Barb races the PA State Road Race Championships
Robeson Township PA State Road Race
Sunday, September 6, 2009
After the Millersburg Stage Race I was itching to get back east for another race, so when the PA State Road Race was announced for September 6, and when I saw that my bike racing friend, Lorraine Lipfert, was signed up, it was an easy decision. Lorraine offered up perfect host housing, with access to a bike trail just a few pedal strokes from her driveway and a local bistro with Seafood Ciopino on the menu. The only downside was the 7 am start. YAWN! Four o’clock came and two sleepy bike racers shuffled into the kitchen for espresso, yogurt and granola and english muffins with honey. It was dark when we left, just beginning to get light by the time we rolled up to the race. YAWN!
The women’s 1/2/3 race was 5 laps of a 13 mile loop – a course full of twists and turns, a long steady grade, one short steep pitch, a handfull of short kickers. Lap 1 started off at a modest tempo, while I sat on Lorraine’s wheel, in the perfect position to get warmed up, check out the course, stay out of the wind, and get a feel for the rest of the field. I knew a few of the riders and had a feel for how they were likely to race and Lorraine had given me the low down on the riders that were new to me. About two thirds through the first lap, the lead car and moto for the W-4s, who had started their race about 5 minutes behind us, rolled up and we were neutralized until the W-4s passed us. That seemed to spark an interest in the W1/2/3 field to attack – and within moments of being un-neutralized, one woman attacked after a right turn leading into a short climb and we all scrambled to respond. We hit the short steep climb and soon caught and passed the W-4s on a swoopy downhill. At that point the lead group sat up and we rolled through the S/F for the start of lap 2. That surge had shed a handful of riders, but we were gruppo compacto by halfway through lap 2. A few small surges came and went, with nothing getting away. Finally, half-way through lap 3, a group of 6 got off the front and I found myself with Betty Tyrell, another master rider, and 4 others. Our little group had some of its own elastic and two riders attacked Betty and I on a long downhill, we got back on, then either Betty or I were able to get a small gap on the long grade, but it seemed we would stay together until the end, in which case I was starting to think about whether I had the legs to try an attack at the top of a short climb leading into the final 1 km. On the last lap I lost contact on one of the short pitches and the wheel van/broom wagon did what it had to do, which was pass me, a perfectly reasonable but still demoralizing action. But – it was not over, as I was now on the long steady grade and I soon realized the gap between me and the group of 4 up ahead was shrinking, and soon, the wheel truck pulled over to the left to let me get by, gave me a thumbs up and “way to go” and there I was, back in the race. Alaina, one of the riders in my group attacked and stayed away to get 7th, the last paying spot, and the rest of the group pretty much splintered in the last couple of miles. That made my race finish plan rather moot, and I rolled in for 10th – out of the money, but happy all the same.
Post race, I caught up with Lorraine – and when I mentioned that the last two laps, all I could think about was *diner breakfast,* my pre-race breakfast having since been used up, she told me there was a local diner on my way home. Perfect! It truly was the classic diner, with formica tables, shiny aluminum siding, and awesome breakfast. We made it easy for the waitress by both ordering coffee and spinach/feta omelets with homefries, and since we were both famished and tired, it made it easy for our post-race brains as well. A good visit with a good friend, a good race, and a post-race diner breakfast. It doesn’t get much better than that: and that’s my race story!
