#comradecyclesracing

skyway crit: day three

woke up and the forecast was like “RAIN”. dang.

after work, i rode the train home and ate some leftovers, put on my warmest waterproof pants and sweater and coat, and rode down to calumet park. didn’t feel so bad with all the gear on.

after storing my stuff in the locker room, i hung out in the vestibule with bff. someone brought latex gloves, which i assumed would help with wet hands (i was wrong). chris came to watch and had to be about the only spectator that day (super points). wind + rain + cold = everybody just stay at home.

today the direction of the course was reversed to run clockwise. we did a group lap then lined up at the start. i tried to adjust my gears and my chain dropped. i flipped my bike over to put it back on. the bell rung - and, bike still upside down - i flipped it and got rolling. weird start. (note: get into the right gear before the start line)

we started into a headwind that nobody wanted to pull into. but, a wheel emerged on the backstretch and we got in line. second lap was a prime and christine took off. i led the chase (headwind 1) to catch. we caught her and elizabeth smartly counter attacked on the backstretch and got away from the group. the rest of the pack sat on anna’s wheel and tried to make her work, bff was adamant about this. she slowed way down which gave us all no chance of catching elizabeth. (note: counter attacks can be real effective)

with the leader swerving into the headwind to get us off, i got sick of it and charged ahead (headwind 2). i was quickly caught by some smart ladies and just got reabsorbed into the pack. they kept me on the front though, and i pulled for another lap (headwind 3). after a lap of rest, i tried to attack on the backstretch and was caught again (note: work on sprints).

so im at count 3 on pulling into the headwind. not at all a smart decision, but i like to think its making me stronger, even if im not winning the race right now. (note: at some point you have to stop this)

on the last lap, a bff did a huge pull on the backstretch that was supposed to be for a teammate, but she missed it and several other ladies jumped on. i fell off the back a little and was working pretty hard to stay on. we turned into the headwind and i couldnt catch a wheel. there were about 3 little groups of 2-3 riders sprinting towards the finish. i felt myself slipping back and just stood up to give it the last of my body. at this point, shifting wasnt an option - my hands were numb and frozen in place (note: waterproof gear).

tomorrow is the last day of the skyway crit. attacking was fun and tiring. so i will try more of that.

*photo by: ronit bezalel

finish: 7th

skyway crit: day two

the weather was much better this day. high 40s and not a drop of rain. rode to work and back home to shake out my legs and warm up. ate a quick snack and switched bikes then rode down to calumet park.

much more people - both to spectate and ride. the mens 4/5 race went off as i arrived. and my teammates were there! allison, lauren and dan came to watch. jesse, rob, and dan s came to race. it felt good to have comrades there, really good.

after the mens race we all did a test lap so new folks could see the course. psimet had a much bigger team this time, as did bff. there were just a few other riders riding solo as well. for day two, they separated the cat 4 and cat 5 racers and scored us separately. we also weren’t allowed to work together, which, seemed strange.

the bell rung and off we went. someone immediately started pulling and i got in line. just like yesterday, my goal was to float in the top 5 the whole race. after about 3 laps, elizabeth broke away from the pack. she looked super strong out there. someone was like “she is getting away” and i was like “go get her”. but i must have been talking to myself because then i did a big pull and the group followed. after about a lap a lady from psimet took another pull (thank goodness) and we were right on elizabeths tail. caught her.

there was a counterattack after that. her wheel was quickly caught by the pack though. for the next few laps there was quite a bit of jockying and elbowing for wheels. these ladies were not at all afraid to use some body in trying to assert their spot. it was a weird feeling at first to make contact while moving so fast - racing cx, if you elbow and fall, its no big deal - but i quickly got used to it.

the bell lap rung and the pace picked up quite a bit. everyone was riding faster, but nobody was riding fastest. it felt like a group hesitation. right before the last turn, the group started to sprint. holding my speed proved too hard and was passed by quite a few ladies with really strong finishes. christine gave me some sprinting tips after, which i will put to use tomorrow.

the podium ended up spidermoney, psimet, and 3 bff (not particularly in that order).

after changing in the locker room, i walked to a surprise - i won the prime! the lap where i pulled happened to be the prime lap, and not a single one of us heard the bell. ha!

overall a great second crit. learned a lot and really starting to feel my legs. the cat4 ladies are really pushing everyone to be better and work harder, and its rad. for tomorrow, i want to work on trying an attack. we’ll see…

skyway crit: day one

it is rainy and cold and probably not the best day for a crit but here we are. i have never raced a crit before and am very nervous. lots of strong racers have given me really great advice, maybe the most important being “get in your big ring”.

in the locker room, i learned that quite a few ladies came down and went back home because of the weather. understandably so.

we lined up and did a test lap so everyone could see the course. then lined up at the start. “stay in the top 5. you’ll be on the nerve. you can follow an attack if you need to.” this drove my entire race strategy. the first lap was quick with everyone sorting out where to be. i didnt hold my line well in a few turns, and almost took out a few people, but ended up ok.

it was hard to figure out what wheel to grab and when to pull. tried a few different follows, some of which put me out in the open to pull. oh well. there was also a surprising amount of talking and egging folks on happening. i chuckled a bit.

at some point a group of 3 broke away. it was a mix of bff and psimet. it looked like they could keep it, but, no way. i get why the other ladies wouldn’t chase their teammates, but couldn’t just let it happen. i started a chase and they were reabsorbed into the pack.

more place jockying then the final lap. the pace picked up and off we all went. before the last turn it seemed like everyone was going too slow, so i sprinted - too early. i was 3rd heading into the last corner and fell to 5th during the final sprint. lesson learned.

overall it was awesome. never thought that road racing would be so much fun. its an interesting mix of strength, strategy, and reading other humans (other humans that are very talented and strong and smart, so, not very easy). looking forward to working a little less tomorrow and improving my sprint.