Wente Road Race Report - I was in the Breakaway
04-28-08, 11:54 PM
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Wente Road Race Report - I was in the Breakaway
Wente Road Race
35 miles - 2 1/4 laps with 3 major climbs
April 26, 2008
Category: W Cat 4 35+
Place: 7
Field: 19
The W Cat 4 35+ started last at 12:30 PM along with the Women 45+. The temperature was pretty hot by then. Another Webcor racer in the W 45+ warned me that the group would attack hard on the first hill so I was ready and gave it my all with good results. The Cat 4 men's peloton, on their second lap, passed on the down hill. I passed a few Cat 4 women I knew who started 10 minutes ahead of our group along backside of the course. I caught up with a Chico Corsa woman in my category and we agreed to together – smart move since the wind was picking up. It was unclear to both of us if any Cat 4 35+ women were ahead of us.
We took the climb on lap 2 at a moderate pace – didn't see anyone behind us. The feed zone was rather chaotic – well meaning volunteers running all over, and a guy lost his sandal right in front of my bike.
Well, the adage held true – a small peloton of about 6 women caught our breakaway on lap 2 right before the turn down a straight flatter road leading to the final climb. I stayed with them and we worked as a group. They were pushing the pace and a lot of barking going on. There was a big attack on the last climb to the finish and I faded. It was so hot and I was pretty dehydrated. I ended up 7th and my Chico Corsa "breakmate" was third. All in all a great experience for my first road race – many lessons learned to carry forward to my next race.
Thanks for reading.
Here are some pics
The starting line.
The start.
The breakaway.
The catching group. I am the third from the left and we were working together.
The finish.
Results
35 miles - 2 1/4 laps with 3 major climbs
April 26, 2008
Category: W Cat 4 35+
Place: 7
Field: 19
The W Cat 4 35+ started last at 12:30 PM along with the Women 45+. The temperature was pretty hot by then. Another Webcor racer in the W 45+ warned me that the group would attack hard on the first hill so I was ready and gave it my all with good results. The Cat 4 men's peloton, on their second lap, passed on the down hill. I passed a few Cat 4 women I knew who started 10 minutes ahead of our group along backside of the course. I caught up with a Chico Corsa woman in my category and we agreed to together – smart move since the wind was picking up. It was unclear to both of us if any Cat 4 35+ women were ahead of us.
We took the climb on lap 2 at a moderate pace – didn't see anyone behind us. The feed zone was rather chaotic – well meaning volunteers running all over, and a guy lost his sandal right in front of my bike.
Well, the adage held true – a small peloton of about 6 women caught our breakaway on lap 2 right before the turn down a straight flatter road leading to the final climb. I stayed with them and we worked as a group. They were pushing the pace and a lot of barking going on. There was a big attack on the last climb to the finish and I faded. It was so hot and I was pretty dehydrated. I ended up 7th and my Chico Corsa "breakmate" was third. All in all a great experience for my first road race – many lessons learned to carry forward to my next race.
Thanks for reading.
Here are some pics
The starting line.
The start.
The breakaway.
The catching group. I am the third from the left and we were working together.
The finish.
Results
Last edited by Velodiva; 04-29-08 at 08:27 AM. Reason: ADDED RESULTS
04-29-08, 03:27 AM
#2
My other car is a bike
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Congratulations, Velodiva!!! You and Red Rider are awesome and inspiring.
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Embrace diversity: hug a conservative.
04-29-08, 05:31 AM
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++1 Great report Velodiva.....good action stuff. Keep up the work and keep reporting on your racing career!
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04-29-08, 06:42 AM
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+1
Well done, Velodiva!
Well done, Velodiva!
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Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
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Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
-- Antonio Smith
04-29-08, 06:13 PM
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Inspirational indeed. Are you sure you chronologically qualify for membership in the 50+ Forum? I guess 50 is the new "30" after all!!
04-29-08, 06:15 PM
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I really like reading these reports. Thanks. And congrats.
RedRyder too, keep it up ya'all!
RedRyder too, keep it up ya'all!
04-29-08, 07:15 PM
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+whatever number we're up to now....
It's great to hear of older folk racing competitively, especially when they are doing better than many younger folk. And whilst I can't really see 'racing' in my own future, reading about it is 'inspiring' me to do some googling and learning about the activity. I have to, because if I don't I end up as confuzzled as Mojo Slim gets trying to decipher my posts!
It's great to hear of older folk racing competitively, especially when they are doing better than many younger folk. And whilst I can't really see 'racing' in my own future, reading about it is 'inspiring' me to do some googling and learning about the activity. I have to, because if I don't I end up as confuzzled as Mojo Slim gets trying to decipher my posts!
04-29-08, 07:42 PM
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Yup, congrats, VeloDiva. (I was gonna abbreviate that, but it didn't look right.)
04-29-08, 08:09 PM
#10
Let's do a Century
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Excellent!! Just make sure you keep the rubber side down!!
04-29-08, 11:11 PM
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04-29-08, 11:14 PM
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Afraid so - and a birthday around the corner - OMG! But since I plan to live to 140, I won't be middle-aged until 70. A few years to go . . . .
04-29-08, 11:31 PM
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Don't mince words
VeloDiva was amazing. Once she took off, she was gone. She's really set the bar up there. >genuflects in the "I'm not worthy" attitude<
04-30-08, 12:25 AM
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04-30-08, 11:13 PM
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I'm not only confuzzled, I'm bamplexed!
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Truth is stranger than reality.
'96 Giant ATX 760 MTB
'01 Bianchi Eros
'05 Giant OCR Llimited Carbon Fiber + upgrades
Truth is stranger than reality.
'96 Giant ATX 760 MTB
'01 Bianchi Eros
'05 Giant OCR Llimited Carbon Fiber + upgrades
