This isn’t so much of a race report…but a report about being at the race and all the exciting and dramatic events that happen behind the scenes. I was lucky enough to be rooming with Bonnie and Pam on Friday night since we were the only ladies doing the “granny” (otherwise known as Masters) race on Saturday.
I knew I was in a bit of trouble when Pam called me just as I was leaving and told me her and Bonnie were already there. Because the next words were….”we are getting ready to break open the wine”…In my head I saw the bottles of 2 buck Chuck being corked while Pam and Bonnie jumped up and down on the beds…with Bonnie’s dog Rusty watching…
Sure enough, when I got there…I was right! In the trash was a bottle of 2 buck chuck and there were Pringles, a loaf of Tillamook Cheddar, and various candy wrappers scattered about the room. Pam left to go to Del Taco for some pre-race carbs. It seemed like it was taking Pam awhile to get back from Del Taco…then, lo and behold Bonnie gets a phone call from her. Her room key was not working…or maybe she was at the wrong room. We’ve all done that before..you know there are no numbers on those silly key cards. But actually Pam was just across the way at the wrong hotel…
When Pam got back to the right hotel…she walked in smiling…carrying a big fat burrito and said “I was sliding the card in every door, going up and down the hallway, thinking, why isn’t this working”.
Opting for something that wasn’t going to cause me severe GI distress (and an unenjoyable race for anyone behind me on the bike Saturday) Bonnie and I went to get pizza. I have never seen someone who can eat, get ready for bed and be asleep before I even sat down with my food…but Bonnie did it..she got in bed, her dog crawled under the covers and they were out like a light. I hate sleeping, but after Pam put her eye mask on and was out too…I had to do the same. I had no one to talk to. Even the dog was ignoring me.
I will spare you the details from Saturday…I’m sure Bonnie’s report will have all the info..but let’s just say that I learned a lesson about NOT chasing after your teammate’s wheel and bringing the damn peloton with you…sorry about that Pam. Yes, I did shed a few alligator tears after the race, but I did it in the privacy of some back lot somewhere after the race. Then Pam and Bonnie cheered me up and entertained me for the rest of the day. Actually, Bonnie pretty much slept the whole day, as did her dog Rusty. Pam…well…Pam helped me re-hash that race over and over until I finally stopped feeling bad about it. By the time dinner rolled around I was ready to focus on Sunday and stop worrying about Saturday.
Speaking of dinner, when I left the room in search of somewhere to buy Epsom salts for my aching “granny” legs Pam was breaking into the Doritos’s…or the Pringles, not sure which. Never have I seen someone so strong and consistent a racer as Pam…and now I saw the “fuel” she used... I was even more impressed, and frankly, a little scared…I was reminded of something Pam said right before Barry Wolfe, when we were talking about warming up. I believe it was something like, “The only time I ever warmed up before a race it was the worst race I ever had.” See…scary.
Sunday was definitely a better day for our team. PC, Bea and Dennis had arrived late Saturday night. I know what they ate for dinner because PC texted me pictures of Chicken and Waffles. I don’t really understand that whole combo…but I did wake up James (who had arrived later on Saturday) to show him the pics and he mumbled something like “yum” and that was the last I heard from him til the next morning. Dotsie and Ruth arrived early Sunday and we were ready to rock and roll!!!!!
Again, I will spare you most of the details of the race, but I can’t leave out one part…(sorry PC). After having several awesome moves throughout the entire day, PC was off the front again coming into the hill. About half way up we could see her…then she took a right hand turn, where there wasn’t a right hand turn. At least not on the course we were on. I heard a few ladies, kind of laugh and say “Oh, PC, that silly girl”…However…I really didn’t think she was taking a wrong turn on purpose. I yelled her name…but she kept climbing…the wrong way. We had some fun in the peloton…figuring out if PC was kidding or not..but when I looked back, I swear the look I saw on her face did not look like someone who was kidding. Well, at least she had a nice downhill to get back on the course. And as we all know, the race went beautifully for us, and we won! When I saw Ruth go, and get over 20 seconds…I knew she was going to TT her way home…
What did I learn this last weekend? Pam has the strongest GI system of anyone I know and something other than blood must run through her veins…Bonnie’s dog LOVES to sleep. (He slept on the front seat of James’s car throughout the whole race), PC needs a compass…Bea and I had really sore asses and need a constant infusion of chamois cream supplied to us throughout the race…Dotsie knows more people than God and Ruth can fricking fly!!!!
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