BASP #4 - Golden Gate Park Cyclocross and The Big W (Finally!)
Today was the race in the Golden Gate Park. I may be slightly biased, but I thought this year's course was even better than the previous two years'. And doing something so hard while in a place as beautiful as the park is much more gratifying than racing in a football parking lot! Like at MacLaren Park, I got a good start, and then came grinding to a halt upon hitting the dirt. I have no idea how, but for some reason I dropped my chain. However, this time I had the benefit of Dustin's excellent adjustment of my third-eye and my front derailleur, so the chain did not go into no-man's land and I was able to fix it before my entire field passed me, AND I didn't have to sit there helplessly calling for Travis. Seriously, if you have a perplexing drivetrain conundrum, take your bike to Freewheel on Hayes St. They will get your bike working smoother than ever, and they will be nice to you!
Back to the race: I spent 2 laps fighting to get back into the top 5, then a few laps sitting at the back of the top 5 as we all rounded the course together, somewhere in there I grabbed a dollar from the beer bottle propped in the back of Mack's jeans... At one point through the deep sandy part (which, pat-on-the-back-for-me, I seemed to ride better than anyone else because everyone else was hitting the brakes and then floundering, and the sandy part was followed by a short sharp hill which is also my specialty, plus my teammate Chris was standing there cheering so I wanted to give him a performance worth cheering), I decided that I was going to win.
How silly, all it takes is "deciding"! But I needed that determination - I wasn't going to hope for the win, I was going to make it happen. So what about the dropped chain? I had made my way back to the front and felt strong rather than spent. So what that Devon wasn't there to feed or photograph me? I had supporters all over the course who gave me bottles, made me smile, and made me want to pedal that much harder. So what that he and I just broke up, that I was feeling exhaustingly fragile, and that I had turned my life upside down over the past two weeks? I did not want to use those things as excuses for being complacent. Those things were supposed to make me stronger. So I just stepped it up and stopped worrying about anything other than riding my bike and going my hardest, rather than my next-to-hardest (which is a specialty I am working on eliminating...). Linda Elgart and I gapped the other girls together, she was winning the masters' race and I was winning the B's, and we worked together very efficiently for the last 2 laps.
Halfway through the last lap, Linda and I encountered a seemingly unending string of C racers. Sigh. It is usually exciting to see that women's racing is growing so much, but in this case the timing was totally wrong, it took like 10 seconds to pass each of them safely and our comfortable lead dwindled. So just before the second-to-last set of barriers, Kristy, another strong B racer, caught us. No sitting around for me, I knew I had to hit the last stretch of dirt first, because I knew that I was faster than she was on the last uphill but not on the last barriers, so if I got to the uphill first, I would win. I succeeded, took off up the last hill, and then as if to seal the deal I heard her crash behind me so I didn't stress over the barriers, then I got to the pavement and still sprinted as if Kristy was right on my wheel. I like sprinting. Linda held on to her lead too and crossed the line soon after I did, so we both won our races. I know this is a total chick-racer comment, but it was really wonderful to have that teamwork and camaraderie with her!
So there you go - I won. I believed in myself, I had a whole community supporting me, including Devon in spirit because he put together some awesome tubeless Ksyriums for me, and I had fun!
I don't really have pictures of the actual race (see comment above about not having a resident photographer anymore.) But there were a few people out there taking photos so I hope to have a subsequent post with images. However, here are photos of me at the podium, thanks Mack!
After the race, a bunch of us went to Kathleen's for some delicious enchiladas and some quality time with Travis' dog Wee-gee. Here is Kathleen with Wee-gee, who is officially my favourite not-quite-a-dog Dog.
Back to the race: I spent 2 laps fighting to get back into the top 5, then a few laps sitting at the back of the top 5 as we all rounded the course together, somewhere in there I grabbed a dollar from the beer bottle propped in the back of Mack's jeans... At one point through the deep sandy part (which, pat-on-the-back-for-me, I seemed to ride better than anyone else because everyone else was hitting the brakes and then floundering, and the sandy part was followed by a short sharp hill which is also my specialty, plus my teammate Chris was standing there cheering so I wanted to give him a performance worth cheering), I decided that I was going to win.
