let the racin' begin

Here's the short version of last weekend in Iowa:

• Stayed with Anne, Eric, and Brady ("Brady funny")
  
• Raced on Saturday morning, watched Pete's race Saturday afternoon
  
• Went to Ames, had dinner at one of my favorite places, Hickory Park, with Anne, Eric, Brady, and Nathan (who's in school at ISU)
• Raced on Sunday morning,watched Pete's race Sunday afternoon

Hickory Park meal before and after:









And here are my short race reports:

Altoona Road Race (near Des Moines): 4.5 mile loop with a very steep hill at the end...I stayed with the group for the first lap, then got dropped on the hill and couldn't catch back on. I quit after riding the next 2 laps by myself...it just wasn't fun anymore. That wasn't how I wanted to start my season, but I learned what I needed to. Oh, and check out that photo of some clueless chick running over the wheelpit...unbelievable.














Waterworks Park Criterium (Des Moines): I liked this course. It was a flat, large loop with only one slightly sketchy corner (mostly just due to some standing water). I made some very poor tactical decisions from the gun, and spent the entire first lap fighting for a good position in the pack. On the second lap, I got shuffled out of the pack, and suddenly found myself dropped (yet again). However, I was surprised to find out there were actually others dropped behind me (one was a Birchwood rider, Betty G), so I had two others to ride with, then Barb got dropped and rode with us too. So that was cool, it actually made the race somewhat enjoyable. I think in the end, I was 15th out of 18th or something like that. But I actually felt pretty good...if I hadn't made such poor decisions, I may have been able to hang in for a few more laps, but who knows. I think Betty A got 6th, which was pretty impressive because most of the women in the races both days were Cat 2/3s. If you want to read how the race went from inside the pack, you'll have to read Betty A's race report.

I learned a lot this weekend though...so now I know where my weaknesses are, and what I need to work on before racing starts here. And somehow, I need to learn how to be more aggressive so I can maintain better pack-position.

It was nice to have a teammate (Barb) down there, as well as the Bettys (A, G, and AL) for my first few races of the season...it's always nice to see a few familiar faces and have some people to chat with after the races.

As usual, Pete did well racing this weekend. His team won the race both days, so they're off to a good start.




Thanks to Anne and Eric for housing us this weekend!

SS