Fwd: Red Barn CX race report – C2
From: Lee Penn
Date: Oct 29, 2007 10:24 AM
good morning gophers!
i was sooooo impressed by the course and the volunteers and the
costumes and the racing! what a blast! this was my first time to red
barn (like bill), and i had a great time.
for whatever reason, asthma was a huge factor for me on saturday – i
had a tough time breathing! seems as though a few others had similar
struggles.
right – i rode the course a few times prior to the C-start.
immediately, i liked the course, although there was this one little
tree that kept getting in my way on the right-turn 180…
get to the start. have a great position right near a guy i know is
great on the start – hoping to use him as my rabbit. then, cody
(junior kid – teenager with bad attitude) puts himself directly in
front of me and will not move…. he even moves his bike around and
hits my front wheel a few times. this kid has been around long enough
and raced enough that he should know better than to show up at the
last minute and push his way to the front of the line.
race starts. cody can’t clip in and is swerving all around – i have a
TERRIBLE start!!!! ugh. i think i was 8th or 9th for the women at
this point.
first lap was relatively asthma free, and i managed to stay out of the
crash right after turn one…. and avoid john redmond, who was busy
puking…. at the end of the first lap, i think i was in third or
fourth… worked my way forward – after passing june in the grass
skirt, i thought i was in the lead. then, next lap, i hear- ten
seconds lee – don’t let her get away. what???? there’s another woman
in front of me? oh crap. so, i had about two laps left – i pushed my
pace – the asthma pushed back…. i hear someone yell that i
shouldn’t worry – there is plenty of air – ha ha – very funny -
clearly there is NOT enough air – what was that guy thinking?
in the end, i finished about six seconds behind grumpy’s amy, an
ex-bike messenger who is super sweet, strong, and hilarious. if i had
a better start? if i hadn’t had asthma???? yeah – that’s bike racing!
and that’s a good question – hopefully to be determined the next time
i race with amy!
my legs felt fine after the c-race, and i almost lined up for the
b-race…. but, i was still hacking the asthma hack 5 minutes after
the finish… even after using my inhaler…. so i put on my warmer
clothes and chilled with some great chilli (thank you sara!), candy,
and jelly bellys in gw colors (thank you graines family).
very happy with my second place red barn medal – it’s the coolest of
all my medals! thank you to all the gophers who busted butt at this
race. all i did was race and pick up bits of trash as i wandered the
course…. oh yeah, and had a fabulous time!
looks like blaine is the next race for me….
thanks for reading,
lee