W1/2: Heather Ross
W3: Jennifer Zierke, Rhonda Serr, Maryann Schrupp, Adrienne Belliveau, Kerry Stivaletti, Page Robertson
W4: Not in attendance due to “wine night”
Team Mom: The one and only Cheri Robertson
Morning of Race Day
Keith and I set out for Copperopolis around 6:30am Saturday morning. I know I know, Where is Copperopolis? Every time my patients asked, I just told them it was near Oakdale. Oakdale? That’s really the best I could do to explain the location. It’s actually pretty close to where I grew up (Amador County). The manure scented air was really quite homey for this country girl. Anyway, Keith’s race was at 10am, so I had some waiting to do before I was up at 1:30pm. Luckily, Rhonda arrived bright and early with her boyfriend Zach, so I had company. It wasn’t until around 11:30ish when the rain decided to make its presence with sprinkles that soon led to a downpour.
Knights Ferry Road Race (The Bubble Bath)
As we stood at the line getting ready to start the officials presented us with three options; A) cancel the race B) shorten it to 1 lap, or C) complete the scheduled two. I personally was freezing, shivering and blue at line. It sounded like most of the girls wanted to do the 1 lap (including myself), but I couldn’t vote for it. TIBCO II had a pretty good presence, so I convinced my team to follow through with the 2 laps. I knew that everyone was cold, but with our team being primarily endurance riders and very strong, I knew we would not be the ones to pop off with the longer distance and bad weather. The race started and the rain just continued to come down. I could feel the hatred (not personal hatred) other ladies had for me since I had pushed this 2 lap thing. I stayed behind Kerry so she could protect me from the haters! Haha. Actually she is always a good wheel to stick behind for safety. Page and Maryanne would come up and ask how I was feeling occasionally. I felt great considering the conditions. We were able to send shout outs to Heather every time our fields crossed paths since it was an out and back course. The rain seemed to just get harder and bubbles were forming under girls @s$es, I mean big bubbles! I am not sure if the bubbles were caused from left over soap from the wash or chamois cream. Regardless, it was a bubble bath! If you were lucky enough to get behind a bubble blower, you got a nice soapy face wash to clean up the cow manure puddle water that was splashed in your face. I tried to just keep my mouth closed and chug along, but the inevitable happened. Dirt grinds were making themselves at home in my teeth. I refuse to believe anything other then dirt was in my mouth. As we passed the finish line on the first lap nothing had happened and the group was just a miserable sopping wet bubble mob. It was boring and slow. I decided to attack, a few gals went after me and soon the race was back together. Instantly Rhonda attacked. The girls were much slower to respond, but eventually the group was right back together. I was able to sit in over the two rollers while she was off the front, allowing me to recover from my own attack. The group was slower then ever and I could feel everyone getting cold. I attacked again and this time no one went with me. I could see the gap increasing, and I realized I would probably be out alone for a while. I knew the likelihood of me holding off a hungry pack of 33 women for 20 miles in the rain was slim to none, but I knew I had teammates in the race that were hopefully getting a free ride. I made the UTURN and could see the field head on. My teammates were smiling and screaming my name like they were on a casual Sunday ride. I was happy at that moment because I knew they were well rested. The field soon caught me with about 15 miles left to go. The field was beat down and strung out. Everyone was hurting. With 10 miles left we were stopped due to a horrible accident in the W1/2 race. Heather was fine, but we did have friends that went down. The 10-minute stop allowed each of us to realize how miserable and cold we really were. I couldn’t feel my toes and my wet clothing added about 10 pounds to my already heavier hill-climbing frame. All I remember is starting the race in order of how we had stopped. I was in the front so I really had no clue what was going on behind me. As we hammered over the second or third climb after the stop Rhonda said, “We are the only ones here.” We were left with 8ish riders, 3 of which were TIBCOII. I couldn’t believe it. My 2 lap plan had worked. We had attacked and pooped out the field. We had done our job. Adrienne got to the front and time trialed the remaining 5 miles to the finish and Rhonda and I were able to just sit in. I was hurting pretty bad, but just kept telling myself it was almost over. As we came to the finishing hill, Rhonda went in for the win and Adrienne and I followed at 4th and 6th with no time gap!!!! We had 3 women in line for GC!
The Resort
We were quick to head back to the car and strip off our wet wardrobe. If there was any possible way to be modest and classy while changing in the farmland, we were none of the above. It was raining and we were wet! I personally just gave the cows a show. We headed back to the “resort.” I typically associate the word “resort” as having a classy ring to it. Well this classy resort was nothing but a paint smelling headache, a clogged sink, and a 1 minute hot shower. These are not really the ideal conditions when you are covered in cow dung and cold. Keith had to heat me up with the hair dryer in an attempt to bring pink back to my color. I am surprised the place didn’t lose power when he turned it on. However, the place is ideal for a wedding venue according to Adrienne. She was completely taken back by the large dinning area filled with school children tables and a large hardwood dance floor. Not to mention the large disco ball overhead and the strange animal arcade machine sitting solo in the corner. Kerry was skeptical before the arrival stating that she was nervous what $50 a night got us. I told her it was this or the Motel 6. We were in Oakdale. There was no Marriott. After the wonderful dining experience, we headed upstairs for bed around 9:30pm. I had a really hard time sleeping. I woke up at 11:30pm, 2:00am and again at 4:00am. I failed to go back to sleep after that. I was nervous about what the day had to offer with such a terrible nights sleep. We all got up around 7am. I had to check the whether the old fashion way (TV) since I had no cell service (aka internet). The TV was just fuzz. I could barely see Dirk Verdoorn trying to deliver the weather. Kerry assured me that the television was older then I was. I just hoped we were in for a clear day. We headed down stairs for the $5 breakfast. Poor Heather just wanted a small bowl of oatmeal and couldn’t get the owner to budge the $5 price. Never the less we ate and I made sure to get my moneys worth!
