The chicken and I headed up to PA on Saturday for our first race of the season. The rolling hills were accompanied by strong winds from the north, so we bundled up prayed the clouds would give way to sunshine.
I was unsuccessful with a few early attempts to break, but on the third lap, Elizabeth Bonilla, a Pro Pedals rider, jumped off the front, so I followed suit. We immediately began to echelon, riding continuos circles which proved helpful given the windy conditions. Three other riders, including Sinead Miller, had jumped a bit late, and were hanging between us and the peleton in "no man's" land.
After gapping the field by about 15 seconds, Sinead pulled herself up to us. With the three of us, we quickly put 45 seconds on the field. With 1/2 lap to go, I got shelled, and soon thereafter, so did Elizabeth. Sinead is a beast and deserved the win.
Lessons learned: Patience, patience, patience. As Melissa Sanborn likes to say, "You only have so many matches to burn; burn them wisely." In other words, be smart about when you attack, and know yourself and your match count!
Things that went well: I placed 3rd and I was aggressive. Everyone asked about the kit and they really liked it. I pointed out how Dave designed the kits around the bike. I'd like to bring some VK swag to some of the other races - one young girl asked about my VK T-shirt so I referred her mom to the VK website!
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5 comments:
Cool! Nice racing! It's always a bummer when a break away attempt fails so close to the finish, but it's even worse when there is a successful break and you didn't go with it. So - way to race aggressively. You did great!
Good job! I am a bit clueless to some of your bike racing lingo, but proud of you for doing so well. You are a tough old goat!
Thanks you guys!
Way to be aggressive! "Well behaved women never made history!"
Fun times! Layin' it out and testing the legs.
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