My senior project focuses on CycleweRx, the first all-women’s cycling team in Rochester. Over the next few weeks I will be releasing profiles of each woman, along with a blog post written by them!
So please welcome... Andi Balland, on racing with the GVCC:
I’m pretty psyched with how last night’s race went.
It wasn’t a question of whether or not I was going to be dropped, just a question of when. Just like the last race, my plan was simply to hold on for as long as I can.
I made the mistake of not working myself to the front off the start. I knew I was in the wrong position heading into the first turn and it did end up biting me in the ass. Instead of getting dropped though, it was a slight gap that put me off the back. I had to work really hard to catch up but I did it. With only just a few moments to recover and deepen my breathing, I worked into the pace line and got up to the lead when I saw Lynn break off the front . I attacked and caught her wheel. It was a match burned too soon and before I could recover, we made the final turn towards the finish line and I got passed. By everybody. Not able to close the gap this time, I had just gotten dropped. Crap. To any other rider, that would’ve been disappointing but for me it was win. I almost held on for an entire lap!!
No groupetto this time, I finished the race by myself. I rode as hard as I could and averaging a higher speed than last week. One of the roads on the course was County Road 8. I slight downhill to the first turn with a smooth, wide shoulder. It quickly became my favorite section of the course. I settled into my drops, opened it up and just flew. It felt so damn good!  The A group lapped me but instead of getting yelled at, they were congratulated me for riding so strong by myself. Instead of yielding, I jumped on the back and held on as long as I could. It was like riding inside an oven, their collective heat cloud washing over me. They pulled me forward even faster while offering a recovery. It was a free carpet ride that ended too soon but left me with a high that stayed ‘til the end.  I was able to finish instead of being pulled off the course. A huge win for me!
That was my progress this week. I’m ahead of where I was at the last race, way ahead of where I usually am at this point in the season and light years ahead of the voice in my head that prefers to stay inside the comfort zone.
