6/3/06 Wheels of Thunder Dash for Cash Criterium
Yep, finally getting around to posting this one.....sorry for the delay, but good opportunities are rare.
Ok...a modest drum roll please for BikeMomma.....I got my first TOP TEN, BABYYYYYY! 7th, in fact. I beat my goal of top fifteen and my fleeting "yea right" half-thought of actually being in the top ten. Sweet. What a feeling! And actually, at the moment, USACyling.com lists me as holding the #25 ranking for Criterium/Cat4 statewide. Even sweeter. Are they sure that's me??? hehe :p
Oh, icing on the cake -- I got to finally meet VeloGirl (Lorrie)!! :D Hi again! Thanks for the tips....
Anyway this was a fun day. This race was in Pleasanton in a business park; four right-hand turns, and fairly good streets (if you're not considering the various ruts, gaping potholes, and tons of traffic dots); course was listed as being .9mi long and the Cat 4 ladies were scheduled for 15 laps. The fun part was that each lap there was a $10 prime and so there was at least a few girls sprinting each time. It made the race interesting, as there was a mad sprint, and then a slowing down. Cruising, maneuvering, sprinting (or just speeding up), then cruising again. We had about 30 starters and the final results showed 27 finishing. Char said she saw about two or three girls pull up, hence the 30.
Char (Vino) and I, the awesome racing chick duo we've become, went up there together. She recently upgraded to the 3's and my race was scheduled to start at 8:45, and hers at 9:40. Well, I got a later start than planned from my house to go pick her up, and so by the time we left her house in Merced after loading up her gear, I had to really push the gas on the freeway. We were looking good after a bit, gabbing, and then -- what happens when you're gabbing and not paying attention -- I missed the 205/580 junction turnoff to go to Pleasanton. Oh crap! That took about 15 or so minutes to rectify, and so it was nail-biting driving from there. We got to the race site with about 25 minutes until my start time, and I still had to register. :eek:
My saving grace, Char stepped up and got my bike all ready to go while I got signed in, so I had just enough time to pee and get one measely exploratory lap around the course before we lined up. So, as a result of no warm-up, the first maybe three laps I was hurting bad. But by lap five or so, I was starting to feel my oats, and settled into the race.
I didn't try for any of the primes, but did speed up with the leaders each time, so I was usually near the front of the pack by the last turn. A couple times, though, I was back too far, but my grrrl Char was on the sidelines yelling at me to "get up there Kim!!!" so I knew what I had to do (stay up there!). Towards the middle to last half of the race, I noticed that not as many girls were going for the primes, and it seemed almost half-hearted (from my vantage point, can't speak for them), so during one, I moved up to a not-quite-in-contention-but-near-enough spot, rounded the first turn and found myself in my first breakaway situation. Wow! Only, stoooopid me, I didn't realize it. My inexperience showed right then...a big lesson learned for next time. I'll know to look behind me! :p We had two gals from the Metromint squad and another (I think the gal who ended up winning, but I'm not sure). One of the "Minties" yelled out "we have a gap" and then asked "how are you feeling"....dummy me, I thought she was asking her teammate that, but too late, I realized that what she was doing was trying to get our little group of four working together to stay away. At the just about the time I realized the situation, assessed myself, and started to open my mouth to say "let's go", I looked behind and the pack had caught us. Oh well! Again, lesson learned for next time. But an exhilarating feeling to be in a near-breakaway and to feel good in it.
After that, the race actually got comfortable for me....I was just in my zone, I guess. Everyone was pretty much holding their line around the corners, not getting too crazy, and so I was really relaxed through the whole thing, even through the last two laps, when the anxiety gets high in the pack. Around the final lap, I really concentrated on finding a good wheel to get behind, then fighting to hold it. So around the final turn, I was probably in the top fifteen, and then I gained alot of ground on the front leaders during the sprint. I was actually gaining too fast, as I had no where to go...the gaps were too small to safely squeeze through. As soon as we crossed the line, I realized that I probably finished in the top ten, and wow...what a feeling. Thrilled and just proud of myself. I told the winner "good job", grabbed my water and a banana from the car, talked a bit with Velogirl, and settled in to watch Char's race.
I think my success rubbed off on her, because she nabbed 2nd by about TWO inches in the 1/2/3's combined race and 1st for the 3's (officially placed separately). Vino...what can I say....you're like a fine wine! Just gettin' better with more races under your belt, girl. Eight years my younger, I wanna grow up to be just like you. heehee :p
Peet's on the way out of Pleasanton, and a smooth ride home.....and a migraine 'cause I didn't eat anything. Dummy! Another lesson learned....don't forget FOOD!!!!!!! Coffee will NOT tide you over.....:p :p :p :D :D :D
Thanks for reading everyone. A thrilling day. Next race may be July 2nd in Vacaville.
As always, speed rules....
~BikeMomma
Vacaville!Vacaville!Vacaville!
Kim, you have a knack for writing! I can hear your voice shine through in your sentences.
Anyhowisy, at Vacaville I was thinking about racing the 3/4s and the 1/2/3s since the start times are close. The 1/2/3 race is the distict champ portion of the race, but I think the 3/4 race would be 1) a good warm-up 2) a great chance to preview the course 3) an opportunity for you to grab my wheel for a tow to the line (possible top 5 :rolleyes: ).
We're heading up to Mammoth so I won't see you Thursday, but after that I better start biking more ha ha.
Ciao,
Vino
aged to perfection; oak and cherry hints. Grow up to be me? Better start liking beer lol! :p
