Sunday was the State Crit with the start/finish line in front of the state capital in St. Paul. It was also a bike for Autism event. It was a pretty venue, but harder then it looked. I watched the last stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysées before the my race and felt pretty confident in the 180 degree turn we had to take at the state crit similar to the turn on the Champs-Elysées by the Arc de Triomphe. The slight hill and the humidity took a toll on all of us making the crit course seem much harder than expected. I walked away without finding out my placing.
Due to time, us Cat 4 women raced with the Jrs. There was a boy, John, with autism who planned to race with the Junior boys. As rules prohibit the inclusion of a recombinant bike, Matt Anderson (official) asked us women to participate in a 3-lap race with John prior to our race. He did great, the crowed was cheering him on louder than any other racer that day. He swept the course taking the win and was awarded a medal at the finish line! What a special thing to be part of, it definably was the highlight of our race.
I was excited to race the Madone. The corning on the new bike is amazing! I don’t know what it is (geometry, wheels, material, etc) but being able to take a corner knowing that I had full control of the bike and that the bike was not controlling me was fun! On the other hand, I wasn’t excited to race. I think mentally the season of racing is over for me. The pressure I put on myself to win—and not producing a win this season is becoming a little too overwhelming. I want to get on the bike without looking at the person next to me and think “I want to kick your butt” or in most cases, “F***, this is going to suck A$$”. I committed to do a Team Time Trial in August. I hope I can get over this feeling for at least that race.
Next week I leave for Pennsylvania were a bike is waiting for me to ride. I have been looking forward to riding in PA for about a year. I can’t wait to see how I compare to the Amish kids.
3 comments:
Madonna, it's your first year racing.
Why all the pressure to win? Enjoy the experience and worry about winning next year.
Great job this year! You did well so give yourself a little more credit.
Don't ever worry about winning, as long as you do you won't.
You have officially been tagged. So come on and play along with this. Put the following questions in a post on your blog along with your answers then tag three other bloggers.
If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be?
Do you already have that coveted dream bike?
If you had to choose one — and only one — bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrow minded?
Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent.
Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss?
Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why?
What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it.
You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?
Now, tag three biking bloggers. List them below.
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