Green Mountain Stage Race Day #3 September 2, 2007

Today is my birthday! And what better way to spend it then waking up feeling crampy and nauseated and knowing you have a 56 mile road race will killer climbs ahead of you.

The race started out neutralized for a good 5 miles. We then picked up the pace a bit, but it never was really fast. When we got to the sprint points line, I decided to stay back and out of trouble. Good thing. The small pack up ahead had a crash and I saw an Ontario team woman come flying out of the field and land on her butt on the other side of the road. It was almost cartoon-like. She seemed startled, but was sitting upright as people rushed to help her.

I then made myself to the front of the field since the climbing was to begin. A few women broke off the front for QOM, but we quickly caught them on the descent. The descent was a bit scary. Close to 10 miles of fast downhill on a curvy road. We had to be careful not to cross the yellow line as cars were on the roads.

After the fast downhill, we hit the dirt section. It was horrible. Everything hurt with these huge holes, jagged rocks and unevern surface. Much worse than Battenkill's roads! One of our Canadian race leaders then stated something about having an orgasm if she had to be on the road any longer. Glad someone was enjoying it!

Our next marker would be Baby Gap. This climb was supposed to be hard, so I was prepared. It seemed way too hard and then I realized I was in my big ring. DuH! Once I was geared correctly, it was fine. My goal was to stay in the front group and come in the top 10.

I was scared to blow up again, so I paced myself. I realized when I saw the finish that I had too much energy left and my legs didn't even hurt. I thought the last section would be worse, but it wasn't so bad. I had 2 ladies right ahead of me, so I stood up and sprinted. The guys from Organic Athlete were screaming for me and I could hear other CRCA members yelling "Go Radical!". I then heard Alan Atwood over the loud speaker saying my name, wondering if I could pass these 2 ladies. I did and it felt great. Once I pulled over, Cecelia ran over to me to help me with my bike. I was having a mini asthma-like attack. I was taken to the ambulance to relax and take in some oxygen. Within a few minutes I was fine and celebrating with friends at the top of the climb. I came in 8th place, so got some bonus points toward the GC.

The day ended with dinner at the condos with the Radical Media team, the Blue RIbbon team and a few other random friends.

The photo above is of us after the road race and of my birthday pie.