I Really Need to Work on my Hill Climbing

Today was my 10th race. It was on the Key Peninsula at Longbranch. Maria, Debbie, and I had gone out to the course a week ago to pre-ride. It was a good thing, because I would have definitely been in for a rude awakening. I'm not saying pre-riding made the actual race any easier, but at least I knew what to expect. 

We always have these grand designs of what we are going to do. Sadly, it seldom pans out. As for my own performance, I did, pretty much, how I thought I would do. I am fully aware that I suck on the hills (literally, as in I am sucking as much oxygen into my lungs as possible and still not getting enough--which brings on the wheezing like a donkey).

In addition to the multitudes of hills, this race had another feature--one I have not experienced in any of the other road races. There was no neutral roll-out--no time to settle in to the race (mentally and physically) before we started racing. And, it was an uphill start. It was a go at the whistle. TWEEET!!! We're racing...uphill. I'm going slower and slower. Almost everyone has passed me. Even though I did my usual warmup, my lungs had not had a chance to get in the game...enough. Sucking wind big time ...thinking, if I could just...*wheeze*...go...a...little...*wheeze*...faster! I got to the smooth pavement section (ahhhh) and thought I could go faster to catch up. Yeah, they went faster too. Coming up on the first turn, I knew they would slow down to take the corner as a group. Here was my chance to gain a little ground. Since I didn't have anyone around me, I could take the corner faster. Oh, I took it faster alright--so fast that I almost ran out of pavement on the far side! Maybe that wasn't a great idea.

Fortunately the next section was a fast downhill. I hammered to catch up and managed to get back and even get around some of the "Mosquito" girls. Whew, back in business...until the big bad hill where I was promptly spit out the back again. At least I passed one gal who had come to a complete stop (the easiest kind to pass) in the middle of the hill. Don't know what that was about. It didn't seem like she had a flat. 

This hill takes nearly four minutes to get up (we timed it on the pre-ride). That was the end of my time with the main group. The follow car also passed me (no surprise there). I still had hopes of catching back on on the downhill section. Nope, that did NOT happen. However, I could see ahead that there were 3 gals who had also been dropped. New goal--catch up to the dropped group!

I would gain on them on the downhills, coming ever so close, but not quite close enough before another hill would slow me more than them. After this one steep hill, I could now see the group ahead was 4. I thought I could see two OOA kits (Maria and Heather--I knew Debbie was behind me). I kept trying to catch up. I was getting a little closer, but still not close enough to be with them.

We finished lap one. Now back up the long long hill. This time I knew I could catch the group of 4 on the downhill. I caught up to them and could see they were working together rotating off the front. I sat in for awhile to catch my breath, then joined in the rotation. I would get ahead on the downhills only to continue to fall behind on the uphills (unfortunately, as awesome as I am descending, I am suckier at climbing--in other words, my downhill to uphill ratio is not good). At least I stayed with the group.

I have to say, the second lap was not as much of a wheeze-fest as the first lap. I guess my lungs finally came to the party. On the third lap, my lungs were doing okay, but my legs were starting to tire. I did a little more coasting downhill. Even coasting I could still get ahead of the light girls. About half to two-thirds through the third and final lap, Maria and I tried a bit of a two-person breakaway. I would hammer on the downhill with her right behind me, then she would pass me on the slight inclines and I would draft behind her. This section is almost all rollers, so that plan worked pretty good. We did get ahead. Too bad there was that big hill after the bridge. They caught us on the hill. I was, once again, spit to the back. I worked to catch up to Maria, but that wasn't happening. A car pulled out between me and another rider. The car was going pretty slow. As we came to a tight corner, I thought, "Oh great--I'm stuck behind a car!" The car finally sped up and passed the rider in front of me. Then, I passed her and, once again, caught up to...the car. I yelled for them to go faster, but they didn't. Finally, just after the 1 km sign, I was able to pass on the right AND avoid the guy who had been dropped from his race! I came across the line a short ways after Maria. I don't know where Heather was (I think behind me). I may have got 11th or something around that. The average, with all the hills was 18.7. I really need to work on my hill climbing!

But, for now, the race bike is hung on the hooks in the garage, and I will leave tomorrow for my "Long Way to the Cabin" Tour. Stay tuned as I will be posting from the road!

Paradise...At Last!

