Giro di Coppi
I got the poop knocked out of me on Saturday.
Decided to give bike racing a go. Signed up for my USA Cycling license, finalized the road bike purchase. After a lot of issues trying to get the new tri bike to fit right…Rockstar got the boot…and Ruby (2010 Cervelo R3) became my new buddy. Anyhow…I needed a break from fighting the body and the run.
1st road race…Giro di Coppi. I had no expectations. Well maybe not to get dropped. I actually prefer “dropping out.”
The CAT 4 women would do 3 12.5 mile loops…for 37.5 miles total. We went off at 1pm. WTF. This would be a dripper for sure. I woke up at 7am and went for a warm-up swim. Cycling just would not seem right without getting wet first and I was a little anxious and swimming is what I do best in those circumstances. Headed out to Barnesville, MD around 10:30am. I arrived with plenty of time…registered and got ready to warm-up. I found Matias who had just crushed the Cat 3/4 men’s race (6th place). He went for a warm-up/cool-down with me. My legs felt stale as ever. It was HOT. Rode EZ for about 20min. Then the ladies started to gather near the start. There was maybe 30 women in the Cat 4. I hung with Shauna and Meg while waiting for the go. And we were off. I was told to position myself on the outside but closer to the front. And was told the pace would feel slow. I held a decent position a few rows back on the outside. I am never too comfortable on the inside or middle. Hmm about the first 2 miles were slow and then the pace began to quicken. And this was NO flat ride. 14 or so might have gotten dropped. There was only a few behind me now. I felt like I could hang on. Felt strong on the climbs. But then all of the sudden on a climb about mile 10 got the hurt dropped on me. I “dropped out” at that point. BEEP. guh. junk. Soo bust. 3 other had also “dropped out.” The 4 of us played yoyo for the last 2 miles of the 1st loop. One of the women was done at the start. The other 2 and I kept going. What the heck…I may as well get a good training ride in. I was so HOT. One of the other women, Melissa Tallent, and I were going back and forth…I pass on the uphill and she pass on the downhill. She told me we should work together. I agreed so we rode together for the 2nd loop and chatted a bit. We wondered if we should continue on for the 3rd loop or not and decided we would unless they pulled us off. Which, we were not supposed to be pulled unless we were lapped by the field. No one had passed us or caught up. We could finish 12th or so? Coming into the 3rd loop I was hoping Matias was in site with some water. Saw him and he handed me some water. A ref told Melissa and I we were done. Later found out this was not because we had dropped out BUT because I had gotten water outside of this “feed zone.” DQed! Big time BUST. At least I made some new friends 
What a BEATER.
After the race found out the Cat 4 women lead group had caught the Cat 1/2/3 women, who had gone off 5 minutes before us. Some very FAST ladies out there!
Up Next: Lost River Classic, July 24, 2010