How silly, all it takes is "deciding"! But I needed that determination - I wasn't going to hope for the win, I was going to make it happen. So what about the dropped chain? I had made my way back to the front and felt strong rather than spent. So what that Devon wasn't there to feed or photograph me? I had supporters all over the course who gave me bottles, made me smile, and made me want to pedal that much harder. So what that he and I just broke up, that I was feeling exhaustingly fragile, and that I had turned my life upside down over the past two weeks? I did not want to use those things as excuses for being complacent. Those things were supposed to make me stronger. So I just stepped it up and stopped worrying about anything other than riding my bike and going my hardest, rather than my next-to-hardest (which is a specialty I am working on eliminating...). Linda Elgart and I gapped the other girls together, she was winning the masters' race and I was winning the B's, and we worked together very efficiently for the last 2 laps.
Halfway through the last lap, Linda and I encountered a seemingly unending string of C racers. Sigh. It is usually exciting to see that women's racing is growing so much, but in this case the timing was totally wrong, it took like 10 seconds to pass each of them safely and our comfortable lead dwindled. So just before the second-to-last set of barriers, Kristy, another strong B racer, caught us. No sitting around for me, I knew I had to hit the last stretch of dirt first, because I knew that I was faster than she was on the last uphill but not on the last barriers, so if I got to the uphill first, I would win. I succeeded, took off up the last hill, and then as if to seal the deal I heard her crash behind me so I didn't stress over the barriers, then I got to the pavement and still sprinted as if Kristy was right on my wheel. I like sprinting. Linda held on to her lead too and crossed the line soon after I did, so we both won our races. I know this is a total chick-racer comment, but it was really wonderful to have that teamwork and camaraderie with her!
So there you go - I won. I believed in myself, I had a whole community supporting me, including Devon in spirit because he put together some awesome tubeless Ksyriums for me, and I had fun!
I don't really have pictures of the actual race (see comment above about not having a resident photographer anymore.) But there were a few people out there taking photos so I hope to have a subsequent post with images. However, here are photos of me at the podium, thanks Mack!
After the race, a bunch of us went to Kathleen's for some delicious enchiladas and some quality time with Travis' dog Wee-gee. Here is Kathleen with Wee-gee, who is officially my favourite not-quite-a-dog Dog.
Labels: bikes, enjoy the blog
posted by Courtenay at 11/19/2006
5 Comments:
Congratulations! You should title this post something BIG like "Believe in Me" or "I Won" or "Winning Without Devon!"
I'm glad you were tough and believed in yourself today. The mental aspect of this sport is overwhelming. We've all shut down at one time or other. It's cool to see what happens when you turn on.
Okay, I just read the title again. Did you change it or did I just miss it the first time. doh! Can't sleep. Do you have that problem after races? Every Sunday night I'm up until the wee hours just completely wired. Guess I'm not racing hard enough. Bah!
i did change the title - thanks for the suggestion!
as for thing 2: ambien! i get so wired after races, i think it's because i normally drink decaf coffee, but before a race i get regular coffee, and i eat gels during the race which have caffeine, and all my adrenaline gets going, so by the end of the race i am WIRED and stay that way well into the night and wee hours of the morning. i have the same problem with late afternoon or evening crits. i got the ambien suggestion from ivan dominguez this summer, and figured he would know. it works. no hangover. no stress over just laying there, just sleep...
Congrats!
AWESOME, Court!!! Did you throw your bike and toss your arms up in the air and make a cross on your chest and kiss the heavens and all that good stuff like in the tour de france? no? Okay good. Anyway I think I'm scared because here I am barely able to roll over a speed bump and you're out winning races. OK enough of my monologue. Kudos!
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