Women's Team Report
Summer 2006
The SEAR/ D.R. Horton women continue to ride strong.
Late June was capped by double stage race victories at the Dead Dog Stage Race in Laramie, Wyoming, with newly upgraded Susannah Gordon winning the Cat 3 overall, matched by Kimberly Nuffer taking the top position in the 35+ race. Alisabeth Thurston-Hicks and Madge Saunders added support among the 35+ with 3rd and 9th place finishes, respectively.
July saw more hard racing, and more victories, thanks in part to the newest addition, 45+ rider Sue Stokes. Sue had another excellent ride up Mt. Evans to win 1st place in the category, and followed it up with a tough showing at the Salida Omnium for 3rd place. Susannah Gordon in a very competitive Cat 3 field snagged 2nd on Evans, with ATH coming in 5th for the 35+. The Salida Omnium brought out some strong competition in the masters' fields, where it was the state championships for road and criterium. ATH managed a 3rd place in the overall, after getting surprised in the last lap of the crit by a crafty South Central Racing member but hanging on for 3rd place. The Colorado Senior Olympics had SEARites Lark Birdsong and Carol Williams duking it out with the mature competition. SEAR was also well-represented in some very challenging tours/ charity rides. Madge survived drastic rain, then heat and hills in the MS 150, and Susan Geraghty was one of the few completers of a Triple Bypass made twice as challenging by the cold wet weather.
Early August has had a mix of results so far. While captain Kimberly Nuffer focused on the velodrome for Masters' Nationals (where she races for a track-specific team), the SEAR-sponsored Federal Center race had the highlight of ATH's win in the 35+ division. Susannah organized and operated the daunting task of registration for the race, only taking a break to get 5th in the Cat 3 field. Sue Stokes helped out the entire day as well, and the climber acquired some cornering practice with the 45+. All 3 riders turned out the next day for the famous Bannock Criterium, joined by Lark. Lark handily won the 55+ division, and ATH traded positions with the runner-up from Fed Center, taking 2nd. Sadly, Susannah's brutally fast 1,2,3 race ended with a strong bump from another rider on the last corner of the last lap, resulting in a crash and a fractured wrist. She's still planning on being back for the Parker Stage Race in September, where the next newest SEAR member, retired world-class triathlete Ann Lantz, will be joining the women. It has been a fast and furious season, and it's not over yet.
April 2006 | Alisabeth Thurston-Hicks reporting
Sea Otter Classic
Looks like you got the California weather while I was in the rain. Actually, we lucked out in a spectacular way regarding the weather. It rained around my events, with ample enough sunshine on the days I raced to provide for thankfully dry pavement. The mtn bikers, however, were absolutely covered in mud, head to toe, and the longest line in the tent town was for the bike washing station!
The circuit race on Friday for us 40+ women involved 8 laps of the Laguna Seca Raceway course, 300 feet of climbing per lap on the 2.3 mile course. There was a brutally steep uphill wall and a wicked, smooth and cambered descent. My winter of skiing was a bit of a handicap, but I clung by my fingernails to the lead group. Once I was dropped and managed to get back on during the descent. On the last lap, the cat 3's (who had started 1 minute behind us) caught us-- which led to great confusion, as the motorcycle ref was yelling at us to let them go and let a separation occur-- which occurred for about 90 seconds, when the frisky Masters decided to attack on the inside line of the 3's! By the time I figured out what was happening, I was gapped-- and decided it was better to pedal in unceremoniously rather than get dq'd for possibly drafting a 3. That meant I pedaled in by myself, but it was good for 4th place in the MW 40+.
I was so whipped I didn't think I could have beaten any of my comp in a sprint into the headwind anyway. The next day, Saturday, had been forecast for rain all day, diminishing in the afternoon. Thankfully they were way wrong! It was a beautiful sunny spring Monterey day. My family and I spent the morning at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (really worth the high price of admission), then headed back to the frenzied, crowded, busy locale of the race venue. Quite a difference from local racing-- what with the faraway parking (my husband graciously carried my trainer about a mile so I could warm up near the start!), the huge crowds, and the massive vendor village, one had to allow quite a bit of time for adequate race prep.
The road race involved a neutral start from the Laguna Seca Raceway, then a rip roaring descent from the finish line to the 10+ mile loop, where we did 4 laps, before the nasty little climb (2.6 miles) to the finish. The start of each loop had a challenging wall, followed by a longish false flat, followed by various descents and shorter, more gradual climbs and more rip roaring descents, back to the wall again. I went with the lead group on the 1st climb, and survived the steep on the 2nd lap only to be gapped and spit out the back on the false flat. On the next gradual climb a group of 4 ladies caught up to me, and the 5 of us worked together the remainder of the laps. One rider was quite strong on the flats and gradual climbs, but I noticed I could out-climb her without much trouble on the steeps, so I figured I was in good contention, given the final climb to the finish.
Sure enough, as the last climb ramped up, she and I dropped the others, then I got away from her and held on easily, to claim another 4th place in the MW40+
The podium went 5 deep, so I was delighted to get to represent SEAR/ DR Horton on 2 occasions. If the old fashioned photos turned out, and if I can figure out how to scan them and send them, I'll provide photographic evidence. Even though we were given fancy electronic timing chips to wear on ankle bracelets, and even though my race fields were quite modest in total size (less than 20 in the circuit race, and less than 30 in the road race), they still managed to get the results wrong both times and we had to protest! All in all, a great experience. If you have money to burn, or are willing to travel really frugally, it is well worth it.