This year’s CCC stage race definitely had its ups and downs for the SC Velo/Empower Coaching System’s team. Before we even left our team of 8 became a team of 7 as our teammate Ruth had to drop out to be by her mother’s side. Last year we had Dotsie managing us for this race, and we got spoiled…and whipped into shape a few times too. This year we had Dennis (of Dennis and Bea), the world famous Thurlow Rogers, and my husband James helping us out. Thurlow was designated acting team manager at the race meeting and he was a HUGE help to us, as was little Stevie…Pam’s son.
We started out with 7 riders, Pam, PC, Bea, Katie, me, and two guest riders, Lauren Liscinski from NOW and Kimberly Turner. By Stage 5 there were just 4 of us…and this is that story:
Prologue
For some reason the promoters at this race see fit to torture us all with a short 2 mile prologue at 6pm the night before our first big stage race. It’s basically an out and back sprint with a little hill. We all had our “prologue cough” for the rest of the week since you feel like your lungs are on fire and bleeding after the 4 minute effort. Unless you are one of the women who finished it in under 4 minutes. (No, none of us did that.) But we all gave it our best and headed off to get some rest for stage 1 the following morning.
Stage 1 – McKenzie Pass Road Race
This stage is a remote start about an hour and 15 minutes outside of Bend. 73.5 miles with almost 7000 feet of climbing. The start of this race has a very long downhill, which tests everyone’s already jittery nerves. One hundred and four of us shoulder to shoulder going downhill at speeds approaching 50 miles an hour (my Garmin said 48.5 mph and PC’s said 49.5). There was an early crash but we all avoided it and the girls that went down were okay. The first climb was at a moderate pace thanks to a break that went off early (with SC Velo’s Katie Donovan in it). At the top of the climb there was some separation and we all got a bit strung out. The last climb up to the finish is a leg buster and when I came in I got the great news that Katie had taken 3rd. An AMAZING job in what I think is the hardest stage. Everyone finished intact, tired…and in pain….lots of pain. Did I mention the pain?
I should note here, that we had Bea and Dennis staying with James and I (and my two crazy terriers) for the trip. Since my parents couldn’t go we had an extra bedroom and since the host housing was cozy it worked out perfectly to have Bea and Dennis with us. My husband James got to experience Dennis’s command of carnivorous cooking…something he doesn’t get at home since I’m a vegetarian.
Bea and I took advantage of the Turkish soaking pool across from our rental house at the local McMennamins (it’s kind of a huge Epsom salt bath). On our way back from our soak Bea got the news that she didn’t make the time cut for stage one. A real bummer and just bad luck because Bea is one of the strongest racers both mentally and physically. Remember that 6pm prologue…well Bea had a great finishing time. Our awesome sponsor Gu provided us with tons of nutrition and Bea took advantage of that by shooting a few caffeinated Gu’s. Good for the legs, bad for trying to sleep. This is how we learn so much stage racing.
Stage 2 – Skyliners TT
Stage 2 is a 14 mile out and back time trial with about 1000 feet of climbing. As we were all warming up Bea, who had all the right in the world to feel bummed and sorry for herself, was instead wrenching on all our bikes. She cleaned Katie’s bike, changing out her wheels to an awesome disc wheel in back and a deep dish in the front (courtesy of Thurlow). She had her stand out and was getting her hands greasy, making sure everyone was set up. She was the definition of teammate. Katie had Thurlow following her in the team car and I had Bea and James following me. James wanted to honk to let me know when to turn left into the finish, but thankfully Bea told him that probably wouldn’t be a good idea…see…great teammate. She saved James from my wrath because if he had honked at me while I was at heart rate of 185 into that last finishing stretch I would NOT have been happy.
Everyone was appropriately tired and in more pain after the 14 mile effort. We all were a little bit worried about time cuts because the winners time was amazing. That’s the problem when you have two Olympic Gold Medalists time trialing out there. Luckily they extended the time cuts a bit and we all made it through safely except for our guest ride Kimberly.
