Criterium: River Gorge in Chattanooga

Today I experienced my first criterium. I went into it with low expectations, in part because I've never done one, seen one, or anything and in part because it was a mixed field with some incredibly strong Cat 1/2 women along with the 3/4, and some of the 4's should have been popped up to 3 a while ago. So, my entire goal was to finish without getting lapped and not be dead last.

I accomplished that goal, but it wasn't easy. It started hard and fast, and I was caught behind some girls that were just slow enough and squirrelly enough to make it nigh impossible to get around them and back up on the front group. So, for the first few laps I burned to try catching that pack, and I wasn't able to do it. I wound up riding with my teammate Beth and two other women.. Mary Beth of Sorrella and Marsha from Gran Fondo. Realizing we weren't catching that group (tantalizingly ahead by two blocks) we settled in and started working together. Well actually, everyone else settled on my wheel for a few laps, but I looked around for help and Beth jumped in to pull me for a while.... and after she and I traded back and forth a time or two Mary Beth took a turn, as did Marsha. We kept our lines and kept each other motivating till Pat Allison's sign said "1." Knowing that we were on the last lap, I let someone else pull for the first 1/2 or so, then as we came around the final turn I got up front and started ramping up the speed, pushing harder and harder. I thought "if I can just ramp it up hard enough, Sorrella won't be able to sprint me out" and I *almost* did. She edged me out, barely, at the finish line. One wheel length. I was gasping and she rode a good race so I don't hold it against her, especially since I just had no idea what I was doing and she's done crits before.

I've decided that I liked it though. Truly, it was intense as all get out, and I finished shaking from head to toe from that final punch, and there were times during the race I thought I didn't want to keep going, but there were friends cheering on every corner, and I wasn't out there alone, and I just kept my head down and kept trying. When it was over, I realized I'd had more fun doing that crit than I ever had on a road race. No, I didn't place high (even among the cat 4 women, I was nowhere near the head of the list) but it was FUN.

I might be hooked.

Allanti, Chattooga, and more

Somewhere along the lines, my desire to compete left me.

Now, normally I'm a pretty competitive sort and look forward to hammering some poor slob into the dirt with a show of sheer power, but lately... I've not had it in me. So, rather than compete in the Allanti Omnium two weeks ago in Nashville, TN, I got hold of a cowbell and went to cheer my teammates on.

Let me tell you, being a spectator was fun. I did what I could to help two of my girls with some basic coaching stuff (you know, like getting one into the cool air conditioning after the time trials so she didn't get heat exhaustion and discussing how best to start the time trial to overcome the cramping starting up), but mostly I was there to support my teammates and let them know I appreciated their willingness to compete in 100+ degrees.

I suspect the 100+ degrees is what happened to my urge to compete.

Then this past weekend was the Chattooga Century. I discussed this with several of the girls and we all agreed that for the heat, it would be best to do the metric, not the full 100. So, five of us gathered up and headed out on what we quickly turned into a bit of a training ride. It took very little time to form up into a nice, efficient pace-line, with us controlling the pace. At one point I looked back and it seemed we had at least 20 men hanging in a peleton behind us drafting our wheels and backing off rather than taking a pull. There were a few however that willingly worked with us, joining in the peleton and doing their fair share. Working together we finished in excellent time, dropped all but a few of the hangers on (and the ones that stuck with us were the ones helping work) . It was a great ride, despite the heat.

There is one last possible race I could put on my calendar. I have to decide if I feel the desire to compete, and if so in what capacity. A time trial or a crit, just to try a criterium, I might be into. Aside from that, I am rolling back to long, slow distance and looking simply to get the joy back in my pedal time. I'm doing pretty well at that so far, just not enough to want to push for speed. Yet.