The Dirt Field

The Race: Poolesville Road Race

The Course: 42 miles, 4 laps

The Field: Pro 1/2/3 women

The Finish: 1st

The morning of Poolesville did not go quite as planned. Instead of a peaceful pre-race morning with breakfast and episodes of Gossip Girl, there was life drama and nonsense that had me leaving the house 45 minutes late unsure of what I’d thrown into my gear bags and unable to stop trying to cry the contacts out of my eyes. HOT. And also very pro.

After the neutral roll-out, I started riding hard with no plan in mind and no specific goal of attacking. When things in life feel shitty, I like to ride hard because then the hurting is the good kind of hurt, the kind that comes from suffering on a bike, and that makes everything else hurt less. I stayed on the front for a while hammering mindlessly, but then let up a bit when I realized that I wasn’t being smart and that being in a bad mood wasn’t a reason to throw away my race. The first run through the gravel section was eye-opening, because (a) Patty B. was in front of me and that girl can seriously make some moves over gravel and (b) I may have hit all of the potholes on the right side (nevermind that the one instruction I could remember was RIDE THE LEFT SIDE).

The rest of the first lap and the second lap were uneventful. Early in the gravel section on the third lap, I heard somebody go down behind me and realized that our group of five in front had a chance to get away from the riders affected by the crash. We kept the gap and rolled through the rest of that lap and the next smoothly, rotating in front and making good time. While I was getting tired, the course was really nice and I was able to enjoy the thrill of road racing and my new frameset. (Did I mention I accidentally bought a Wilier from a guy named Vince in the Ukraine over eBay? No? That’s probably because the story makes me sound like a moron. On the bright side, I love the bike.)

Coming into the final section of the fourth lap, I couldn’t remember how far the finish line was following the left turn off the course, so after making the turn I pedaled tentatively until I saw cones and then start sprinting. Monika was right on my wheel and we rolled across the line to take first and second – an awesome ending to what had started as an unpleasant day. Receiving the winner’s plaque with the gravel was a very happy moment and I appreciate the promotors’ taking the time to make such nice awards.

The XO Communications/Battley Harley-Davidson men completely rocked their race, taking first through sixth. It was a great day to be in the black pajamas.