Bariani Road Race...5th

Driving up to the Bariani road race from Davis, I could tell that it was going to be windy – my car with bike on top was getting buffeted around on the freeway, especially as I was passing semis. To get to parking, I had to drive part of the way on the course, and I could see in the races that were going on that the fields were just blown apart. There would be a group of 10 guys, then 5, then a couple, etc. It was just Holly and I today from Easton/SugarCRM/Specialized, and Holly was suffering from some pretty severe allergies. So we decided to race conservatively and see how things would shake out. The race started with around 40 women; MetroMint, Tibco, NorCal Velo, Wells Fargo, Specialized, VeloBella, and CRC were all represented. We started out on lap 1 of 4 very slowly, primarily because we were headed straight into an enormous headwind. As we turned, the pace started to pick up a bit and the field strung out along the gutter. The wind was truly amazing at some points, blowing so hard that we were literally leaning our bikes way over just to stay upright. After a couple miles, one CRC and one Tibco went off the front of the pack, and dangled there. I was riding near the front, just trying to feel out the course and the field, as we came around to the tailwind section and headed for the first KOM – it was not a huge climb, but definitely enough to split things up. I went over the top with the front of the field, and coming past the finish line for the first time, I decided to try to bridge to the break. I attacked and got a gap, with no one on my wheel. That was good. Kept pushing, started hurting, got closer and closer, until they were maybe 20 yards in front of me. And then I stopped getting closer.

That moment may have been the one that most affected the race outcome for me. If I had been able to dig deep, stand in the pedals, and just give it everything to get there, I may have made the break that ultimately won the race. But in the millisecond of decision, I thought, "my legs are tired from yesterday. The field is so close anyway – this break probably won't succeed. It's so early in the race, better to save something for later." And I clicked it down a gear and sat up to wait for the field.

I hung out in the field for a bit after that. There was chitter chatter of organizing a chase, but little coordination, and it was just so brutal in the headwind that no one wanted to be taking pulls unless everyone was. The most interesting moment of my race came when I decided to ride up the gravel-filled gutter area to the front to help drive the pace a little. When I got there, I heard this "pingpingpingping". When I looked down, it appeared that a rusty hanger had gotten caught in my derailleur. What to do? It wasn't affecting my pedaling, but could cause a major mishap if it went into my spokes. So I unclipped my right foot and started kicking at it, all while trying to roll along with the field, going at a brisk clip. Soon I was at the back, still kicking at the hanger, not wanting to stop because I wasn't at all sure I could chase back on alone in the wind. At that point I also noticed that our field had been reduced to about 15-20 girls. I later learned from Holly that as soon as the pace picked up in the first lap, gaps started opening up all over. She was able to jump around gapped riders several times, only to see another gap open up a couple riders ahead. She finished out two laps, but was having a pretty hard time with her allergies, and wisely decided to call it a day and focus on getting some antihistamines.

So I was just off the back of the pack, kicking at my hanger, swerving all over the lane. After one particularly well-placed blow, the hanger broke free of my derailleur. Hooray! But when I looked up, I was headed straight for the ditch. I quickly switched into cyclo-cross mode through some gravel and grass, and luckily, managed to keep the bike upright and hopped back onto the road. I chased back on, and vowed never to pick up a rusty hanger again.

The rest of the race was pretty interesting, tactically. Everyone (except Tibco and CRC) wanted to catch the break, but no one wanted to do the work. We did manage to coordinate a full-on pace line for a bit, with everyone working, but it would always fall apart. On the third lap, we saw that the Tibco rider from the break had flatted, leaving the CRC woman out in front alone. Through an amazing time trial effort, she actually increased her gap on the field from 1:20 minutes, to 3 full minutes! She fully deserved the win after that – well done!

In the field, we came into the final KOM together, and at the top, there was a group of four of us with a small gap. I wanted to try to hold it to the finish, but we didn't organize quickly enough and the rest of the field caught us. In the final corner, it was a mad downhill, tailwind dash to the finish. It's one finish where I definitely could have used an 11-tooth cog, as I was spinning out. (Note to self: Get an 11). I ended up fourth in the pack sprint for fifth overall. It was a great race, and a great group of women!

Thanks for reading,
Karla