Instead of bore you all with the day by day weekly details of every bike race that I do (which there are a lot) I thought I'd just rather share some images and highlights from each one. A monthly condensed review ya know? Because well, unless you are my mom or "sig o" you probably really don't want to know the minor details of every event (honestly, my "sig o" probably doesn't want to hear them all either... but I tell her anyways and my mom mostly probably wished I told her more -ps mom, I promise I'll call you sometime soon! I swear!).
6/7 - Monday PIR
I always say that I won't start racing PIR (Portland International Raceway) Monday Nights till June each year because let's face it, the summer racing season is long and sometimes boring and it's hard to not get burned out way too early. Racing on Monday nights actually starts in April, but the weather is usually crap till June. So, needless to say I took Monday nights off April-June to do things like teach spin class and travel to europe. You know, little things like that. Anyways, by the time I finally got around to making it out to PIR, amazingly, the rain had subsided and warm spring like conditions had come round. On Monday June 7th a record crowd of twenty six women came out to race. And, while I worked really hard to chase down attacks and pull my fair share, it didn't pan out in the end. Going into the final sprint the only thing that happened for me was everyone in the whole wide word passing me. Afterwards, a rider on another team thanked me for the leadout I gave her. Depressed at my sub-par performance, I went home and vowed that my motto for the year should be "race smarter, not harder".
(here I am doing waaay too much work)
6/11 - Fast Twitch Fridays
That week I also went out to the velodrome on Friday to participate in Fast Twitch Fridays. Happily, this time unlike all of last year there were actually more than two other people in the novice category to race against! And granted, there may be some debate to if two of those girls were actually novice, but I was happy to just get to try my hand at several other types of races as last year all I ever raced were match sprints. Anyways, I put up the points when I needed to and as a result won the novice category for the night. Sadly, I love the track... but sometimes my social calendar doesn't exactly permit me to race out there on most Friday nights. I know there are other nights to race at Alpenrose, but I'm a busy girl and some nights are soccer nights, spin nights, and softball nights. Call me a jock, it's okay... as long as you don't call me a dumb jock.
(another Friday night at the bar)
Anyways, after the disappointing show at PIR the week prior I sent my team an email urging for some more BTV representation. And well, I guess if you ask for it, they won't let you down. Pretty much, most of our women who are racing and not injured came out... even Amy and Michelle who haven't raced since giving birth last year came out! I was such a happy camper, never before had I raced with so many of my teammates... we had eight women out there and the sight of a mass orange crush kinda sent some shivers down the spine of others. And, we didn't just look sharp, we acted sharp too! Anne and I had a nice break with some other ladies that stayed for a while. However, in due time the pack caught up. We had some awesome sprint points too. Going into the final sprint, it was a BTV sweep of the podium with Fletch edging out 1st, me in 2nd, and Anne taking 3rd. Oregon Cycling Action got such a great photo of that happening, that it even managed to make it to the OBRA.org website main page and stay up there even to this day (three weeks later). Afterwards, we had some team building things to work on... but overall it was a great experience and I loved seeing all my teammates out racing together.
(the front page of the obra site)
(btv women in full effect)
On this Monday PIR, only Fletch and I made it out but we worked together pretty well. Most of the race was pretty uneventful but Fletch took one of the sprints and I rounded up with 2nd and 3rd in the other two. Fletch even had a really nice break for awhile. I was really tempted to chase her down since that's what I'm conditioned to do, but then I remembered she's on my own team and well, I let her go. When everyone had finally all caught up again and going into the final sprint, Fletch and I got into a really nice position and she gave me a stellar lead-out behind some Sorella girls that I took all the way to the line for the win. As Fletch sent me off, she even had some encouraging words, like "get in your DROPS!!!!" because I do usually tend to forget. Anyways, it was a great day for racing, I felt really strong and turbo charged and think I raced pretty smart too. Overall, I was pretty pleased. ;)
(all the sprints were about this close)
Small secret, after placing third in the Cherry Blossom Crit for the Cat4's I actually upgraded; however, everyone kinda missed that. I mean, granted... I hadn't raced in a categorized road race since and it's not like it was a huge deal or announcement, but the funniest thing about showing up at the Swan Island Crit while the Cat 4's were racing, is the amount of comments I got from people (even random strangers) about why I wasn't out there racing. The easiest answer was the truth, that I had upgraded... but it was still quite amusing at the confused people. Deep honest jennlevo truth here: this was the most nervous I think I've ever been before a race. Even though it was very comforting not really caring how I placed or having anything on the line in regards to results... it was the unknown factor. This race would be my first race as a Cat 3 and the first race I'd ever raced with "the big girls", you know, the Pro Cat 1 & 2's... all scored together with us Cat 3's. Granted, several of them I face and see quite frequently out at PIR... but a crit, esp a 45 min crit (I've never raced a cirt that long).. I was shitting my pants a little prior. No joke. Going into lining up at the start, I got a nice little pat on the back from having my name announced on the loudspeaker prior to the race (that's never happened) so that actually calmed me down a little and gave me a little boost of confidence.
