Wente Road Race 09 from Marianne

Wente RR This was my first Cat 3 RR so I expected it to be a bit faster than the Cat 4 but midweek I also found out that we did another lap too (50 miles, 4 X through the finish hill-ouch!). The first pass of the finish hill was a KOM so the pace, lead by our very own Anna, put the hurt on early. After the second set of hills, a group of 7 of us found ourselves chasing the main pack, which Anna +2 had easily left behind. It took us almost the entire second lap to catch the main pack but we finally did. This was the highlight of the race for me. It was so nice to catch them and have a reprieve. It was bad ass windy out there! Well, all that work was for naught when I dropped my chain at 2.5 laps--aargh!. It got jammed between the small chain ring and the frame so I had to hop off, yank it out and put it back on. Thankfully, a couple of gals came by and we worked together to the finish. It would have been very disheartening to ride the rest of the race by myself in that wind. As I predicted, and as you probably have guessed, Anna won the race handedly. I got 21st and the wine Anna didn't want : ) Thanks to the DBC water and cheering crew especially Michele for organizing everything! Wente Crit This was my second crit and my first in this fast and furious paced group of Pro/1/2/3 riders. I would recommend this course if you enjoy fast but not too technical course. I was very nervous at the start but after a few laps got more comfortable with the speed and the cornering required. Though, there are lots of bot dots and road reflectors to hit. I think I hit every one--call me "Fem bot dot." It was actually fun towards the end. I was happy to finish with the pack. Lesson learned for both races: STOP RIDING AT THE BACK OF THE PACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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