Rock Creek Time Trial (The Pesky Terrier)
Rhonda and I drove up to the TT to find our boyfriends finishing up and heading over to the Circuit Race. I was in a panic searching through bags of crap (expensive cycling apparel) looking for my heart rate monitor. Turns out it was on the floor of the car. I guess I didn’t even bother putting it away after the previous days bubble blowing extravaganza. Keith gave us specific instructions not to warm up on the main road because he got a flat. To make a long story short, Kerry got a flat. I won’t tell you where she was warming up. The team went to the start to check out start times. I cheered on my teammates as riders were being sent off every 30 seconds. I was the last to go as usual. Ivy gave me specific instructions to give her at least a minute before I passed her this time. Ivy went off. I was left alone with the official with 30 seconds to start time. I swear those 30 seconds are the longest ever. I sit and shake hoping not to fall over. The seconds just seem to go slower as the official counts down the time. 5..4...3....2.....1. It’s always hard. Do I go on 1 or GO? When will the official let go of my bike? If I start too late will he let go and let me fall over?? PANICING! As soon as I am released my heart relaxes. It’s just me, the bike and Ivy up the rode. I have her in sight and I am going for it. I think I gave her the minute she requested. The air was cold and I could hear my breaths getting louder. By the time I caught Ivy she probably thought a train was coming I was so loud. Kerry (my teammate) was next in view. She made me work my ass off to catch her. The way out was a horrible head wind and I could see Kerry headed up a roller. I pushed as hard as my legs would go and as soon as I reached the peak I saw my teammate being chased by a little rat terrier. Dogs are the scariest things for a cyclist. I saw the dog yapping at her wheels and I just hoped she could get by him without an accident. If something were to happen, yes I would have to stop my own TT. There is no way I could let my teammate/friend get sent to the ground by a little rat terrier on a descent going 34mph! I got out of my arrow bars as I got closer. Luckily the dog didn’t get as close to me, and Kerry got away. I couldn’t get myself back in the arrow position for the remainder of the descent due to the bumpy pavement and the wind. I began to curse that stupid dog for causing me to loose valuable seconds, but I was thankful Kerry and I made it out ok. As the TT went on I caught up with Kerry just before the UTURN. I slowed her down a bit there. She was sure to remind me of how terrible I am at maneuvering the TT bike through the turns. Adrienne doesn’t even bother giving me pointers, she just laughs at me. At least they make up for it by telling me I look good in my skinsuit. I guess that has to account for something. haha. This was my 2nd TT, yes I do need TT bike handling practice. Apparently Kerry has it scheduled on my training books. After the uturn I had a metromint in sight and then another teammate. I made it past both and hammered my way to the finish with a tail wind. I was nervous because I felt a little too good. The descents seemed to give you some “rest.” When I did Madera it was a flat TT that I powered through till a vomited. No vomit this time. I ended up 2nd to a Metromint coming in at 31:15 followed by my teammate Adrienne at 32:25. She did that without a TT bike! Unfortunately our other GC rider Rhonda dropped a chain at the beginning of the TT which cost her some time, but she was still able to put in a good time for GC placement. Kerry and Page killed the TT with much improvement over Madera and Maryann did not get stung by a bee or get a flat! I am very proud of all of them.
Little John Circuit Race (The Final Pain Cave)
The team drove over to the circuit race. We had very little time (20min) to switch out bikes, clothes, and numbers. The TT results hadn’t been posted yet, so we didn’t really know who was holding the top GC positions. We had a general idea who to keep and eye on based on Saturdays Road Race and past TT results. We just had to hope that our TT’s were better then the rest. We had two goals going into the race 1) GC riders don’t lose time and 2) get Kerry across the line. We were able to keep the pack together, but everyone’s legs were fried. Getting Kerry across the line for a sprint finish was difficult with tired legs. The field was tired and squirrely. There was a crash early on in the race, which made us play cautious. The bunch sprint was no different. Tired racing legs sprinting for an uphill finish was not the safest situation. Kerry was able to get herself across the line in 5th. I wish we were able to do more as a team for her, but circumstances didn’t allow it.
GC Results
We were all thrilled the circuit race was over. We managed to complete a 2-mile cool down before heading to the nearest coffee shop while we patiently awaited the results. We ended up placing 2nd, 3rd and 5th in GC as a team, earning $55.00! We made a decision to put that money towards next weeks Rapha Team Challenge where we will be riding 114 miles/7000 feet of climbing.
I had such an amazing weekend! Thank you ladies!
Thanks for reading,
JayZ Blue
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