Going into the race, my main concern was about conservation... I didn't want to get too far back from the front... but at the same time I didn't really want to go out for any of the sprints and wear myself out. So, I just kinda tucked in and played it cool... watching everyone else and figuring out who would be the best wheels to follow going into the final bit. So, going into that final lap... I found myself in a place I did not want to be. For fear of getting boxed in and not being able to sprint, I made a quick maneuver and got to a happy place. Going into the final turn I was about five people off the back and sprinting for the line. All of the sudden, I saw a rush of yellow zoom past me in a mad dash to the finish. When I realized it track champion Heather Van Valkenburg I felt a little bit better about getting beat out of 6th place. Anyways, as it was a points based race I actually got bumped back to 8th for the final placing, but out of 21 strong riders... I'm not complaining at all.
(one of the best parts about the Swan Island Crit was the Ironclad cheering section)
Going into this race, I had a slightly unsettling and uneasy feeling that I may be in the lead (or at least tied for the lead) in monthly points. It's not that I didn't want to be in the lead (no, hell... I WANT the green Castelli jersey that goes to the monthly winners), but up to that point I really hadn't been paying attention. I had just been racing my bike, doing well and having fun. However, now I found myself a marked woman. I didn't want to be a marked woman and I especially didn't want to be a marked woman without a posse to support me. I mean yes, most of the races I've ever done it's been a solo effort on my part... but it's not like anyone ever really payed attention to me. Here, on the converse though, I had a whole team of Sorella's who had had rallied and marked me for demise ;) and at the same time I had a handful of other riders I was watching out for and wanted to beat. And despite everyone's efforts in the race, thanks to a crappy group of mens' riders obscuring and mucking with our final sprint, I didn't do what I wanted to do. I didn't move to where I wanted to be - so, I got 8th place, 4 points, and lost the jersey. On that note, I don't think Sorella did want they wanted to either. I think the underdog and solo rider Daphne won and I'm really happy for her as she's really strong and has placed well in all of the sprints.
I think when it comes down to it, my head got the best of me in this race. I spent too much time worrying and thinking about what other people were doing and as a result, I didn't race the race I wanted to race. I got psyched out. I tried to play it too safe and lost out on the points I needed to keep my lead in the end. As well, I am always a fan of the underdog, the coming from behind victory. Give me the lead for once and I don't know what to do with it. It's like those big elephants who give birth and are so anxious and afraid to break their babies, they sit on them and crush them to death (granted, that may be a weird analogy, but shut up - it works). Anyways, I'll have to work on that. I still have the months of July and August ahead. I just need to relax, not worry, and not count points. I mean, I'm out here for fun right? Life is too short to get wrapped up in the PIR World Championships or anything like that, but then again why in the hell do I spend $15 every week to race if I'm not going to try to give it my all?
Honestly, I don't race my bike for fitness and fun. If I wanted to stay fit and have fun I'd watch Ellen on the treadmill at the gym. I mean, don't get me wrong... I'm not out for blood or anything, bike racing isn't everything and most of the time I'll choose sleeping-in and brunch over riding my bike, and it's not like I'm going pro or earning any money from this, but having said all of that, I race because I like to "race" and I love the "competition"... and I unabashedly don't think there is anything wrong with that. July, here I come.
(many a photo credit to Pat Malach of Oregon Cycling Action)
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