Over and over my attempts to ride to Paradise at Mt. Rainier have been thwarted (okay, maybe not over and over, but twice). But, no more! Today I had the opportunity to ride with the GGGs and CBC from Ashford to Paradise. The weather could not have been better--blue skies, mid-70s...perfect!

Taryn generously allowed me to, once again, ride in her Van...of...Awesomeness (cue the echo).

This time our trusty partner was Brian. He rode in the back as he felt the chicks should stick together (so true!). Our usual Van-of-Awesomeness Atmosphere O'Hilarity ensued as we made our way to our starting point at Whittaker's Bunkhouse (named after the famous Mt. Rainierian, Lou Whittaker--his picture is in the cafe, anyway).

There were about 13 of us who started, 8 of which were women. It was 5 miles to the Entrance Station of Mt. Rainier National Park. A few people in the group had Discover Passes. Each pass allows up to 5 people entrance to the park. I went in on Maggie's pass (thanks Maggie!). Once through the Entrance Station, I caught up to Anne, as she was riding alone, and we seemed a good fitness level match.  

The going was pretty easy for quite awhile. I didn't even need to drop off my big ring in the front. That was encouraging, because I had wondered if Tessa would be a good bike to bring (Star is the bike with the triple). However, with Tessa's 30 tooth cog in the rear, combined with the compact double, and the lighter weight, we had no problems with the climb. Oh, I did eventually get into that easiest gear, but only in the last few miles.

Due to the fabulous weather, we had beautiful views of the mountain and the surrounding wilderness. At one of the viewpoints, where a lot of cars were pulled over, I remarked to Anne how biking up really gives one the full experience that just can't really be obtained from a car. On a bike you really have time to soak up the views, and there are spectacular views around nearly every corner! 

It took Anne and I 2:23 to make it to Paradise. Our average speed was a respectable 10.4 mph. We stopped for photo ops along the way. Here is a photo of Tessa (white mountain, white guardrail, white bike)

Anne and I were the second pair to arrive at the top. The two fast guys (Mark and...Scott? Not sure if that's who the second fast guy was) got there first and had been there for a bit because they were well into a couple of good-sized slices of pizza by the time Anne and I arrived. Bit by bit the others arrived with the exception of Steven and Lori. After we had been at the top for about a half hour, we went ahead and took a group photo minus the two who hadn't made it yet.

We refilled our bottles, donned warm layers for the descent, and headed down. I, quite possibly, overdid the warm layers (arm warmers, leg warmers, jacket, and long finger gloves). I was comfortable, but I would have been just fine with less too.

I flew through the curves, treating it like a Crit--in the drops, little braking, and rolling over the rough sections of the road. It was a blast! I was in a good no-traffic pocket (nothing passed me for a really long time, and no tour busses ever passed me). After awhile, when the descent was no longer as steep, I had to pull over to take off the extra layers. A couple of others did the same, however, I had a few more items to take off than they did (cue the stripper music). Feeling much better, back to shorts and jersey, I caught back up to Anne. We rode together for awhile. I took the lead to give her a break from the wind. After coming out from the Entrance Station, I lost Anne. I then caught up to Maggie and Bob. The three of us rode the last few miles together.

I rode 49 miles with a final ride time of 3:25 and an overall average of 14.3mph. My max speed was 38.4. Because Taryn was the ride leader, and an all-around nice person (Brian too), they came in much later. They had gone BACK UP to the summit with the two riders who had fallen behind, then rode most of the way back down with them! Impressive ride leadership!!!

In the meantime, I had found where Taryn left the keys to the Van-of-Awesomness (thanks to Carol and Maggie reminding me) and was able to change clothes and put my bike in. I had some ice cream from the cafe, and waited in a chair in the shade under the trees.

 I could have stayed there all day, but not long after, Taryn and Brian came cruising in.

Taryn was carrying a bag of someone's stuff in her jersey pocket (see what I mean about impressive ride leader?). The other two came in a short time later.

We got everything loaded, and after making sure everyone was taken care of, we headed for home.

So, I finally rode to Paradise. I have to say, I'm rather glad to have NOT done it, loaded, on Betsy or Stella. Riding Tessa was very fun and just the right amount of challenge.

Here are a few more of the great photos from today.

 Taryn and I at the Entrance Station.

Christine Falls

Anne and I, and, her majesty, Mt. Rainier!