And then there were 5…
Stage 3 – Cascade Lakes Road Race
Stage 3 is yet another road race with lots of climbing, but this one has more flats. Last year they took off like firecrackers at the beginning of this race. Maybe that doesn’t sound so bad, but the first 2 miles is uphill. This year they hit it hard again and we all managed to push through our pain to stay in the peloton. This stage was great for us as a team. We all stayed together and up front for the most part. Speaking for myself. I can say that I was just so star struck to actually be riding next to Clara Hughes, and Kristen Armstrong. I was feeling mighty grateful (but still in pain) to this great team for giving me the opportunity to be doing this amazing race. A small break got away and the peloton attacked just before the final climb, but couldn’t quite pull them in. We all finished strong and I think the mood was lighter at the end of this stage. We had little Stevie handing out water bottles to his mom Pam, and he did a stellar job. We also have video of little Stevie having a conversation before the race with the yellow jersey (Clara Hughes) about Earth years versus Venus years. Did I mention that he was wearing a Gu box on top of his head during this?
Stage 4 – Bend Downtown Criterium
To be fair, I have to preface this part of the report by saying everyone knows that criteriums are not my favorite type of race. That being said, this team has helped me get a gazillion times more comfortable and confident in them. As expected this race was fast. Almost 27mph average on my Garmin. A break did get away and hold off the field, but the part where they were chasing the break down was wearing me down. My teammates always tell me to stay in front, so that’s what I tried to do. I didn’t find out until after the race that our very own “not so” PC had gone down hard early in the race and took a nasty blow to her head. She was in the medic tent, more worried about the scrape on her new tattoo, than the state of her head…so I knew she was going to be okay. She did, however, have a concussion and was definitely having trouble remembering things for a little while. Understandably, everyone was a little down after this stage. Crashes are never good, and when it’s someone you care about, it’s even worse. But after some Advil and a huge plate of pasta cooked by Dennis, she was feeling better. I think the Reese’s peanut butter cups helped too.
And then there were 4…
Stage 5 – Awbrey Butte Circuit Race
Did I mention that we are all tired and feeling some pain at this point? But it is the last stage and with that comes some much needed motivation. We were seeing the light at the end of the stage race tunnel. Our weather up to this point had been perfect. Low 80’s, not too hot or too cold. Today was the first hot stage. It’s a 4 lap almost 17 mile circuit with some steep stair stepper power climbs and lots of room for high speed breaks and powerful surges. Unfortunately, I can’t provide a lot of info on this stage because I was off the back from mile 8 until mile 71. But this is a 68 mile race. Well, I made it 71 miles when, after having to dismount twice and get neutral support’s help for a chain that wanted to keep dropping, I put my head down and missed a turn. When I got DOWN to Hwy 20 I had that sinking feeling (worse than the sinking feeling I had when I watched the peloton ride away) of knowing I was never going to be able to catch back on. So I climbed back UP (yes, my detour involved a climb), found the turn, yelled at the volunteers for not keeping me on course and time trialed for about 30 miles before it really sunk in that I was out of this race. By the way, when they say “know the course” in the race bible…they really mean it. The first time I passed the feed zone I was so far off the back no one was out to hand me a bottle (can’t really blame them, no one knew I was gapped) so I did lap 2 without any water. I tried drinking my tears, but that didn’t work. (Just kidding, I wasn’t crying…yet). On lap 2 I got caught and lapped by the men’s pro peloton and couldn’t get over to my team, luckily I grabbed a bottle from neutral. On lap 3 I had the pleasure of being mooned by PC, which kept me going for lap 4. Which I finished, way, way, way off the back. Like 40 minutes off. I am happy to say that I did get that last place finish, and not time cut. Also I am happy to say that my team sat in the parking lot and waited for me to come in. What I remember most from this stage is hearing Pam ride by me saying “Oh no”..as my chain dropped and dangled off my crank…Hopefully others can fill you in on the activity of this stage. I’m sure it was exciting, but for me it was humbling. As I rode through the small crowds along the course…all alone…I heard one person whisper…”she’s last”. It was so quiet, I could hear a fan whispering those two words. There were no cowbells ringing, no whoosh of tires going by…just me, all by myself. You know what I thought about for those 62 solo miles. I thought about how lucky I was to be able to be out here riding my bike, racing with all these amazing women, even if they were in front of me. I couldn’t think of a better thing to be chasing. Oh, and with about 1 mile to go I heard this noise behind me. I turned around and James was behind me, hazard lights flashing giving me a thumbs up. That helped me limp my way home.
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