| Location: | May 7, 2022 – Meadow Vista, CA |
| Distance: | 4 x 4.5 Mile Loops |
| Place: | 4th, Cat |
| Teammates: | Troy Soares |
Troy and I are excited to try out this course in our backyard! Anna raced here back in 2019 when she was 13 years old! Hard to believe she’s now 16 years old and driving!
I am definitely undertrained for this race. I’m also riding Anna’s bike because my shifter cable is broken from my previous road race. Life is so busy that there is little time for the necessary upkeep. I am trusting the Lord in the race today. Troy has an Ironman in one month so I know his time is limited right now.
Troy and I warm-up together and I discover that Anna’s bike won’t shift up and down in the chain ring. We rush back to the start and look around for a screw driver to fix it. Troy asks around for one and I dig around in the car and find one! Thank you Lord! We get it fixed and head to the start. I’m racing with a few categories of women which include the fast Category 2/3 women. They look fast and so do their bikes. The rest of us are 4/5 Novice… a few juniors, a 50+ and another few that look a little younger than me. This should be interesting! The 50+ gal asks for advice on the course. I told her I haven’t done this race before but trying to push the downhills is important. I love to share ideas but in bike racing people often avoid it to hide their strategies with others. A part of me says you shouldn’t share that but I know that’s my flesh talking.
Troy will start shortly before me. I hope that his group doesn’t lap me! We ride neutral, which means we stay together, until the start at top of the steep hill. I try to stay with the main pack but those fast girls are already pulling ahead. They will probably have to wait for us at the top. But once the first girls get to the top an official says “go!”. Uh-oh, I better pick it up. It’s too late, a pack of 5 take off and I’m left behind. I hope I can catch them on the first hill. I might not be in the greatest shape but I can climb well. I pedal hard on the first set of downhills and pull away from the other girls behind me. I can see the top 5 going up the first hill in the distance and they are flying! I keep pushing regardless in hopes someone falls off later.
This course is beautiful and quiet at 8 in the morning. There are volunteers at every street corner. I love that because of such great volunteers I don’t have to deal with cars as I try to bomb the downhills. I am resisting the temptation to brake and just go for it. The curves in the road are smooth which make for a nice experience! (First lap Max Speed is 40.3)
I make it around to the climb to the finish line. Ok, one lap done. I cannot see any girls ahead and I can barely see a girl behind. I think this is pretty much how it’s going to go the rest of the race unless someone ahead of me cracks.
The second loop I try to improve on the downhills. I see nobody ahead of me. On the big downhill, a pack of riders are coming up on me. I always get really nervous when riders are passing on a steep downhill. I pray and hold my line as far right as possible so I don't cause them to go over the double yellow line. They pass and all is well. Phew, thank your Lord!
I finish lap 2. It’s getting harder climbing up from the finish to continue the loop. At the start of Lap 3, I pass a young junior rider. Her mom is now riding alongside her encouraging her up the hills. This is a tough course for a kid! And a little way down the course is the other junior struggling along as well.
I can see some other riders falling back in the distance. I wonder if one of them is from my group. As I get closer, I can see it’s two guys from Troy’s race. They are both really struggling but not giving up. I’m gaining on them.
Once again on the steep downhill, I look back and see a rider bombing towards me. It’s only one rider, and I’m more comfortable with this being my third time on this descent. He goes by and I glance at his number and see he is in Troy’s race. He finishes the race and I continue on to Lap 4. I look back for Troy but don’t see anyone. I pass the two guys and continue on.
I am for sure absolutely alone. I am tired and consider cruising the rest of the way. I know that I am doing this for Jesus so I need to give my best effort for Him! I push hard all the way through. I cross the finish line with no fanfare but I look to the sky. Thank you Lord! I gave my best for you!