The mountain reflected in the windows of the Visitor Center.

Next Tour is Planned!

I think the title of this next tour will be either, "Long and Winding Road to the Cabin Tour" or, "Here a Pass, There a Pass, Everywhere a Pass Tour".

I've had this idea to ride to my girlfriend's cabin near Leavenworth for a couple of years. Since I sold my van, it's time to make that ride. I also want to ride to Eugene and spend some time with my boys and future daughter-in-law, as well as ride the famed McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway. Naturally, I decided to combine the two!

Turns out, my brother is having a BBQ at his place in Portland on June 23rd. Perfect! I will take the train to Vancouver or Portland, go to the BBQ, and start my tour the next morning from Portland. I've heard good things about the Banks-Vernonia Trail, so I will make my way to the Coast while checking out this trail. 

Once I get to the Coast, I will make my way south to Florence. I've done this route twice before. This time I'm going to stay in some different parks (even though I really like the ones I stayed at). At Florence I'll turn east toward Eugene.

I'll spend the 4th of July holiday and weekend with Kyle and Mallory, and Connor too. Kyle and I may even do some day rides! From Eugene I'll head toward The McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway. That will be the first Pass. Before reaching Sisters, OR, I'll pick up the Sierra Cascades route.

Pass #2 will be Santiam on the Sierra Cascades Route. I'll make my way to Hood River crossing Blue Box and Bennett Passes (that's 3 and 4). 

On my previous Sierra Cascades tour, I had to detour to Vancouver due to Elk Pass still being closed. This time I will go over Elk Pass (#5) to Randle, then over White Pass (#6). I'll make my way through the Yakima Canyon to Ellensburg, and over Blewett Pass (#7) to Leavenworth. A mere 13 more miles over the Chumstick Hwy and I'll be at the cabin!

After a week of relaxing with Lorraine and Annette, I'll ride my way up and over Stevens Pass (#8). I'll get to do my favorite Old Cascade Hwy (from Courage Classic). I'll stay at Money Creek Campground (I've always been attracted to that name!) in Skykomish. 

I'll continue down Hwy 2 to Monroe and ride to Carnation. The last day will be riding from Carnation to Seattle. I could finish the way I started by taking the train from Seattle to Olympia, but since it will be a Saturday, Tim will come pick me up in Seattle. I'll probably meet him at the train station.

So, there you have it. Some old, some new. Hey, that would be a good name too! 

That's Bike Racing...

Or...Never Give Up!

Today was the final stage of the Capital Stage Race--the road race. Overnight, we lost 4 of our Cat 4 Women riders. One was my teammate Maria, but we knew about that one. Don't know what happened to the other three. We were down to 14.

The road race started in Rochester at Grand Mound Elementary. For us Cat 4 Women, it was a 47 mile  course that took us up two major hills, each twice.

The roll-out for this race is pretty long, about 3 miles I think. We were all quite chatty throughout the roll-out. Once we got the beep from the follow car, we were racing. However, the pace was still quite slow and chatty. This is a trait of the Cat 4 Women. We don't let a little thing like a bike race stop us from talking!

We negotiated the flat, with a few rollers that is Independance Valley Rd, without a lot of effort. Everyone seemed content to just roll along. No real surges or attacks. Of course, this probably had to do with the upcoming hill known as Manners Rd. once we reached the base of Manners, the strong gals took off. That left me, Debbie, a couple of Starbucks gals, and, eventually, Jean, dropped off the back. The follow car even went around us (first time that has happened to me in a race).

I kept working my way up the hill (it's rather long). I, unfortunately, left Debbie behind. I wanted to catch up to Jean, which I did just after the turn at the bottom of the hill. We worked together to catch up to the follow car. We did it, and got back in the race! We just sat in the rest of the way to Michigan Hill. I knew we would be dropped again--Michigan is even steeper than Manners. Jean is much better at hill climbing than I am, so I was, once again, chasing after her. I caught up at the bottom and we worked again to catch the group. We could see them, but never quite reach them. We were gaining, but then we were back to Manners, and climbing again. This time Jean stayed with me and paced me up the hill. She would remind me of what I should be doing--spin it out, shift into a bigger gear now, etc. We made it up and over, but the rest of the group was now out of sight. We went back to working together on the flats of Lincoln Creek--taking turns pulling. We work well together because I can pull for a long time and recover quickly. Jean maintains a great pace, but tires more quickly. She is able to stay on the front long enough for me to recover.

