nice Cornell grad student named Dave.

I was happy to see Margaret in the parking lot-she was planning to do the

Pro/1/2/3 race. I also saw Shana Lydon who I'd just met last weekend, and

assumed she'd be riding in the 4 race-but she had actually just upgraded

to Cat 3, so nope, I wouldn't be riding with anyone I knew.

The Cat 4 field-only 8 women total-was combined with the mens' 55-plus

field. After leaving the start and turning onto the open road several

guys moved up the side to the front. Everyone accelerated, then the

headwind smacked the men at the front-who promptly decided it was no time

to start working. A few different men moved up then, and the same thing

happened again. Five of the women had moved up and started trading pulls.

I was one but knowing we had to do two laps I was not interested in

taking long pulls and nobody was working very hard into that wind. We

girls chatted a bit-Angela Schnuerch from Full Moon Vista commented that

she didn't think it was very gentlemanly of the men to make the women

work.

As soon as we turned right onto Egypt Road the pace picked up. The first

climb wasn't too long but split things up a bit. I paid attention to the

other women-most were breathing hard pretty soon and several of them,

along with a lot of the men, were attacking the hill but slowing toward

the end of the climb-the result for most of either using too big a gear or

not trying to pace themselves. I tried to find a pace I could maintain

and found several riders, men and women, dropping back toward me. Some

flat and downhill, then the second climb came, which was longer. I found

a rhythm and watched everything move around. Some men going forward, some

dropping back. I made the mistake of not watching very sharply who was

going up the road. I thought one woman might have gotten away.

Two men rode near me for a while then lost me on the downhill coming

around to the start/finish for the first time. They were in sight turning

back onto the road with the horrible headwind starting the second lap. I

couldn't close the gap to them. The wind made me really angry. I stayed

in the drops and made myself small but it felt like getting a shove in the

chest every time it gusted.

I rode the second lap mostly by myself. I finally caught the two men in

the distance after turning onto Egypt Road again-I climbed back up to them

on the second hill. I traded places with them for the next few hills, and

was overtaken about 2 miles from the finish by the lead group for the

Pro/1/2/3 women, who had another lap to go.

The downhill sections and the finish were fun, but I was still wondering

if someone had gotten away from me. I rode a little way to spin out with

Margaret, who had ridden two laps of the Pro1/2/3 but was feeling depleted

after some weeks of consecutive racing.

When I got back to the finish three or four women were there from my

race-they congratulated me and then laughed at me because I didn't know

that I'd gotten first. That's what happens when you momentarily stop

paying attention-not that you win, but you might sound pretty darn

clueless.

Oh gosh. Unfortunately because the field was so small, the race promoters

reduced the prize money. So there wasn't a very big payout for MiM-I got

most of the entry fee back.  we'll have to just try and win

some more next weekend...

Vanessa