Sunday, May 20, 2007

Enumscratch

It's miserable outside - 45 degrees and pouring rain. Where did this cold snap come from? And those poor poor racers who battled it out by doing laps in Enumclaw up and down Mud Mountain Road.

TiCycles hosts the race so I had my volunteer duties. Yesterday I helped set up the crit course and then got to watch some action packed racing. I rode the moto down there - with the severe chance of getting caught in a thundershower on the way home. In the same token though I need more freeway driving practice so it was fun to freeze my ass off on the way down there.

Izette rocked the house in her last Cat 4 women's crit. She won every single prime and then held the field off for the win. She also placed second in the time trial and the road race - giving her the lead in the omnium. Good for her! It was super inspiring to watch.

Then the 1/2/3 ladies field went - with a stacked Canadian contingent from Symmetrics, Giant and Colavita (Stacey Spencer). They ruled the crit and Jeremy Story helped the ladies pull off the win. Jenny Trew had an attack right off the bat - but you could hear her wheezing after awhile. And when Kele Murdin decided to reel her back in with the pack in tow, things mellowed out. Then a crash took out a couple riders (not sure what happened) things slowed down. It was good to watch - Karen did AMAZING. The Ti Ladies are starting to gel and I have high hopes for us in the coming races.

Being a spectator sure gives you a new perspective on racing. You see immediate who has a good bike fit (usually the lower categories still need some serious tweaks), who has biomechanical issues they should address before they address them, etc. I like observing what was going on - and learned a lot. I am super interested in learning more tactics.

So my mandatory 2 weeks off the bike is going to be shortened. We signed up for Ski to Sea and I'm doing the biking portion. I'm definitely taking a full week off the bike - but need to start introducing my leg to circles soon. 40 miles off the couch does not sound pleasant.

I just spoke to Ryan - he's flying back from SLC tonight. Apparently Cam, Roanne and he hopped on Cam's scooter and road to breakfast this morning. He said they got quite a few double takes this morning. I wish I had photos!

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