We continued, but we could still not see the follow car. Then, at the expense of a Men's 4/5 rider's extreme misfortune, we got lucky. The poor 4/5 rider had taken a severe spill on the course ahead of us. The emergency response vehicles were blocking the road. The Women's race had come to a standstill. We joined the group waiting. Debbie and one of the Starbucks gals also rejoined us. We were stopped long enough to be able to eat and do some stretching.

     This photo was taken by Chris Neumiller who was our follow car driver.

The ambulance took the guy, and the rest of the road was cleared. The race official let the accumulated traffic go, then we were back to racing. We just had one more trip up Michigan Hill. Again, Debbie, Jean, the Starbucks gal, and I got dropped behind the follow car. This time there was also one of the Portland gals. Jean was doing a great job up the hill with Susan, the Portland gal. I was happy to just get up as fast as I could without killing myself! I thought I would catch them on the bottom. Not quite! I could see them, so I just kept working to close the gap.

Finally, with just a few kilometers to go, I caught up to Jean and Susan. We sprinted together across the finish line. Susan was the gal I had finished the Crit with yesterday. Even though we spent about half the race trying to catch up, we managed to finish not that far behind the group. That was due to perseverance and a bit of luck. As Jean and Maria like to say, That's Bike Racing!!! And, best of all, I maintained my 10th place finish overall!

Hard Work, But Not Scary

Stages 1 and 2 of the Capital Stage Race are complete, and I have lived to tell the tale (or post the blog)! 

Stage 1 was a short Time Trial along Deschutes Parkway. It was just 4 miles. My biggest goal was to NOT miss my start time (ala the Icebreaker TT)! Soooo, Debbie and I were in line 20 minutes early (our start times were 9:24:30 for me and 9:25:00 for Debbie). I finally got to experience the bike-holder start where the guy holds you upright so you can be clipped in and ready to shoot off the start when they give you the go ahead. Let's just say that is much nicer than careening up to the line 20 seconds late, and just having to take off like a mad woman!

Since this was such a short Time Trial, the plan was to go all out. However, fellow teammate, Adam, said to make sure and save a bit for the last part as it seems to go on forever. Well, I've determined that I don't really know how to do that. I just go full-bore. When I get tired, I go slower, but I'm still putting out a full-effort. But, Adam was right in that the last bit did seem to go on and on. In the end, I managed a 6th place finish with a time of 9:02. There were 18 Cat 4 Women. Just to give you an idea how close the times were, my teammate, Maria, came in just 7 seconds after me and got 12th place.

After the TT, we had a long time to wait. The Cat 4 Women's Crit was not scheduled until 4:05. We killed some time by watching some of the other TT finishes. Then we walked up to the Crit Course at the Capital to lend a hand in setting up. Debbie and I were posted on corners to keep cars from turning onto the streets as they were blocking them off. All the cars were pretty compliant except this one guy. He turns onto the road I'm blocking. I told him he couldn't go that way. He informed me that he worked in the building behind me (the General Administration Building) and that he needed to plan a funeral for a police officer. I told him he couldn't get through anyway as it was already blocked off at the other end of the street. He told me he would figure something out, and proceeded to drive down the blocked street. Not long after, one of the State Patrol Officers came driving by. He saw the guy's car parked at the end of the street. He drove down to the car. I walked down and told the officer the guy was in the GA Building, and that I had told him he couldn't go there. The officer said that was interesting. He waited for the dude to come out, then told him to move his car. I glared at him as he drove by.

Once we finished our corner duties, we went to Subway and had lunch. We spent the rest of the time, before getting ready for our Crit, watching the Cat 4/5 guys and the Masters. They also had a Junior race. Those boys (and, I think, 2 girls) are so tiny, but they can go pretty fast! They appeared to be 9-11 year olds, maybe a bit younger. If the small women (like Jean) are Mosquitos, these little ones are GNATS!

At 3:00, Debbie and I headed back to the car to change back into our kits and do some warm-up. I didn't feel like dragging out my trainer in the sun, so Debbie and I just rode the TT course for a warm-up. We got back to the Crit course with plenty of time to spare. Nolan and Tim had arrived to watch my race. Nolan came over while we were waiting in line to use the potty shacks (on my potty shack rating scale, these actually achieved a top score of 10--in the shade, fully stocked--including hand sanitizer, handle on the inside of the door, and not stinky!).

