Cherry Pie

Cherry Pie Crit really highlights the glamorous side of bike racing in that everybody has to sneak off to the car to wipe the PowerGel and snot on their faces to look presentable for the cool down ride. I hadn't done this race in 2 or 3 years and this was the first time I can remember such amazing weather. I also remember being 20 lbs heavier two years in a row and getting dropped like a Rashard Mendenhall fumble. It's hard to say which hair pin turn is more fun: Ronde or Cherry Pie. We should take a vote.

There was a good crowd today. Lots of super strong girls. There was this one Swiss girl that I think I've seen at Cherry Pie before. I don't know her name and she wasn't prereg'd. You could tell she was probably going to be a threat because her skin suit didn't have a collar. Europeans wear skin suits with no collar.

Tactics: Our womens team had a great race today. There were 6 of us and we all did something to make the race hard. Our attacks and counter attacks were nearly flawless. We had a great first race together. We had hoped that a break would form but the momentum just didn't build because there were a lot of individual riders. The start of the race was manageable. There were a couple early attacks by Webcor and 1 or 2 others. Swiss Miss really wanted a break and she got it. To be perfectly honest I can't really remember where she snuck away. I do remember just having come back from an effort and not being in an ideal position to chase her.

I do remember Olivia (PB2012) and Liza (Primal) and Jane (Yahoo) being on the front waiting for the other to do some thing. Webcor (Emily) threw down another attack and as she was coming back I jumped. I was hoping that one of the pro girls would come with and we could make decent separation or potentially bridge. Before I knew it I had a decent gap and just decided to go with it. I was making time on Swiss Miss but it wasn't enough. At3 to go my gap was 10 seconds. I decided to sit up and try to recover some thing for the sprint.

As soon as I got back (Webcor) attacked. This quickened the pace a little and limited the rear pack swarm. Liza (Primal) jumped hoping to solo for a second place. There was some shuffling in the pack and the final lap movement made organizing at the front difficult. I saw Liza on the hill and I knew I could catch her. I jumped to the front and basically went as hard as I could. I was trying to time Liza's pace. I think that if I had waited any longer she would have gotten second and I would either get 3rd, 4th or 5th. I jumped because I thought there was a chance I could get 2nd or 3rd. I ended up leading out Ruth Winder (officially unattached, ride in Lombardi kit) and Kirstin Drumm (Electric) and came in 4th. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have wanted Webcor tow in but I don't mind taking second to strong, smart, classy girls like Ruth and Kirstin.

Lesson:
1. Practice knowing the space between patience and perfect timing.
2.The difference between an American that wants to look Euro and an authentic European is the lack of a collar and that the sleeves on their long sleeved jerseys only go to the middle of the forearm. Beware of this.
3.Bring a summer dress, gladiator sandals, over sized sunglasses and a floppy hat for an instant post race fashion makeover that will leave you looking like a clandestine Hollywood actress instead of a war-torn athlete. Wear waterproof mascara.

See you next week!-Mary