Hillsboro-Roubaix

H-R ended up being a pretty big race this weekend. There were almost 50 Cat 4 women and close to 500 total riders. It was cold when we started but the sun was out, so that made it better. The course was quite a bit more technical than what we have around here. The hills weren't too big, (except for the one right at the end of the circuit... that one sucked) but there were lots of pretty back roads to ride. The race also included a gravel section and a section on bricks. That was only the second time ever that I've ridden my road bike on bricks. It's not as bad as I thought, but I wouldn't want to do it all the time. If any of you are thinking about doing this race next year, I would highly recommend it. It's a chance to ride with big fields and get some more experience on a really cool course.

My race started out just fine, and after the rollout I got into a breakaway with about 10 other riders. Everything was going along smoothly and we were starting to pull away from the main field, when two riders up front rubbed wheels and we all got tangled up in the wreck. The rider in front of me got her rear wheel wedged in between my leg and my bike frame (I now have one knee warmer with a nifty hole in it where the friction from the tire rubbed through...) but somehow I managed to stay upright and not make things any worse for the other riders in our group. I still had to stop to fix my front derailleur and a jacked up cleat, and lost quite a bit of time in the process, but I was able to work with another group the rest of the way.

In the end I rode hard and finished fairly well, but I was disappointed because I would have liked to see how long I would have been able to hang on with the front group. Oh well...The most important thing was that I had fun learned from it.

Next up: Altoona Race Weekend in Altoona (west of Des Moines). Anyone else interested in going? Two road races (this Saturday and Sunday). Email me if any of you want to go...