I'm glad I stuck to my original plan of racing Derby Days on Saturday. Nothing like taking the year off and showing up for the fastest crit of the season, but I had a surprisingly fantastic day! Ok, so I didn't stick until the end of the race, but I raced smart, fast, and hung in there until the very last 2-3 laps. Considering my only road races to date were VP back in April and a miserable half showing at Methow, I was pleased. My mom was a spectator too, which was awesome! She just moved here not long ago, so it was her first criterium experience. She loved it! (But not the crashes.)
We lined up with only 30 in the Women's 4 race, which was a bit of a disappointment since we've maxed out at 50 in past years. Maybe the nice weather lured folks out to other things. As usual, the race started fast and stayed that way. I really only remember one lull for about a lap and the rest of the race was just fast, fast, fast. I was hanging mostly in the back and once I started yo-yo'ing I knew I was in trouble, so I dug deep and moved up to mid-pack for a while. Sweet! I couldn't really make the jump to the front, so I just hung in, and before long, there were only a few laps left. How the hell could that be? Almost 20 minutes down and I actually felt pretty good out there!
The temps hovered around 85, but it sure seemed hotter than that. By the end of the race, the heat took it's toll. Someone put in an attack into the headwind after corner three and that was it for me. I just couldn't quite close the gap and poof, done! I only needed to suffer for another few laps to finish, but I was so ecstatic that I made it nearly the entire race that I didn't care! Damn it feels good to be back to racing and not be that far out of shape! I'm truly shocked, but maybe the mountain bike races have really helped my fitness. They're pretty much an hour-long crit on dirt.I stuck around the rest of the day watching other races and saw too many crashes in the Men's 4/5 field as usual. It seems that every year it's a dicey race for those guys. The little road turtles caused some havoc in the corners I think, especially with a huge field like the Men's 4/5s. I swear they had 75 people out there!
My hip feels 150% better on the bike now and I'm attributing it to a saddle change. After having a casual chat with Matt Hill he suggested a narrower saddle and it's amazing what a difference it has made. Thanks so much for the tip, Matt! I owe you one! I'm stoked things are finally starting to come around and I think I will hop out there for the upcoming LWV series and see how things feel. Cross season, here I come!
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