Madera Stage Race

Madera Stage Race

It is hard enough for me to stay focused enough to write a race report for a single day race, let alone a stage race.  I’ll do my best, so bare with me.  I have divided my “report” into sections so that you have the ability to read what you would like with more ease.

Pre Stage Racing:

The Work

There are a few perks in being an Exercise Physiologist, and one of those is having the ability to leave work early to go exercise.  I can justify that by saying I am setting a good example for my patients.  Plus, it gives them something to talk about all day Friday and all day Monday.  My Friday conversations are full of questions like, “What are your biking plans this weekend,” while Mondays consist of “Did you win” or “How many miles did you ride?”  It becomes a little difficult when I try to explain the difference between a “ride” or a “race,” let alone the difference between a TT, Crit or RR.  Despite the education classes and exercise homework I give them, intensity is of little importance, so I usually just some up the miles and give them a number.  My all out 10 mile TT is so not as cool as a 100 mile century that I stopped every 10 miles to eat a muffin and use the facilities.  It’s also not impressive to them if I work for a teammate and finish off the back, nor is it impressive if I win and get a Velo Promo T-Shirt.  All in all, they think I am crazy and that I am the one that needs a referral somewhere.  Never the less, I continue to do it.

The Drive

I picked up my travel buddy Adrienne right after work.  Before we could continue on our Madera adventure, I had to stop off at home to feed my sweet little kitties.   Ok, maybe not so little.  We were off and on our way.  To my surprise we only had to stop once to pee.  We just pulled right off of Hwy99 and visited the rest stop.  It was kind-of like déjà vu when we stepped out of the car.  I guess we have gone south 3 weekends in a row.  We continued on our way to meet Keith at the Costco in Merced to get gas.  If there is one thing about Keith you should know, it’s that he will drive out of the way to get gas at Costco because it is cheaper.  I am not going to get into this couples debate further.  I will however say that Costco was on the way this time and Adrienne and I appreciate the gas Keith! 

The TT Spin

Keith, Adrienne and I headed out to the TT course to give it a little test ride.  I had never done a TT (or stage race) before and had just gotten the bike six days earlier, so saying I was a little nervous is an understatement.  The course seemed pretty basic, flat, straight and a little bumpy.  I was pretty good at riding straight, but I was so bad a turning I don’t even want to talk about it.  Keith and Adrienne just laughed at my lack of skills to say the least.

The Dinner

We were a little late in meeting the team at the Spring Hill Suits Marriot in Madera.  Kerry had text me to let me know that she left us a key at the front desk under “Jay-Z.”  Despite the desk clerks attempt to be professional, he couldn’t help but to chuckle when I asked for the key reserved for Jay-Z.  I guess he wasn’t expecting a skinny tall white girl with bad tan lines.  Never the less we got the key, set up camp and headed over to the Black Bear Diner across the parking lot.  All I can say is classy!  I ordered a triple decker turkey and bacon sandwich thing. I know those have a name, but I can’t remember.  V got it too.  Keith stuck with his typical fettuccini alfredo.  He likes to order things that I wont let him eat at home.  Of course Costco has fettuccini alfredo on sale in this next upcoming coupon book, and he has it on the list to get.  That doesn’t help me climb hills!

The Wrap Up

We got some super cute new Team TIBCO II bracelets from Jill and shirts from LJ.  I love my team!  Kerry put in her ear plugs and we all went to bed. 

Day 1 Stage Racing:

Breakfast

Keith and I woke up early as usual and snuck out in an attempt not to wake our roomies.  We were delighted to see a continental breakfast, the real kind with food not packaged pastries and old juice.  I stuck with my usual oatmeal, but Keith is always a sucker for those hotel waffles.   Adrienne was soon up and so was the rest of the team, well almost.  Apparently Kerry didn’t hear her alarm off because of her earplugs, and woke up in a bit of a panic.  I think she was just a little flustered due to the lack of coffee available by the time she had gotten up.

