Sequoia Classic

Some weekends are better then others.  Period.  Don't get me wrong- we had some bright moments and good laughs.  We always do.

Missy, Clare, Kate, and I (Cari) went out to California to join in the torture/fun of a 40k TT and  a 40 mile crit.

Here are some shots of us on the TT course on Friday:

Saturday was the TT.  Let's just say that in the US when they offer big money )$10k) for a TT, all the TT girls show up.  So, for me, this was about challenging myself.  Before Saturday, I had never done a TT longer then 36 minutes and only have done 4 time trials ever before.  Ever.  So, the challenging course with hills and the inexperience killed me.  Every time someone passed me with their fancy bikes, disc wheels, and aero everything... I got a little more discouraged.  I think Cyclingnews appreciated America's Dairyland heart for competing in less then desirable aero get-ups because they posted quite a lot of photos of us.  We may not have won but we made Cylingnews!
Sunday we lined up for a crit with about 90 other girls and the toughest field I have seen.  Here is my race report.  Clare will post her own soon and Kate has a great take on the race that she will post shortly.
I couldn't have been more excited (and a little nervous :)) to be in this field.  The course was technical and flat- I like it! The first 30 minutes or so, I felt pretty good; I was up front and staying up front.  The pace was kept high and there were several attacks from many of the teams- High Road, Cheerwine, Aaron's, Proman, etc.  That is when crash #1 went down.  Off to my right, I saw a Vanderkitten girl slide in a corner.  She started the mass party with the pavement.  I was about the 4th one to hit the ground and it ended up being about 50 or so total held up in the crash.  Ouch.  Really ouch.  Only about 15 or so girls made it through.  The rest of the field headed to the pit.  My confidence was affected for about 3 or so laps and I spent too much time and energy hanging in the back for those laps.  But, I got back in the swing of things and made it back to the front half.  With about 20 laps (out of 57) to go, I hit some bumps pretty hard.  My saddle came loose and ended up pointing straight towards the sun.  I don't recommend this position; you can't ride your bike like this.  I headed to the pit for a free lap and a fix.  This is when the official (I am going to be very politically correct  when describing this conversation) informed me that this was not considered a mechanical.  Sorry, no free lap for you.  Um, really?  That stinks.  (Use your imagination on how this conversation really sounded.)  So, they will fix your bike because you obviously can't ride but you get no lap.  Your race is over.  Whatever. 
Ok, the positive notes:  I learned that I do have the ability and confidence to stay with this type of field.  I know I have some work to do on the fitness side of it.  It is one thing to hang and it is another to have a sprint at the end or to be active in attacking/chasing/etc.  We had a blast this weekend.  Traveling with these girls is a riot!  We have so many photos to share that we will post this week.  I love this team!

Cari