Folsom crit

My first crit was similar to my first triathlon... unstellar.

This year I decided I wanted to get into bike racing. It was a combination of being sort of burnt out from triathlon and the cycling scene a lot bigger in Northern California than the tri scene. The only problem was, or is, that it's hard to find women teammates. I was originally on a bike team earlier this year because I wanted to become a better cyclist. Turned out that that team was not a place to be learning to ride and race, so I quit (though I still wear the tri kit in triathlons). The people I ended up riding with in this area for the majority of this year so far have been guys from work, and some of them are also in their first season of bike racing on a master's team out of the Body Concepts studio here in Folsom. Sometimes the coach comes on our Sunday group rides, and so per suggestion of my friends I asked to join their team. The coach said no because he would want to form a women's team instead. I tossed the idea around in my head, and ended up taking the leadership position. So, I am currently sort of a member of the Body Concepts women's team, and I raced my first crit on Saturday representing BC.

The primary reason for signing up for this race was because it is in Folsom, just over 3 miles from where I live. That meant I could bike to the start and then home afterwards, and that's what I did. Rode around the area during the race before me trying to spin my legs. There was a big crash in the master's race before mine that required an ambulance and fire truck to take the guy away. That ended up delaying and shortening the women's Cat 4 race.

We do a loop around the course. Right-hand turn, okay that favors me more than a left-hand turn. We line up at the start... I have no idea what I'm doing and no teammates so I start in the back. I think in total we did 13 laps. I spend the first few laps at the back, not really sure what to do. Somewhere along the way I get bored and realize maybe this isn't for me. The pace isn't fast, I'm starting to zone out. That's not good, especially not in a crit. Eventually I find myself in the front, not really sure how. I end up pulling a few laps. Once I'm in the front, I am still not sure what to do. Attack? Try to ease back in the pack? But I feel good, it's not that hard.

Third to last lap, I'm moved slightly back in the pack. Not having teammates or even a strategy was not good. Going around the big second corner of the course. It's a trick corner, the course winds a bit before you turn, and the turn is only marked by one cone. I'm on the far outside, thinking that it's safe and no one would want to be that far out and lose extra time by taking a longer path. That is a wrong assumption, since some girl apparently is right next to me, and neither of hold our lines (or she is trying to pass me ON A CORNER) and apparently we locked handlebars and headed into the curb and crashed. I'm still honestly not sure what happened, I don't know where she came from, and the recap is what I got from another rider in the race. BUT I was in my drops the entire time so not sure how we locked handlebars. All I know is that I was pissed because I felt strong and figured I could at least finish top half. I scramble up, my chain is off and one of the marshalls help me fix it. Unfortunately since it was the 3rd to last lap, there was no free lap and I just did 1 or 2 laps on my own. Luckily, all I got from the crash was a bruised knee, rear end, and slight bruise on my shin. Oh and a skinned finger.

We'll chalk this up to a learning experience. I need to learn strategy and better handling skills.