Battenkill Recap

picture courtesy of Dave McElwaine: www.cyclingnews.com

The Battenkill was a race that I was looking forward to, but also dreading a bit. I've been working on my climbing and feeling pretty good, but this was a lot more than just climbing. There was a lot more to worry about than the hills at the Kill...

We got lucky with the weather - at least a little. It was cold at the start. Cold enough for arm warmers, leg warmers, a hat and long fingered gloves. But, the rain that had been predicted the day or two before never arrived (THANK YOU!!!) It was, however, wickedly windy. Which basically meant that if you were not in a pack, you were in trouble.

The course was AWESOME. Honestly, I really enjoyed it. I need to work on my strength on steep pitches. This is where I always get gapped and I have to figure out how to improve my performance on those sections in order to stay with the leaders next year. The reality is, this is a climbers race. I don't know that I could ever race up front with Patty and the top 5 or 10, but I'd really like to come out closer to the top half! ;)

The first off road section caused me one major problem that would taunt me for the remainder of the race. I hit about 6 GIANT potholes right in a row and my handlebars dropped...about 2 inches. So, I spent the rest of the race totally stretched out with my hands reaching for hoods that were WAY off. Needless to say, I stopped at CVS on the way back from the race to get an Icy Hot patch for my back. Still feeling like I'm 92 today!

When we hit the first big climb, I was REALLY uncomfortable, trying to figure out how to pull on hoods that were too low. It wasn't working out very well. I lost the front pack early. I stayed with Sonja for a bit to try to chase back on, but I just couldn't get my legs going. I wound up racing alone for a little while.

And then my angel appeared. Decked out in a slightly different green than me and wearing a big old smile on her face was Amity! Just as I was settling into the thought that this was going to be a loooong, lonely race, she came up alongside and I had a partner in the sufferfest! Seriously, we shared a huge hug after the race and I told her how much it meant to me not just that I had someone else to race with, but that I had my former Salamander teammate to race with! She was like a second wind for me. It was awesome!

We rode the remainder of the race together and actually ended up in a field of nearly a dozen when we came to the finish. Though my finish was not what I would have liked, I feel really great about the race and about having conquered something that difficult. I'll be back next year with a vengeance and ready to take down that first big climb! :)