Going in circles

I didn't start off going in circles. Nope. First, I bolted from work right at 5:00 pm (gasp!). I ran/hobbled (foot still boloxed) to my car where I had stashed Dean the road bike and sprinted to Brent and Pam's house to meet them.... we were supposed to leave at 4:45 (whoops!). Because you see, after a five-year retirement and a solemn promise never to do another criterium race, I was on my way to another crit race.

I had good reasons, for racing that is... if I didn't get some more OBRA (Oregon Bicycle Racing Association) points, I was going to spend another season languishing (sandbagging) in the Cat4 women's division. A source of embarrassment and derision.

We drove down the I-5 to the Eugene house of one of Pam's teammates on Therapeutic Associates. There we be-spandexed ourselves, grabbed extra water (for the 90+ temps and the 45 min pre-ride to the race), and bike posse-ed to the crit course. Over bridges, across highways, through residential neighborhoods, and along the bike path (where one "funny" resident thought we looked hot and lovingly diverted his water hose to soak us as we rode by... good thing the iPhone was safely stashed). Finally arriving just in time to watch the first race go off... a "practice" crit for newbie riders consisting of just 6 laps.

Following Pam along the bike path and displaying mad skills to take

an iPhone picture while riding a bike!

At the sign-up, it didn't take much convincing for me to register for both the Women's B and A races... for one thing, there was potential for more points toward my upgrade to Cat3 if I finished well in both races. And the critical mass for scoring a women's race is 5 riders (of which there were only 4 at that point and Pam really needed the points to keep her standing as the state-wide points leader... she races far more than I do!) So, not only did I break my stand against crit racing... I did it double time. Oh well.

I don't pretend to know tactics, but from years' of racing I've gotten pretty good at knowing how long it will take me to catch up to someone and how long I can sustain my top-end. As well as being able to recover my breathing pretty fast. All of these things came in to play!

The start of the B race was cake as every rider struggled to clip in. A Poplolly (the host team) hopped off the front first, but I grabbed her wheel and we went around a few times until the pack got organized. There were three prize primes (races within the race where if you win a lap, you take home a small prize). I sprinted for the first one and thought I had, but was a half a foot too sow. The pack surged and slowed until the second prime where I was going head-to-head with another Poplolly, this time easing off the pedals as I had my race plan set in my mind. The third prime came on the 5th-to-last lap of the 16 lap race... I sprinted down a single-woman break away to take the prize and kept going! I settled into my time trial position, practicing holding a fast line around the curves, managing to stay ahead until the final line... Sweet! But, dude... I was wiped!

I got to recover about 15-minutes between races, refilling water bottles in between. The A race started fast and just kept getting faster. Break after break... it was like the B race on crack! I chased down some... while I confusedly watched the girl's with teams (Pam included) alternatively block, lead-out, and break throughout the race. With 15 of the 20 laps completed, a prime was announced and I selfishly "helped" chase down a break away to get a chance at the prime... I closed pretty well into a head wind on the back stretch, passing the break and keeping going. I rounded the final bend and surprisingly held off any final attacks in order to take the prime. Brent —super fan extraordinaire — yells out "Great! Now work together to take it all." What? I looked behind me to find Pam on my wheel and the group gone. She and I hammered for the next couple of lap until lap 19 when she said "Sunny, I need the points." To which my response was "Oh-gasp-kay-gasp-cool." And with that and one lap to go, she jumped off my wheel. She gapped me by about 20 yds and we both mostly respectably soft-pedaled to the finish line to take 1-2. Very cool.

The aftermath. We still had to ride home in the dusk. Pam's teammates took us a super-cool, different way home that wound through downtown, past UofO (Hola, Ducks) and along a bike path that took a bike-bridge over the Willamette (wow!). And as night fell, we arrived back at our car and their house.

A little on the caloric-deficient-side after my 45-mile, 2:45 ride that included essentially an hour of zone 4, I was ready for some ice cream. We rolled into dairy queen on the way home. Brent pulled up to the drive-through and patiently waited for the trash can to take our order. When it appeared that the tinny voice would not in fact materialize from the DQ wrappers and napkins he tried to stealthily pull up to the actual intercom... Pam and I were not fooled!!! LOL.

After all that, I managed to get a few more points to bring my grand total for the year to a paltry 18. On the way home we figured I needed two more points (sigh) to get my upgrade, even after the seven I earned that night. You might be hearing about another criterium, soon.

Wish they gave points for cyclocross!!!

Shout out: Tom Zirbel racing in the Cascade Classic Stage Race in Bend, OR. I'll be out there this week-end to cheer him on in the Crit and Sunday Road Race!