Despite some serious incompetence on behalf of the officials and promoters, who really seemed to be making the rules up as the weekend progressed, this was a great first stage race for me. Erika put it best on our drive back late yesterday afternoon: it's a race weekend worth doing simply because of its beautiful setting. Rolling hills peppered with orchards and dairy farms; friendly people looking on with bemusement at the neon-clad creatures spinning past them; impeccable road conditions despite a brutal winter's over-salting. Thanks to @Erika and @Emily's for the great reports; here are my additions to the Syracuse Saga:

Hill Climb: Still not sure when we were officially un-neutralized, but fortunately the pack was going slow enough to avoid a group of ducks crossing the road. We fortunately gained some momentum before the hill, which I was dreading. My personal victory was passing a few riders up the hill and not stepping off the gas when the hill crested, which I've gotten in the bad habit of doing. In short, I didn't suck as much as I thought I would. 

TT: I was futzing with my kit and was even later to the screwed up start time, so I went off second to last. Passed some people, including someone who ended up showing as having a better time than me on the results, but I have no idea how I did. Decided that the TT aesthetic is dorky as hell. 

Intermission, not related to cycling: Coming back to the house we rented between races, Erika's car got stuck in some mud as we were backing into the parking space on the property. Emily got out to assess the damage, asked Erika to give it some gas, and was promptly splattered in mud from head to toe due to the spinning tire (we joked later that it was her non-bike initiation into cyclocross). Fortunately there was some lumber on the property and we jerry-rigged a ramp for the partially-submerged wheel. Erika floored it, Emily and I pushed with all our T-Rex-arm might, until the car was released from the bog. Damn good teamwork. 

Crit: Scenic course around a reservoir with some fun elevation gain and a downhill that made us all want to say weeee! every time (probably). It was a great group of women, save for a few juniors who were a bit less reliable. Erika and I worked together in this race, and damn, it's fun working with a teammate! On the last lap I was in a perfect position to sprint up and around (or try to anyway) the three leaders who had a small gap between myself and one of the aforementioned juniors, but I miscalculated her speed, which was too slow, and got greedy for a draft. By the time I was passing her, the group caught up. I have relived this moment again and again--it kept me up that night and it's hopefully the last time I forsake my instincts for a little wind protection. Still, it was an awesome race, and as soon as it ended I wanted to do it again. 

Road race: I was looking forward to this race; Dale predicted there would be a lot of splitting in the field and a lot of working together, and that's exactly what happened. After the first mega hill and Erika did her spider monkey business to create a break of 4-5 riders, I was out in no (wo)man's land until a Radical Media rider came up beside me and we worked together to catch up. When we did, the group settled into a steady pace, and @Erika was in a good position to really put the pressure on come the 2-mile hill. We broke up again after the KOM at the very top of the climb, and I worked with another two soldiers who had been dispersed thanks to Erika's shelling. All was going well until we hit another wall, where there two guys on ground who probably hadn't shifted in time. "That sucks," I thought, right before I dropped my chain and nearly ended up on the ground. I ran up the hill, but couldn't quite catch back on. Rode by myself for 5 miles or so, then got picked up by another group of two. They were going slower than I had, but working together was better with 10+ miles to go, and I didn't think I had the juice to plow ahead solo. Came in 10th, and was elated to see Erika at the finish line holding up her index finger--I knew then she won and that there was a very, very, very good chance she took the omnium. We cheered as Emily came through the finish line and then settled into a long wait for the results at the staging area at Tully Junior High. After some sweet-talking, I got the organizer to *finally* announce the W4 Hill Climb winner before the other bizillion categories, and grabbed this shot of Erika on the "podium" with her well-deserved medal (one of two, that is).

Gwynna Smith said:

(mic drop)

Glori Campbell said:

woo woo!!!! congrats to all you awesome ladies!!!!