Opening Race 1, 2 Punch in Lancaster

Today Christina and I (Sara) woke up at the crack of dawn (Yes, it's that time of year again!) and traveled to Lancaster, PA for the Farmersville Circuit Race. It was difficult coming up with a pre-race strategy as there would be only 5 of us lining up at the start line, and we had no idea what kind of fitness those people would have at what was the first race of the season for most of us. We stayed pretty chill in the first of 7 laps of the 35km race, reading the "field" and seeing who was willing to sit on the front. Everyone seemed content to sit on either Christina's or my wheels at an easy 15mph pace...not suprising since we were the only team with more than 1 person represented. However, after Christina whispered "sooner rather than later" midway through the first lap, I took off going through the start/finish area. I was followed by a junior rider and quickly caught by Dori from Artemis with Christina on her wheel. Christina immediately jumped as I was caught, and I latched on to Dori as she chased. After another short jump by me, Christina countered as I was caught and took off in what would become a 5 lap solo break away. Dori made a great attempt at a chase but cracked at the end of lap 3 as I sat on her wheel. Seeing her sit up, I took off and attempted to bridge up my teammate. Christina "The Leg-Ripper-Offer" was too much for me, and I was content to motor along on my own for the next couple of laps when I couldn't catch her. Unfortunately, the police officer "guarding" (and I use that term loosely) one of the corners decided that it would be a good idea to allow a tractor trailer to turn as I approached at the end of the 6th lap, at which point the tractor trailer decided to stop and talk with a guy driving a tractor in front of me. Sweet. I had to stop and unclip...at which point both calves locked up in killer cramps. I'm sure EVERYONE thought I was psycho as I squeezed sideways on foot between the tractor and tractor trailer screaming "You A**holes!" and then stopped at the side of the road groaning "Ow Ow Ow Ow". I hopped back on my bike just as Dori cruised up. I tried a few times to get away from her again as we rolled into the last lap but gave up as she stuck to me with every move. At this point, furious, I decided to pull back and sit on her wheel for the remainder of the lap...passing her 150m from the finish line for the sprint.

Meanwhile up the road, Christina tried her best to get involved in the only pile-up of the day in the men's Cat 4/5 field. Two handles bars hooked, one guy hit the deck as the other continued riding with second bike still attached. The laid-out guy got up, attempted to run to nab his get-a-way bike, but slipped again in his cleets. He then proceeded to *finally* get his bike and walk across the road without looking, almost taking Christina out in the process. She saved herself with her mad 'cross skills by coming to a halt and holding a wheelie. Luckily, she stayed upright and rode to a solo finish well out of sight of Dori and myself.

The CycleLife Cat3 girls opened the season with a 1,2 (haha, just ignore the fact that there were only 5 of us to start with!). Stay tuned for news from our Cat1,2 girls starting their season at the Grants Tomb Crit in NYC...