Road Race: Devil’s Punchbowl; SoCal Cup; W Cat 1-3
Course: 50 miles, 3 loops on a hilly course, 7 miles up, 5 miles down, 2 miles rolling in a crosswind
Weather: HOT, 90-100 degrees, slightly windy
Field: 30
PROMAN/Paradigm gal: Kristina
After hearing many rumors about how brutal this race was, I thought: I had to try it. When I got there (there being somewhere outside of Pearblossom, near Edwards AFB, 50 miles east of Santa Clarita) I thought: why did I drive this far? It was hot; it was dry; it was lonely. Warming up my legs, as the course began on a climb, I heard from some girls say: “wow, PROMAN is here, those girls are so strong.” Kate and Abby must have left a great impression the week prior at Conquer the Canyons.
The start whistle blew at 10:30 and we began half-way up the 7 mile climb. I stayed near the front to get comfortable and keep my pace. We climbed through the feed zone and hit the steepest section of the climb (similar to the bottom of the Wente Road race climb, but slightly less steep). Southbay Wheelmen notched it, but we all stayed together and flew down the wide open decent. As we went through the rolling false-flats one non-climber attacked. We caught her on an uphill shortly thereafter.
The second lap was much faster. Again, Southbay Wheelman (with an impressive turnout of five riders) notched it again. I stayed near the front through the feed, waiting for someone to attack. The pace was high near the top of the climb I looked back and we were only eight. The race was on.
We (Jennifer from Southbay Wheelmen, two Helen’s/Trek riders, a Simple Green rider, a few Bicycle John’s Riders, and me) all agreed to work together. We rotated down the big decent and into the rollers. A few of the girls were taking pulls too hard resulting in chaos for a bit. I was hurting on the rollers, and one of the girls drilled it and got a gap with four, leaving four of us behind. The lead four worked well together. I worked with one girl and looked back to see the two Helen’s/trek riders a few seconds behind. I suggested we wait for them and all work together. We rotated nicely, but on the climbs, the two Helen’s/Trek riders dropped off the pace leaving the two of us to chase on the final lap. I didn’t have much left at this point. I was chasing in 95 degree weather in a dry dessert and quickly losing motivation. My coach Dotsie, cooling down from her race with the boys, screamed words of encouragement. Well, I sucked wheel for most of the last lap and did all I could to hang with this gal. The four riders finished maybe two minutes ahead of us and I came in for sixth. - Kristina
Course: 50 miles, 3 loops on a hilly course, 7 miles up, 5 miles down, 2 miles rolling in a crosswind
Weather: HOT, 90-100 degrees, slightly windy
Field: 30
PROMAN/Paradigm gal: Kristina
After hearing many rumors about how brutal this race was, I thought: I had to try it. When I got there (there being somewhere outside of Pearblossom, near Edwards AFB, 50 miles east of Santa Clarita) I thought: why did I drive this far? It was hot; it was dry; it was lonely. Warming up my legs, as the course began on a climb, I heard from some girls say: “wow, PROMAN is here, those girls are so strong.” Kate and Abby must have left a great impression the week prior at Conquer the Canyons.
The start whistle blew at 10:30 and we began half-way up the 7 mile climb. I stayed near the front to get comfortable and keep my pace. We climbed through the feed zone and hit the steepest section of the climb (similar to the bottom of the Wente Road race climb, but slightly less steep). Southbay Wheelmen notched it, but we all stayed together and flew down the wide open decent. As we went through the rolling false-flats one non-climber attacked. We caught her on an uphill shortly thereafter.
The second lap was much faster. Again, Southbay Wheelman (with an impressive turnout of five riders) notched it again. I stayed near the front through the feed, waiting for someone to attack. The pace was high near the top of the climb I looked back and we were only eight. The race was on.
We (Jennifer from Southbay Wheelmen, two Helen’s/Trek riders, a Simple Green rider, a few Bicycle John’s Riders, and me) all agreed to work together. We rotated down the big decent and into the rollers. A few of the girls were taking pulls too hard resulting in chaos for a bit. I was hurting on the rollers, and one of the girls drilled it and got a gap with four, leaving four of us behind. The lead four worked well together. I worked with one girl and looked back to see the two Helen’s/trek riders a few seconds behind. I suggested we wait for them and all work together. We rotated nicely, but on the climbs, the two Helen’s/Trek riders dropped off the pace leaving the two of us to chase on the final lap. I didn’t have much left at this point. I was chasing in 95 degree weather in a dry dessert and quickly losing motivation. My coach Dotsie, cooling down from her race with the boys, screamed words of encouragement. Well, I sucked wheel for most of the last lap and did all I could to hang with this gal. The four riders finished maybe two minutes ahead of us and I came in for sixth. - Kristina
1 comment:
Like you, promangirl, I'm a former equestrian (barrel racer) and find the switch a good fit. As a new racer in my first full season, I sure enjoy reading your race reports and find them highly educational.
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