Hutchinson Criterium
Margot and I rolled out of bed this morning to head over to Hutchinson. I feel like we're kind of at the point in the season where we're used to getting ready for races. We've got the whole routine down for the season - pumping tires, extra wheels, helmet, shoes, kit, water, etc. Whereas at the beginning of the season, it's always like, "throw everything in the car because who knows what in the hell we might need. Four bras? Why not?" But today as we headed out we packed light. Minimal extra clothes, and we even skipped the rain gear. (Yes, of course it rained.)
We ended up following Hollywood to Hutchinson, where he jumped into the 35+ race about 10 minutes after pulling into the parking lot. Wow. I registered as a 3, even though Matt had forgotten to bring a cat 3 sticker for my license. He offered me a Pabst Blue Ribbon sticker though, which was nice. They decided to put all the women in the race together, even though they scored us separately. I believe there were 23 of us total. Bellas Margot, Laurel, Sarah, and myself headed out to warm up. Amazingly, we came across a nice, clean biffy with no one waiting. That's just something you don't often find anywhere near a bike race.
The course was a bit technical - some pretty decent sized sidewalk lips, 6 corners, and a little shicane. When the race started, I led for the first lap, staying clear of any jostling, and then Teresa went to the front and set the pace for the field. We pretty much followed her around for a few laps until someone finally started to shake things up. Margot almost got taken out in one of the corners, and then it started to rain. That was when things got a bit sketchy. The surface got a bit slick, especially the sidewalk sections, and I was pretty sure that someone was going to go down. Someone did. Apparently, Gwen was right there when her teammate went down (I was ahead of the crash and didn't see it). Read her account. For the rest of the race, I wavered between wanting to ride aggressively and not wanting to crash. (Although I do finally have health insurance, AND supplemental health insurance, which is great) I attacked at one point and got a small gap, as did quite a few others, but no break stuck. I was a bit back going into the last lap, 7th or 8th wheel, and I never really got a chance to move up. We came around the last corner pretty hot, and I crossed the line in 7th overall. Not so bad. I was happy to be upright.
Sarah and I headed out for a bit of a ride after our race and then came back in time to watch the P/1/2 race. It was pretty exciting to watch (you can probably read about it here or here soon) -- there was a lot of attacking until a break finally got off. I think my favorite part was watching from one corner where some of the guys actually took a line that sent them flying off a 6 inch curb. Excellent.
This week is Nature Valley -- I'm excited to watch, be a soigneur, and maybe do one of the amateur races.
Does anyone want to ride out to Stillwater with me on Sunday to watch?
We ended up following Hollywood to Hutchinson, where he jumped into the 35+ race about 10 minutes after pulling into the parking lot. Wow. I registered as a 3, even though Matt had forgotten to bring a cat 3 sticker for my license. He offered me a Pabst Blue Ribbon sticker though, which was nice. They decided to put all the women in the race together, even though they scored us separately. I believe there were 23 of us total. Bellas Margot, Laurel, Sarah, and myself headed out to warm up. Amazingly, we came across a nice, clean biffy with no one waiting. That's just something you don't often find anywhere near a bike race.
The course was a bit technical - some pretty decent sized sidewalk lips, 6 corners, and a little shicane. When the race started, I led for the first lap, staying clear of any jostling, and then Teresa went to the front and set the pace for the field. We pretty much followed her around for a few laps until someone finally started to shake things up. Margot almost got taken out in one of the corners, and then it started to rain. That was when things got a bit sketchy. The surface got a bit slick, especially the sidewalk sections, and I was pretty sure that someone was going to go down. Someone did. Apparently, Gwen was right there when her teammate went down (I was ahead of the crash and didn't see it). Read her account. For the rest of the race, I wavered between wanting to ride aggressively and not wanting to crash. (Although I do finally have health insurance, AND supplemental health insurance, which is great) I attacked at one point and got a small gap, as did quite a few others, but no break stuck. I was a bit back going into the last lap, 7th or 8th wheel, and I never really got a chance to move up. We came around the last corner pretty hot, and I crossed the line in 7th overall. Not so bad. I was happy to be upright.
Sarah and I headed out for a bit of a ride after our race and then came back in time to watch the P/1/2 race. It was pretty exciting to watch (you can probably read about it here or here soon) -- there was a lot of attacking until a break finally got off. I think my favorite part was watching from one corner where some of the guys actually took a line that sent them flying off a 6 inch curb. Excellent.
This week is Nature Valley -- I'm excited to watch, be a soigneur, and maybe do one of the amateur races.
Does anyone want to ride out to Stillwater with me on Sunday to watch?
posted by karla at 10:03 PM
3 Comments:
I'm in for riding to Stillwater. And nice job today at Hutchinson!
Annie and I organized a Non-Gateway route ride last year. Might be fun to do a cross team thing. I'll be riding but it could be earlier than the rest of y'all because I have to report to the volunteer tent at 10AM.
karla, just jump in the amateur race... it's "cat 2/3" and you're a 3... :)
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