The Crit

We all arrived at the crit to register and meet with Felicia for a pre race meeting and warm up.  I was number 999 for the weekend, not to be confused with 666! We thought we had everything figured out, but the WP123 race was quite the cluster.  No one knew if we were racing together or separate.  The people at the registration desk were not on the same page as the officials.  At the start line questions were being asked and all of a sudden a whistle was blown.  The ladies fumbled around to clip in and get started.  It was just a get out there and race without a plan.  The race just never seemed to uncluster.  There were at least 2 crashes.  My goal was just to stay in and not get a time gap.  The entire team came out unharmed, but Maryanne somehow came out with 3 flats!?  I am not sure how that is possible, but it happened.  We all took a deep breath and were just glad it was over.  Because there were so many women in the field, no one knew how anyone placed until later in the day.  It turns out that both Heather and Page came in 6^th in their respective categories.  V had sprinted into 5^th place in the W4 race earlier that morning!

The TT

The TT was going to be the death of my nerves the entire weekend.  We started in alphabetical order, so I was last (ZIERKE) enough said.  The women started their TT’s 30 seconds apart.  The good news was that no one could pass me since I was last.  I however was able to pass 4 girls.  Somewhere between mile 6-8 I managed to puke up a luna bar and water.  I was so focused on my TT, the vomit just kind of landed on my right quad and ran down my leg.  I am not really sure how eating is supposed to happen before a TT.  It turned out that the TT was my best race.  I came in 3^rd at 25:55:02.  I was happy with that!  I was placed 3^rd in the GC going into the second day. 

Dinner

Dinner was well deserved.  Our Team Mom Cheri had made us all reservations at Cazadores Mexican Grill.  I got a veggie burrito that was bigger then my thigh.  I had every intention of eating the entire thing, but I just couldn’t do it.  Keith couldn’t even eat it, we had that much food!

Day 2 Stage Racing

Road Race

The second day of stage racing just had to happen when we set the clocks forward one hour.  I actually love having the extra daylight in the evening, but was it really necessary to change the time mid stage race?  The women were in luck because we didn’t race until 11:15am, but the men (keith) had a start time of 8:00am sharp.   Ok, that’s a lie, there is nothing sharp about velo promo time.  Kerry must have missed the coffee again because she pinned her number on the wrong side despite discussing it earlier that morning.  Anyhow, the W3 race was 68 miles of bumpy rolling fun.  The first lap we mashed through the cobbles and up the 3 rollers/mountains (debatable).  My goal was to stay with the GC riders, but I was completely caught of guard by the climbs.  I missed the break and stayed in the chase group with Adrienne, Kerry, and Page for the remainder of the race.  Marianne somehow flatted on the first lap.  What are the odds of that!? My goal turned to making sure the 4^th place GC rider that was behind me by 20 sec going into the 2^nd day didn’t get a time gap on me.  I tried to stay on her wheel during the final few miles, but got gapped by another rider.  I ended up coming in 10^th in the road race.  We all worked really hard to chase and complete the 68 miles of torture/fun (again, debatable).  I think everyone had a sore back, shoulders and legs after that.  We were all so happy to see our team mom and Bethany in the feed zone at the end of the race to congratulate and feed us chocolate milk.

I ended up 6^th place in the GC and won myself a sweet Velo Promo T shirt!  Unfortunately the only size left was a men’s large.  I guess it could be a dress.  I learned a lot from this stage race and I hope to make better decisions next time, but all in all I am very happy with my team and myself.  If I could somehow split my Large T shirt with them I would!

The Finale

We ended the weekend with sonic milkshakes.  Just in case anyone is wondering when you order the mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce, you don’t actually get the sauce unless you ask for it.  Kids meals come with cool cards, whatever V ordered doesn’t come with pickles, and Page will not order from the kids menu, but she will order two full adult meals!

Thanks For Reading

Jennifer Marie