And I'll add one more thought, since I'm still on the rush:

I can't stop smiling when I think of the pair of race officials at the bottom of a hill, near a tight corner. Most of my group had passed and they looked pretty bored. But they were from a local cycling club, and I'm pretty sure they recognized a fellow cyclist desperately doing her best - I came tearing round the corner hunkered down in aero position and picking off people as fast as I possibly could - and they turned around and really CHEERED for me