The waiting is the hardest part, but, finally, it was our turn. We got to take a warm-up lap. Some of us remarked how nice it would be if the whole race was like the warm-up lap. Ahhhh....that was not to be...

We lined up at the start and got our instructions about prime laps, how long you had to race to continue on to the the road race tomorrow--10 minutes, and a few other directions. They blew the whistle, and we were off! 

In the very first corner, a gal squealed on her breaks. I made it around, and vowed to stay away from her! On the third or fourth lap, I got to the front. I managed to stay in the lead for a little over one lap, then a bunch passed me. That was the last of my being anywhere near the front. Those gals poured on the gas and it was all I could do to hang on. On the uphill from the last corner, past the start/finish, and to Corner 1, I would fall behind. But, after Corner 1, I would catch back up to the group. I was able to do that for a few laps, but then it became harder and harder to catch back on. At some point, about halfway or so, I could not catch the main group. I was not alone though. There was one other gal. We kept trading places on the laps. Both Debbie and Jean got pulled from the race (or, were allowed to stop). I could hear them yelling as I would go by the start/finish. I had passed Maria, and I thought she had been pulled too, but she wasn't. 

We kept going around and around. The course was .7 miles, and we had to ride for approximately 30 minutes. I lost track of how many laps we did, but I'm guessing in was in the neighborhood of 13-15. Every time I would come around the last corner, I would hope to hear the bell for the last lap. Nope, we would still be going and I could see the peleton up ahead (it is the longest straight stretch of the course--all uphill). I was still going pretty fast, just not as fast as the others. Early on, coming out of one of the corners, I looked at my speedometer and saw I was going 27mph!

Finally, the announcer guy said we had two laps to go. Thank God! My mouth was bone dry and my hands were killing me from hanging on so tight in the drops (the back side of the course was pretty bumpy--I did finally find the least bumpy line through that section). 

As we came around on the last lap, I was able to get ahead of the gal I had been with and, at least, beat her at the line. As we crossed the finish, we heard the announcer say, "And we have one more racer coming in". Susan, the gal I was with, and I looked at each other and both said how we thought we were the last ones! It was Maria, of course (remember how I said she wasn't pulled?). 

Susan and I took one last lap to cool down and catch our breath. Susan thought she was going to throw up. I told her we must try not to do that!

I ended up with 10th place and a time of 30:24. With my Time Trial, I am at 10th overall and 1:25 off the leader time. Tomorrow's road race time will be added. We'll see if I can maintain my 10th place.

This was my first Criterium. It was very hard, but not scary like I thought it would be. The corners were pretty easy, and I felt confident taking them at speed. I'm not sure that I would say the Crit was fun, but it was not terrible. I'll probably do it again sometime.

Here is a photo Tim took when I was in the lead.

Zero Freeway Miles

Memorial Day Weekend is upon us. Debbie and I had originally planned to ride up Mt. St. Helens on Sunday. However, the weather did not look good for a ride up a mountain, so we cancelled. Instead, we seemed to do nearly as much climbing (just not for endless miles) overall as if we had done the mountain ride. 

I heard from fellow teammate, Maria, that it was now possible to go north to Tacoma without going on the freeway. I'd been wanting to check out that possibility. Previously, the only way involved a 3/4 mile ride on I-5 from Mounts Rd. to Center Drive. It was not that bad, except it could be problematic if there was heavy truck traffic exiting at the weigh station between Mounts Rd. and Center Drive. But, it would be great to completely eliminate the freeway. Even better, would be a way that only bikes could access. 

Well, I'm happy to say there is, indeed, now a way! It is due to more houses being built in Dupont. So many, that the housing development now reaches all the way to Mounts Rd. All the cyclist need do is ride over the freeway on Mounts Rd to the Dupont neighborhood. There is a fence separating the neighborhood from the road, but they have been so kind as to leave an opening wide enough for bikes to pass through. 

