cycling

Last weekend my husband and I went to San Ardo with plans for him to do the road race and me to ride the race course in the opposite direction with my girlfriend who’s husband was also racing.
Everything went according to plan and my girlfriend, Sharon and I were having a very nice ride. Every now and then one of the racing groups would pass on the road going the other way, always observing the “centerline” rule. The centerline rule means that just like a car, you stay on your own side of the road. Only in a bike race that also applies while passing.
As I said everything was going great, we were having fun, waving to the occasional person we knew in the race. No problems at all until we got about 3-4 miles from the finish line of the race. This would be about 18 miles from the finish for the racers since we were traveling in opposite directions. We were out on the rolling part of Paris Valley Rd. in a flattish area with good sight-lines. We saw a large group coming toward us very fast so we knew they were either CAT 3 or Pro/1/2 riders. As they got close the riders in front began pointing us out to those behind. We were as far to the right of the road as we could get. At this point racers in the back decided this was a good opportunity to move up in the pack so they moved over the centerline and right in line with us. We had no where to go other then into the star thistle on the shoulder of the road or into the racers going at least 30 mph. At this point Sharon stopped and I having no other choice ran right into the back of her. She flew over her handlebars and landed on her face, I crashed onto my left side bruising my hip and getting road rash and bruises on my leg and elbow.
Fortunately we’re both alright but unsatisfied as it looks as if the perpetrators are going to get away with it.

This morning was beautiful, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, at 6 AM when I got up. By 7:30 AM when I was getting ready to go out on my morning ride, the sky had gone overcast. Not unusual for this time of year. I threw on my arm and knee warmers just to be safe.
I met the group at the end of my driveway which opens onto a road very popular with the local cyclists and headed out toward the hills. By the time we’d gotten 6 miles into the ride it had warmed up to the point where I removed the arm and knee warmers and stowing them in my jersey pockets.
Since I had time constraints, when the group decided to wait for the slower riders, I chose to continue on, I knew they’d catch up to me anyway. The route starts out semi-flat to rolling and then tilts up as it turns south and begins a 5-6 mile climb through trees, wildflowers and old ranches. We were heading toward a beautiful winding one lane road that will take us back to the highway.
By the time I was halfway up the climb the faster riders had begun to catch me. Once they passed me I picked up my pace just enough to keep them in sight.
When we reached the top we waited for the rest of the group and then began the beautiful mostly shaded descent.
I hammered down the hill chasing the leaders passing riders along the way. I was having such a great ride. I felt strong and the speed was exhilarating. Each little roller was a challenge to be mastered, then pick up the speed again on the other side. I heard something next to me and realized I was being passed by one of the men on the ride. One of the downsides of being small, you have to work really hard to go as fast as everyone else on the descents. I kept him in my sights, peddling hard.
We rounded a turn and I saw it, the bridge going over the river and the steep 10% assent on the other side. This could be my chance. I began increasing the speed of my spin just as I hit the hill, keeping my momentum high and down-shifting as I felt the speed decrease. Before I knew it I was passing my passer. As I went by I heard him say “This is when gravity isn’t my friend”. Yay! I poured on the speed and hit the descent way in front. I was so jazzed, I think it gave me extra strength. I pushed on harder and harder increasing my gap.
By the time I reached the base where everyone was regrouping I was a good 30 seconds in front of him.