Chris Thator - Anna Mc Reports....

Stay alive don’t drink and drive

Hey friends!

The last team race of the season was this past Saturday. We (Me/Anna M, Kristy, Dale, Jenette and Kate) congregated in Binghamton, NY for the Chris Thater Memorial criterium, in memory of a fellow who was killed a while back by a drunken driver. So I’ll take a moment to remind you not to drive after drinking. Seriously. Not worth it, for you or the people around you. And don’t let your friends drink and drive either; take their car keys, give them a ride, lock them in the closet, whatever it takes.
BUT I’ll digress to a less serious and more light-hearted topic: bike racing!! I spent the nights before and after the race with friends in Albany, and Kathleen and Louise were gracious hosts for this cyclist/student and I’m super grateful for that. I was anticipating rain, but tried my best to luck us into a dry race; Emma, my collegiate cycling friend and travelling companion and I kept telling the clouds “gee, we hope the sun doesn’t break through, because we forgot our sunscreen” so we’ll take a small bit of ironic credit for the fact that in a soggy, soggy day, we lucked into a dry road and a completely rain-less race. Kate, sadly had hurt her neck but came along to help us with the logistics of the day, for which we’re grateful (although we’d have rather have her riding, too, and hope her neck heals fast). We picked up our numbers, and found that many of our Eastern friends and the eastern teams had come out to race, as well as a number of folks on Canadian teams and Tibco and Colavita had both sent small (for them) squads to the race. It looked to be some good competition, and since the organizers had changed the women’s race to the shorter (and easier) version of the course, we weren’t sure what to expect. I was feeling super good, so was looking to get into a break, and everyone else on our team was planning on helping me find an opportunity to attack, and generally ride aggressive races. The course is of the kind I like; it has a nice little hill in it that we got to hammer up…again…and again…and again… After a few laps, there was a crash, and while thankfully everyone is mostly OK (speedy recovery, Cath) it caused the race to be neutralized for about 4 laps.
After that, the racing resumed, but the character of the race changed and seemed strangely negative. I did succeed in attacking and getting clear of the field a couple of times, but everything was quickly chased back together within a half a lap or so. Tibco seemed to enjoy sending solo riders off the front, but they didn’t seem to be interested in actually working a break, and well, I’m hardly willing or able to pull one of them around for too many laps. BUT I felt like I was riding really well for me, and it was fun being in the mix, even if my attempts at primes were all foiled. As we were nearing the end of the race, there was a small break that was holding together a bit, and Jenette moved to the front and did a large piece of work to bring them back. With 2 to go, another Tibco rider pulled off solo, and I thought it was another attempt at a break, so I hopped on her wheel, but we never quite got clear, and I quickly decided that since it looked like she was about to pop at any minute, I’d better move back a few wheels so as to not be forced to drag the field around for the rest of the race (as much fun as that would be, it wouldn’t give me a very good finish). I did my best to hold a good position as the pace ratcheted up for the final lap, and ended up finishing 14th. While we may not have won the race, a few spectators complimented us after the race for being aggressive and making the race fun to watch, so we should at least be proud of that!!
Unfortunately, the rain was threatening, so after the race we rushed to the cars to pack up before getting drenched, and the rain started just after we packed the last bike into the cars. We said some hurried good-byes and made our respective ways home. I suppose it’s just as well that the weather prevented lingering, ‘cause it being the last team race of the year (I’ll be racing the Green Mountain Stage Race this coming weekend, but it wouldn’t fit in anyone else’s schedules), it was hard to say good-bye. So, my last words of this post are to them. Y’all are super awesome and I’m so going to miss riding and hanging out with you. Hopefully, the memories of all the fun we had this season will help me get through the cold, trainer-filled months that are coming!


Anna McLoon