^by the way if anyone knows how to get a flickr photo to embed here, please feel free to share

Cross posted in Turkey Hill thread (but I figure we can post #bellelap updates here as well for our email-only ladies):

During my warm-up I noticed considerable play in my back wheel and a spoke as loose as a turkey's wattle. My fault for keeping my race wheels in the Pika Pack all week and not checking them after returning from CA. @Vlad was gracious enough to offer his impressive/intimidating carbon wonders, but they weren't going to work with my CX bike's brake pads. @Marc come to the rescue with his custom Neuvation. And with Jeff A's blessing on the SRAM/Shimano Frankenbike we'd just created, I was off with the w3/4s.

Pretty uneventful for the first 2 of 5 laps. Field stayed together, a couple bad wheels were yelled at through the corners, and everyone enjoyed the full road closures. Found myself in a 4 woman break in the 3rd lap on one of the more significant hills on the stretch before the finish. It didn't stick, but before being gobbled back up by the field, we chatted briefly about trying that again on The Wall. Which we did.

During the last lap, I was at the front hammering hard before The Wall in order to get good positioning for what I assumed would be a sloppy, paper boy-esque climb. Which it was. I was also hoping to exhaust a few women before the climb. Which I did. I was maybe 5th up the climb along with the women from the earlier attempt at a break. We all just punched it, created a big gap on the rollers after The Wall, and for the second weekend in a row my CX bike did not disappoint on the down hill. Short pulls and a tacit agreement to start the sprint at 200m. I was second wheel at the 200m mark (which Marc informs me is a tricky spot, so next time in that situation I'll aim for 3rd wheel) and ultimately was just out sprinted. But happy with placing and having a safe race.

Turkey Hill pro-tip: snag your free ice cream before your race, so it's a nice milk shake consistency at the finish. Salted caramel milk shake + Osmo Recovery = OMG Omnomnom!

Huge HUGE thank you to @Marc for the wheel. See Turkey Hill thread for illustration of what I owe him for saving the day!

@Kayt & @Gwynna how'd your races go?!

@Kayt was so kind to me! I was really underprepared for what turned out to be a really nice race in PP on Saturday. I couldn't find my right glove so Michael Jacksoned it with only my left glove, had to fit my new helmet, pinned my number on all wrong, didn't have any food -- point is, deep down I was nervous and probably subconsciously trying to miss the start. But I got up to the park just before 6am and @Kayt gave me some quick advice. The Masters field was chatty behind us so I couldn't hear the race guy talking about QOM or the green flag sprints -- I actually heard nothing of what he said. We started off and it felt super super slow but also good because I was nervous about riding in a group like that. I didn't really shift gears, probably because of nerves, and just tried to stay near @Kayt. I made it four laps (I think?) including the super fun one when @Kayt and I zipped around everyone to near the front to go up the hill but then at the start of the fourth or fifth? lap there was this green flag and all of a sudden the pace was finally faster, which is what I wanted, but of course I was in the wrong gear and the wrong mental mind-set since I hadn't seen it coming. If I had stood up and hustled I bet I could have caught the group on the hill because it wasn't a huge gap, it was just a momentary brain lapse and by the time they turned the corner at GAP they were gone! And then, to be perfectly honest, I was so relieved. I had been so nervous about crashing that I thought "Oh cool, now I just finish all these laps as fast as I can by myself!" which I did! And it was hard without the pack and windy and also totally embarrassing to be by myself but hey -- I still had a nice time and the women's pack at least never lapped me. So all told, great first race and I learned a ton and can't wait to do it again! 

Some kick ass race reports here...anyone do Orchard Beach today?? It's a great course, so bummed that I had to work today...

Cross posting in case of #forumfatigue

Psyched about skillz drillz but cant make tomorrow's session. Hope there will be others and that I can jump in on the next one!

anyone going to see the floyd racing movie at raphia tonight? 8pm. door open at 7:30

You had me convinced, but then I remembered I scheduled an early brunch on Sunday and I don't think I can get out of it.  Grr.

Oh you guys I so want to do it but I have to be in Chicago for a conference. BUMMED. 

Jumpin in. Looking forward to hitting the road/gravel/mud with you all!

Anybody interested in joining me for a ride to piermont tomorrow am?

That's a bummer about the Giro Del Cielo. I did it last year and had a blast. But while I love the hill climb and the road race suits me, you can't get cat 4-3 upgrade points for TTs or GC. I'd rather spend $100 on a couple hilly road races.

Hello All,

My first race report (and my first race ever) so i'll keep it short and sweet. I did the CRCA Women's Development Series Cat 4 race this morning in CP. I was pretty nervous but ended up having a lot of fun. There were about 30 women signed up in my field, although I'm not sure how many actually made it out to race (seemed like a decent amount though). We got off to a faster start than I expected and I started the race in a terrible position (wedged to the far right off the back and stuck behind a girl who couldn't seem to clip in properly) but I was able to grab on to the back of the pack and then improved my position so I didn't risk getting dropped the first time up harlem hill. Climbing is not my strong suit. I held on through all 4 laps consistently near the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the field and somehow was coming into the final stretch of the race at the front of the pack for a brief and wonderous moment...before I realized I had jumped the gun and gotten out ahead before the actual final sprint started. Long story short, I bonked out on the sprint about halfway through and ended up finishing near the back (not sure final position but I imagine I was 2nd or 3rd to last). That being said, I felt really good throughout the entire race and think that if I had held back for just a few seconds longer I could have finished in a much better position. So - good to know for next time I guess!

Awesome!
You'll def score next time
On May 17, 2014 10:18 AM, "Paige Holbrook" <