lost my
drive, I dug deep and pulled out a 12th place. I was a little angry.
I am becoming an angry crit rider...Brooke Miller is my hero (well, her and
Jane Robertson)! I did have fun after all and have the best teammates ever!
Afterwards my Coach, texts me...."I told you, you could do it", he rocks!
Michele was great for coming out sick, she rocks, I love her! Leslie is a
great workhorse and always there if you need her! Amber, for her first race,
picked a brutal one and hung in there to finish, good job Amber, I look
forward to many more races with you!
Next race is BP Crit Sat....it is a 1/2/3/4 race...I called in the big guns
to help us 4's...my GF Trudy!
Again poached from Kristen... She Screams Team! You can't help but love that!
Enjoy her Report as much as I did. : )
Again poached from Kristen... She Screams Team! You can't help but love that!
Enjoy her Report as much as I did. : )
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