Wausau

I had a really great race on Sunday and dug pretty deep for 3 laps with no major mistakes.

 
Lots of back and forth with Planet Bike Patti on the first lap.  She was pretty fast on the flats so I had to let her blow by me.  In the middle of the last lap I saw Andrea and Patti just 15 seconds ahead of me, but I couldn't make the gap.  I settled on 12th for the day and my teammate Jen took 13th.  A solid Chain Smoker showing.

Yup, the gun show is that way people. 

A little WORS cash is a nice thing to have.  Everyone in the picture looks so happy and I just look delirious.  Not puking on your peers is a serious racing bonus.

Retro Blogging - Crystal Lake

I don't have much to report for Crystal Lake.  I felt semi-shitty and thought I semi-sucked;  I felt fatigued and powerless.  And the lead out just about killed me.

There are too many variables to figure out - I had been sick, I had put in lots of training, I didn't put in the correct type of training to succeed on the brutal Crystal Lake course.  People blew past me and my legs wouldn't respond.

 
At least I had a good time suffering and managed a rare simile while racing.

So Yummy.

The Making of CYCLEPASSION 2011 - DVD Teaser from CYCLEFILM on Vimeo.

Retro Blogging - Iola

WORS 2010 is well underway so it's time to catch up. 

This year marked my 7th straight visit to WORS Iola.  It was nice to get the first race under my belt and actually have a decent start to my WORS season.

Pictures courtesy of Velogrrl

The start was strangely slow; I got trapped in the middle of the pack on the initial climb.  Subsequently I was unlucky enough to get knocked down in the sand pit at the top of the climb.  As I layed on the ground, the rest of the field rode around me.  I spent the whole first lap burning up my matches, trying to regain my position.  I was able to drop a good amount of women including Patti from Planet Bike.  I rode Laps 2 ,3 and 4 by myself - there was no one in sight ahead or behind me.  

On the last stretch of double track on Lap 4, Patti blew past me like a bat out of hell.  Crap.  I chased like mad and was on her ass though the last part of single track.  We exited the single track and it was a short sprint to the finish line.  The inevitable result was Patti 13th and me 14th on the day.  It's tough to win a sprint at Iola when you are wheel # 2, there is not just not enough real estate there to be successful.  Regardless, it was a good lesson taught to me - I need to pull my head out of my ass and pay attention to the race behind me.