First Race and the Enchiladas Revenge

Yeah, the first race of the season has come and gone without any major incident. Snelling is kind of a California early season classic for the local scene and the local scene comprises of just about half the NRC peloton so it's a good judge on everyone's early season fitness. Plus it's a very relaxed course with only about 3 or 4 small rises and mostly straight country roads fully closed for the race. I am still hacking up some junk from that nasty chest cold of a week or so ago and I wasn't really expecting a lot from myself except to get back into the mode of racing again. I did have that panic feeling at the start of the race as the field was pretty large at about 40 or so and I had been used to the company of maybe 1 or 2 other people all winter. This feeling soon passed and I started to have fun and play the game again, attacking, covering, shutting things down. It was nice to be racing again.

Velo Bella-Kona has an incredible amount of volunteer support at the races. The ever present Miss Mary was invaluable in the feed zone as well as after the race with the full spread of food. Gummy bears really do taste best after a race. In addition to Miss Mary there were many others in the feed zone for VB-K as well as hanging out at the finish to cheer us on around each lap. It makes such a difference for me to hear cheers for my team or hear my name being yelled with encouragement during a race. It brings excitement into the race and helps you focus on what your really there to do. So thanks to everyone supporting us out there at Snelling!

Oh so how did I do? Well.... I managed to stay active during the race and not allow myself to be pack fodder. As that was my goal, I succeeded. In the end the outside line on the corner was not the best position and a bobble in the middle of the pack pushed all of us on the outside off the road. At least we all stayed upright and were able to roll to the finish.

Quick update, the new bikes are here! I will publish some pics later today. They are so cute!

Oh and the enchiladas, well not the ideal food to consume in mass quantities before a race. Especially when you load them with corn, refried beans and Habanero Cheddar Cheese. Thanks go to Velo Promo for the large number of chili buckets at registration. Sorry goes to anyone who had to use it after me.

Jen