Dunnigan Hills Road Race

I was all set to do the 3�s only race. Arrived, registered, warmed up, ready to go. As I waited near the start for my group to go, I watched as the women 1/2/3 began to assemble themselves. (They were going off about 10 minutes before the women 3s.) Then who do I see roll up, none other than our very own Brenda Phelps! Neither of us knew the other was coming� but then I find out Brenda is registered for the 1/2/3 race. So with just minutes to go before the 1/2/3 group start, I rush back to registration to see if I can make a last-minute race switch. Fortunately, Velo Promo was very accommodating, and Brenda quickly helped me pin on my new number.

Quite a few Palo Alto women in the field, as well as several Proman girls. Amber Rais was the sole Webcor showing, and became the marked woman of the day. Even I chased her down once. With everyone focusing on Amber, I think that when a couple girls attacked followed by a chase group that eventually formed into a break of eight, since Amber wasn�t in the break, there initially was no concerted effort to bring the break back. Plus both Palo Alto and Proman were represented in the break, so none of their teammates did any work.

How great it was to have a teammate in the race with me. That hasn�t happened at all for me � at least not in a road race � in over a year. And more importantly, Brenda got in the break! When I saw her go, I recall thinking that I should stay with the pack just in case. So I had the luxury of actually not working! I don�t think I�ve ever experienced that before! There were a few times when some of the girls tried to engage me into working to chase down the break� because most who know me out there know that more often than not, I am willing to work. But this time, I had to say, no, I can�t help you, I�ve got a teammate up there in the break. Wow!

And the best news of all, Brenda ends up finishing 6th! How sweet is that! I hope she submits a race report herself, so we can hear about how things were from her end of the race. Congrats, Brenda!

-Rita

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