What a day! Let's start with the course...I loved it! It had seven corners, all 45 degrees, the pavement was beautiful, and there were some false flats but no real climbs. It was about 75 and overcast at race time. The second half of the course had wind to contend with, but not awful.
I got to the course, registered and did laps. Women's 4s was the first race, so I was able to do my warmup on the course. We pulled up to the line and had about seven in our field. A few triathletes, two other bike racers, and a few first time racers. We also had about 12! juniors in our race.
We got the go and the ABCycles girl took off. I had flashbacks of Carondelet and wasn't about to let that happen. I immediately went after her and by turn four was on her wheel. I hung on her wheel for the first three laps until she finally got tired pulling. (I was willing to let her go the whole race.) I took a pull, and waved Mandy (Tyson) around. I realized as I moved back, I realized there were only four of us by this point. We took turns pulling. At one point, the ABCycles girl tried an attack, I answered and held her wheel. We had about a half block gap when she sat up. I urged her to keep going, but she was spent. The others, with some lapped riders, jumped back on. We again took turns at pulls. It came down to 3 to go, then 2, then the last lap.
The ABCycles girl took off after turn five. I went after her and sat on her wheel until the final turn. I had figured out a good sprint point during my warm up so I knew where to start. I eased into my drops at turn six. We made turn seven and I was up and off. I added gears and spun up until I crossed the line. Win number two for me in the books! SA-WEET!
I went back to registration and got my Women's Open number. There was Aubree Dock from Tulsa Tough. She's a strong, strong three. I knew then the Open race was not going to be a walk in the park. I spun easily around the neighborhood and kept my legs warm. The 4/5 race ended and I jumped back on the course for a few laps. The clouds had cleared and the sun was out in full force by the time we pulled to the line.
Nine women lined up, beside Aubree, Pam Hinton, the women's open MO RR champ was there. Three other women from the 4's race was there and another girl, Megan, in her first race ever. We got the whistle and Pam went out hard. I went right after her. My legs felt great and I was ready to play! The first lap was fast. We got back to the start/finish and it calmed down. Pam, Aubree, and the girl in yellow were happy taking pulls. I made sure to sit 4th or 5th wheel so I would be ready to answer anything that went. About three laps in, Pam yelled at Megan because she was all over the place. Pam and Aubree gave a few more attacks, and I felt comfortable going after them each time. I took my turn pulling, but made sure not to work more than I needed to. 21 minutes in came the prime bell. I toyed with what I wanted to do. I decided to wait and see who jumped. Pam and the girl in the yellow went. I gave chase, but just enough to stay on their wheels and not be gapped. The girl in yellow took it. Aubree and Pam each launched another attack. They were quickly reeled in. We cruised past the start finish with 38 minutes on the card. I remember thinking, next time we'll get 4 to go.
Mandy was in front pulling at this point. I was sitting second wheel and our pace had slowed. I knew to expect something, I just didn't know when. We made turn seven and Pam went. From her earlier attack, she always took the far right. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her coming. The girl in yellow was hot on her wheel. I was up and out of my saddle, ready to go with them. Holly Guacamole! Mandy wasn't going and there was her wheel. I moved right but still grazed it. We were on the cobble strip and I felt my back wheel go. KABOOM! Helmet meets cobbles, right side meets pavement. I heard skidding behind me and felt someone ride over me. It was Megan and down she went! I jumped up and tried to figure out whether to grab my bottles or bike first. Megan was face down and groaned. I wondered if she had broken a wrist or collarbone. My first thought was that I couldn't believe I had raced so hard and lost it so close to the sprint. Someone picked up my bike and I asked if it was ok. He said the chain was off. Somehow that caused me to think what Larry told us at the start, up until 4 to go, we got our free lap. We hadn't crossed the line with four to go when I crashed. I got a free lap!
I told the guy, "Give me my bike, I wanna race." I started fussing with it to get the chain on and I heard Richard ask me if I was ok. "I just wanna race." He told me ok and took my bike. I grabbed my bottles from someone. Larry was running down telling them to get me to the pit. Richard told me go and I ran 50 or so yards and went in the pit. Megan followed. The pace car came around and I saw the pack. We were warned to jump on the back. Someone gave me a push and I jumped on the back of the group. The crowd went nuts cheering. There were three to go and I immediately worked to get in a good spot. Somewhere on the lap I heard "Hey Big Shark, glad you're back." We got the bell and I was calm and ready. I was sitting sixth wheel and knew the sprint would be hard. The pace of the lap was fast. In no time we were on the finishing straight. Let's see how bad I was hurt. I was out of the saddle and sprinting with all I had. I ran out of gear and kept going. I knew I had 5th, but tried to take 4th from Pam. I came within a wheel of getting it!
I took a cool down laps and found the medics and let them clean me up. The sum of the damage is as follows: quarter size abrasion on my right knee, some good scrapes on my right forearm, a softball size lump on my right hip, pain on the right side of my rib cage when I take a deep breath. I know my run will be slow and laborious tomorrow. Hopefully, with some TLC, tape, and stim from Dr. Matt, the ride tomorrow afternoon won't hurt.
Roxi looks good. She'll need new bar tape. There's a scuff on my seat. Gotta love a ti titan! I think my helmet survived too. No holes in the kit...most of the road dirt came out in the wash, but there are a few marks there to remind me.
Crashes happen. They suck! If you're going to ride or race hard, you're going to meet the pavement at some point. If you never do, you're not going hard enough!
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