Diane is writing this from the front seat of the 2002 Canadian Olympic Edition super-van, on our way back from the first Collegiate Cycling race weekend of 2014. We figure while we still have the endorphins running through our blood, we will write about the best parts of the weekend. It also helps our motivation that this was a super-successful weekend of bike racing.
Road Race
The Santa Cruz road race is awesome; it is a compact 2.6 miles course with 400 feet of climbing per lap. The loop goes uphill along beautiful fields and then into towering green forest. The hill crests and all of a sudden you are descending with stunning coastal views to the left. The descent brings you down with spectacular views of the ocean all the way. Of course, none of the beauty is appreciated when your eyes are crossed, your legs are burning and there are still 8 laps to go.
Events of note include:
Kristen Fauria (UC Berkeley) observed a bobcat wander onto the course on her descent; she narrowly avoided it.
Diane caught the other girls in the final selection by surprise with 500m to go and attacked on the final uphill to finish first and grab the win. Judy was there too, she finished 4th.
Crit
Four corners in a flat industrial park; well the race flyer said 5 corners but we looked really hard and could not find that last corner.
We sat in the Men’s B race to warm up. Then there was a crash and we said eff this, not worth it and pulled out. We hope the guy who crashed is okay.
In the Women’s A race Judy did her thang and sprinted for the win. Superstar pseudo teammates Kristen Fauria and Dani Haulman (Golden Gate University) came in third and fourth, respectively.
Things overheard at the collegiate race weekend
This will be a recurring section of the race weekend blog entries, and you will quickly see why. We cannot wait to see what ridiculous gems we overhear in the weekends to come.
Re: the UC Davis race weekend
Spoken by: a non-Davis men’s A rider
I would suck a dick for 10 seconds to not have to do the Mondavi Center crit again. Later addendum: Actually 5 seconds and just the tip.
Re: warming up before a crit
Spoken by: a men’s B rider
The hardest part about warming up is getting your lungs to 100% capacity. You need to acclimate to the local air.
Re: another racer in an NCNCA race contested years ago
Spoken by: a women’s A
She yelled at me in a race and I was like up yours you old dinosaur.
Exchange between a men’s A rider during the crit today and race coordinators:
Rider drops out and asks
– Do I get a free lap?
– Do you have a flat or something? Do you need a wheel?
– No…I got pushed out.