Ellas Report

In true cross spirit, I drank a couple of beers before I went to bed on Saturday night. Unfortunately (actually fortunately, because I love my job) Im a waitress at a fancy restaurant so this means that I got off work at 1am and went to bed after 2am because I walk to work these days: Indian Summer is in full swing in SF and I want to enjoy it in all aspects: on the bike, walking, jogging...oh, yeah, my race report! I got up at 7:30 and went to pick up my friend dfL Boozely who laughed at my sleepiness because he is also a waiter although he doesnt have to work weekends anymore. He made a delicious breakfast (scrambled eggs, a side of spinach, roasted potatoes and bacon and stroooong coffee!) which I am convinced helped me go fast. We got to Fort Ord a couple of hours after that, just in time for me to kit up, register, and ride a few laps of the course, which was pretty much a road criterium course with a lot of dirt. There were no run-ups and only two sets of barriers. Lots of swooping sandy descents and mini-climbs, as well as grueling pavement climbs. The one out of the start/finish was the worst because thats where everyone was watching and people usually popped there (the Elite Men all blew because the race directors didnt ring the bell lap until an hour had gone by so the winner came in at 1:12 and the rest of the pack came in around 1:20!). The field was small, so I pretty much knew who I wanted to stay with--who I would let by me and try to stay on her wheel and who I would not let by me. As usual, I wound up racing by myself and finishing mid-pack. Maybe by the end of the year Ill be fast enough to race with the front group of women! But I did not get the "mid-race blues" even though I was by myself. Sometimes racing by myself I can go even harder because I pretend Im time-trialing. Im really looking forward to the "Surf City" race next weekend. The Velo Bellas sure know how to put on a good race.

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004