From the fence, it is a good climb up, appropriately named, Hoffman Hill Blvd. Hoffman Hill comes out   McNeil St. From there it is a straight shot to downtown Dupont. However, we didn't need to go that far. We were headed to Dupont-Steilacoom Rd. I had noticed the latest Rapsody ride had used this route (saw the Dan Henrys). It makes me think this non-freeway route has been available for awhile. Hmmm...I think I rode on the freeway last summer on my way to Canada when I didn't need to! Anyway, I noticed the Rapsody route turned onto Bob's Hollow Rd. (now there's an interesting name!). We also made the turn. That took us to a bike path, which then took us over to Center Dr. at Palisades Rd. I'd say this is a fabulous way to get to Dupont without going on the freeway! It is a wee bit longer, but worth it!

As for the rest of the ride, Debbie and I rode to Pt. Defiance Park. I took her the nicer way along Vassault. We did the 5 Mile loop around the park, then came back up Pearl in order to get some lunch at Subway. We made it back as far as North Gate Rd before the rain caught us (or we caught the rain). We pedaled hard, enjoying the sensation of water hitting our backsides from our fender-less bikes (okay, not really enjoying). We reversed our route back to Mounts Rd. through the neighborhood. The fact that it was raining made it extra nice to not have to endure the spray from the traffic on I-5. 

We rode a total of 80 miles, 0 of which were on the freeway! Next weekend it's back to racing. 

Bumper Bikes!

And now...it's back to racing!

Today was my first race since returning from my tour. The race was in Ravensdale. Where's that, you ask? Yes, I too, had not heard of this town (I'm still not convinced there is much of a town). What there is of it is about 7 miles the other side of Covington, which is just off Hwy 18. The road out to Ravensdale is through the 'burbs until we passed the Kent City Limits sign. Then it was more rural.

We raced early this morning at 8:39. The Cat 1,2,3 gals started just 3 minutes before us (I thought they would lap us, but they didn't). The course was a 9 mile loop that we would do 3 times. Maria, Jean and I had a plan that we had worked out on last Thursday's group ride with Michelle's assistance. The plan was that Maria would lead me out, because it was an uphill finish. My job was to stay with Maria, be behind her on the first hill of the finish (there were three), then shoot past her after the 200m mark and sprint to the end.

We had about 30 gals in our race (28 finished). We rolled out and were racing after passing the fire station (never saw a fire station). However, what I've come to determine as normal, we weren't going that fast. We went up the first hill of note without too much trouble. Everyone was settling in (maybe people were realizing we would actually have to go up this hill 4 times). I was mostly working to keep Maria in my sight. After the first corner, the course was mostly downhill. I saw Maria out on the front. I had an opportunity to go up the yellow line to give her a break. I stayed on the front until Maria told me to go to the left. I did and some gals came by on the right. That was fine.

At the bottom of one of the downhills, and I think the beginning of the next lap, we had a very sharp right turn. Of course, we slowed down. On the second lap, at that corner, one of the gals yelled, "Slowing...Slowing...ALOT!" As we made the corner, everyone sped up. I said, loud enough for that gal to hear, "Going...Going...ALOT!"

On the last lap, I purposely stayed off the front because in the second lap I was on the front from the finish line to the first turn. If I was supposed to sprint at the end, I needed to save some energy.

When we came around the sharp corner in the last lap, Maria, Jean, and I (and Debbie too!) were all together. As we started up the big hill for the 4th and final time, I moved up behind Maria like we planned. I was right on her wheel, waiting for her signal to "shoot ahead". Near the top, Maria slowed down and moved slightly to the left. I thought, okay, this means I'm supposed to go now! As I'm coming up on her right, another rider comes up on my right and effectively squeezes me between her and Maria (seriously, I'm a Lycra sandwich here). Handlebars started twitching. I leaned more into Maria to keep us both from crashing (like we learned in the Cycle U class). We managed to stay upright, and I went ahead (but, others had already passed us). As I'm trying to give it all I've got, another gal comes up on my left and clips me. Again, I manage to keep the bike upright, but, at that point, I'm done. I'm not risking a third contact because, well, third time being a charm and all (in this case, a crash), it's just not worth it. I coast in behind Maria, Jean, and Debbie, slightly rattled, but pleased to have played bumper bikes and not crashed.

Turns out, Maria was NOT executing the plan. She slowed because she kept hearing someone yelling her name. Oh well...that's the way it goes...

Two good takeaways from this race--I made serious contact with other riders without crashing, and Debbie didn't get dropped--she even beat me! Oh, and our average speed was 21.5mph--not bad!