5/12/02 by Becky Blice
Well, I'm really sorry those guys had such a disappointing experience at Chippewa. For me, it was great. Yeah, it was early. Our race STARTED at 7 am. I rolled out of bed at 5 am, looking for coffee and found that nothing is open that early. The weather was chilly, but it didn't rain until after our race was finished, so "Thank You" Charles for having it then! There were only four women, so we all got a little $$. I managed to get up that hill 5 times with my measly 12 (6?) gears. Betsy Shauer and Felicia Greer took 1 & 2 respectively and I was happy to get third. The girl who got fourth (really nice girl, but I can't remember her name!) was close enough that I had to work to get it. The venue was nice. Bathrooms are always a big plus in my book. They had bagels afterwards, which was appreciated by me! I didn't get a chance to eat beforehand. The park is beautiful this time of year and the back half of the loop was peppered with blooming apple trees.
I know this probably doesn't sound like the typical race description. I tend to look around a lot while I'm doing a road race. Probably a bad habit. I think that women's races are different from men's in that we tend to socialize more on the first lap. Felicia and Betsy were super nice and we did a reverse loop afterwards and got to talk a bit more. Anyway, all in all, it was a really great race, and I had fun, which, in my book, is the main reason I'm racing again.
PS: I GOT A NEW BIKE! Well, a used one anyway. I went to Ebay and got a 2000 Specialized Allez with 105 components. Unfortunately, it won't be here in time for this weekend, but I CAN'T WAIT!