We’ll start with mine, and then (maybe, we’ll see, Monday is nigh…) get into what it’s like watching a UCI-level event that was primed to be a tune up for the Tour of Utah.

My race. In a word: *shoulder shrug*. This race scarred me last year, when during the 10 mile (10!!! MILE!!!) climb to the finish my hip flexor basically failed on me because I was so tired after having been dropped in the first 5 miles (which were also a climb). I essentially could pedal no more, so I dropped out and shed some tears in the broom wagon while the two other dudes already in the van sat quietly (it was awkward). So this year, I had been focusing on this race as a sort of “capstone” to my season, where I had met one of my other major goals of upgrading from Cat 4 to Cat 3. This race has been meant as a major test, and boy is it. This race draws lots of regional talent, from Canada to the Bay Area (in the amateur fields, in the pro fields they’re from all over the place). These women could be just as strong as me, or stronger; some of these women are still 4s, while some are 3s foaming at the mouth to upgrade to Cat 2. At this point, I am solidly in the middle. There is still a lot about racing smart that I am learning, and some of it is taking longer than other parts to understand and implement. This type of race is great for showing what skills are in good (or at least passable) shape and what skills are lagging.

Stage 1 - Mt. Bachelor Road Race: Being the stage that dispatched me last year, I knew I need to dig in to just stay with the group up the first 4 mile climb before the descent. Check. Stayed with the group, and stayed in the front half, all the way up the climb and then down the descent. Into the valley and and some rather mellow rollers where a few attacks went, but nothing stuck. Approaching the feedzone things slowed, but then hit out right into a larger, longer roller. I was shaken loose, BUT I had buddies and we teamed up PDQ and chased back on (this is where my power meter broke, too many watts, obvi). The attacks seemed to have mellowed and we were rolling along when we were neutralized right before the feedzone, but told to still roll to the feedzone. Lots of yelling ensued. After a few calming breaths, we were rolling again, just in time to grab some neutral water. Then the kickers came. A section of road just before the actual finishing climb with 3 successive kickers, attacks went on each one of these and with each attack I lost more ground and was finally dispatched somewhere after the second and into the third. I continued on, having the group in sight helped until I hit the climb. Everything was tired on the climb. My legs, my hamstrings were starting to feel crampy. My arms and shoulders, getting out of the saddle gave my legs a bit of a rest, but then my shoulders were tired. I focused on just turning the pedals; however I could turn them, I needed to turn them. I came in ~15min after the winner of the stage. I was tired, I was thirsty, I was hot but cooling down quickly, I just wanted to get back to the hotel and fall asleep. So I booked it back to my car and did just that. Onward to another day.

Stage 2 - Skyliners Time Trial: I was not excited for this TT. It was an 8.8 mile, uphill, out and back… and I had the pleasure of being first out of the start house. Which is kind of nice because then, ideally, you’re the first one done. But it also sucks, because then you are the rabbit for everyone else on course. Anyway, I focused on controlling the things I could control. I lined up, clipped and, once released, hauled ass. Maybe I went too hard, I kept repeating a phrase from the movie Gattaca (I highly recommend this movie, it’s awesome, and spacey, and inspiring) when two brothers are having a swimming contest to see how far they could go, “I never saved anything for the swim back”. Though I knew I had to save some for the ride back, I knew I also needed to push-push-push on the way out. I kept telling myself, I could take a little bit more, could push a little harder. I finished in 28:2-something. Good for 22nd. I was satisfied with my ride, especially given how I felt at the start, but after the finish all I was focused on was putting my legs up and then taking a nap.

Stage 3 - Downtown Bend Criterium: I love crits. And the crit today was a great reminder of why I love them. After upgrading, crits have been a bit harder. Not less fun, just a different kind, and a different level of satisfaction. Again, I’m learning a lot about racing smarter with the faster ladies. This afternoon, after my nap, I rolled down to the crit course and my legs were feeling pretty good. Being the first race of the afternoon has its perks, mostly that your warm up can be almost entirely on the course. Lots of time to figure out where the bad lines are, and where good places to move, or attack, are. This course has a slight hill on one end, which could have been a deciding factor if we had used it that way, but a headwind on the finishing straight negated a lot of moves that were launched from there. I had one attack, for a prime (an intermediate sprint). It wasn’t so much an attack, but a spin-up when everyone else had sat up rolling toward the finish. I thought it was for $45… IT WAS FOR $100! After that a few more attacks happened, and I continued to move around the pack. I didn’t have the feeling of sprinters legs, but I felt if someone launched with 2-3 laps to go I could work to go with that move. Alas, no such move went, and into the last 2 laps the field started spreading out and then lining out for corners, to such an extent you couldn’t move up anymore unless you were already in the front 10, or tried to make a pass through an already 4-rider-wide corner. I settled then for a pack finish. Again, coming across for 22nd.

Stage 4 - Awbrey Butte Circuit Race: I had received a couple of notes about this course from my coach (Joe Holmes of Tete de la Course Cycling). I also remembered some of it from getting to view the Pro race last year from both a team car and the feedzone. Even given those two things, I had a bit of a rough day. Basically, on this course, if you’re not climbing, you’re punching over rollers or speeding through swooping descents into more, punchier, rollers. I’ve come a long way when it comes to rolling terrain, but today I did not have it. Attacks into and on the feedzone climb, almost unhitched me, but I chased back on. Then the jostle to the front, where everyone wanted to be, for the start of the Archie Briggs climb, and I was in a decent position… but this where the difference between ‘decent’ and ‘good’ becomes specific… there’s a false flat about halfway through this climb. And an attack went there, so my ‘decent’ position very quickly turned into a bad position. Another attack on the last portion of the climb and I was off. There’s a roller right after this climb, and I was hoping the field would slow up at this, needless to say they did not. So I ended up riding the second lap by my lonesome. I continued to push myself through the lap, wanting to now finish in the best time I could, but working alone you realize all of the wind the group took on for you and just how much extra momentum you were taking in to all of those punchy rollers. When I would start thinking, ‘man, this is really hard!’ I would think of another movie moment, this time from A League of Their Own (again, great movie, go watch it); when Tom Hanks is telling Geena Davis, who is quitting the team because it got too hard, that the ‘hard’ is what makes the game great and that if it were easy everyone would do it. This is true in all high level, high effort endeavors. The greats are so great because they make the ‘hard’ look acheivable and they inspire us to push our limits. And for us mere mortals, to get closer to that level of success even a little bit, we have to embrace the ‘hard’ and let it teach us what it takes to be great. Anyway, I digress… The finish to this race is up a 400m (500m? 600m? Whatever, it felt like forever…) wall. I don’t know how the pros roll through, I was basically at a standstill once I was over the white line. Today, I came across for 20th. A hard day, but another great day for learning.

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