Island View, Susie Style

Since there are so many fine race/ride reports coming through today, I thought I would give my two-cents for the ladies 3/4 crit on Saturday.

Although I had no official teammates, Avalon (of Kalyra) and Sommers (of Echelon juniors) were at the start with me and we know each other well from the morning rides. We had a pretty small group, 7 total in the race, mostly college racers.

The start and middle were tame with a few attacks, all chased down successfully. Avalon, Sommers and I were at the front for most of the 40 minutes sharing pulls and keeping things under control (haha).

Final two laps put the three of us going a bit harder and in final lap Sommers yells at Mom (Avalon) to "GO GO GO!!" which she does and I just stay on Sommers wheel. Av pulls off in the final turn and Somers took off like a bullet. I felt like I went into reverse, but instead took 2nd with Avi in 3rd. Other finishers were pretty far back, so I guess that meant we had a good final sprint. That's what counts, right?

BTW, Kimberly, a few of the men were asking "where's Kim? Did she move to Arizona? I sure do miss watching her race!" To which I replied, "ME TOO!"

Come on out sometime, would love to see you!
TTFN,

Susie

Poor College Kids Race Report

Hey guys & gals -

Four Chickens in the B section of Cat 5, unfortunately nobody made the top-20, at least not according to the results. I got dropped from the main bunch on the final climb and chased to get back with Big Rob but didn't make it back on. Of course after working my guts out in the last few miles Rob sprinted by me at the line and towed some hanger-on with him, dammit. Somehow Bill McBride got dropped from the results although he finished in front of me - strange actually that Rob and I show as the first two Chickens, I could have sworn I saw the kit ahead as I sunk into a red haze on the final climb...

One wicked crash on the fast downhill on the way out - some rocks on the side of the road, somebody twitched at 40mph and one guy's front wheel got taken out, so he's sliding down the road just in front of me and the next guy runs into him, tumbles over and lands VERY heavily on his shoulder & back. He howled the worst sound I've heard from a human in a long time. He was STILL ON THE GROUND when we came back through an hour later, that's some seriously poor medical service if you ask me. Rumor at the finish was it was a compound fracture, too.

At the finish line, got to watch Susie Willets WIN the women's 3/4 race, looked like Jane in 2nd, and Dave Letteiri won the sprint from the main bunch to get 3rd in the Men's 3. Sorry, no photos, I didn't have a decent camera. Attached is an iphone shot of the men's 5B results, just for anyone's interest. Apparently the winner was a professional BMX racer, some grumbling about his placement in Cat 5...

Best regards,

-- Paul

Congratulations Super Susie & The Rest of The Gibralter Chickens

Hey Chickens,


I have to say that this was the best best first race to start to the season

yet. The scenery was unbelievable (the ocean that is), the CR team did a

fabulous job representin" the local race scene and the roads were smoothe.

I had a good race and was pleased with the results and want give kudos to

Luke and Randy for getting' all my various layers of shtuff to the top! :)



Thanks also to Carson for hangin' out at the finish and bringin' swag for us

girls back to the shop. It's nice that he's willing to hang with and shoot

the amateurs every once in a while!



Also, for those of you who left to go home, the highlight of the race was

when a rider from the SLO Wheelmen team finished on his single speed. His

chain broke on his road bike within 100 yards of the start wherein he ran 1

mile to his car to get his single speed and running shoes on to finish the

next 5 miles in. Now that's effort! He said he only had to run around a

couple of the switchbacks, but otherwise it was good for him.

Congrats to all who raced, congrats to Kim who won her age group (we know

how much she loves the hills) and let's not forget to welcome the new kid,

Scott Hicks!



Susie

Kern Final Day! (yes, its finally over)

Thanks Kim for the great reporting! It was a well run race with stunning scenery throughout Kern County (farms, rivers, dude ranches, one room schoolhouses and my personal favorite was the start and finish at the old cemetery).

Kim and I had a great weekend of racing (as reported) and the end of the last race is where I'll to fill you in. Our break of 7 in the 2nd lap continued for a bit until the first big hill. Kim and I had hatched our plan for the final climb to keep my ranking high and perhaps give the girl in 1st a good run, but the heat and hill climb were a bit much. Now down to five, we worked together to lengthen our lead. On the first downhill however, my bike began to vibrate with a high pitch whine so I had to pull over and check it over. All seemed secure so I rode away into a fast chase to get back on. Our follow vehicle let the girls know I had a mechanical and they spun easy to let me catch back on. We worked together again, but I would sit on the back on any descents in case of more issues. The lead girl was paying attention and really hammered it on the last long (and fastest) descent. My bike was whining so loud I made the other riders nervous so it was impossible to catch her on the downhill into the straightaway. She rode off into the sunset (I mean up the final climb) and I was happy with 3rd for the stage knowing that the girl who took 2nd really worked hard and had no time on me.

We washed down with the cattle hose, drank another 80 gallons of water and enjoyed the awards ceremony. Glad to be home...time to get some well-deserved rest.

Susie

Kimberly and Susie, Representing!

Hello all!
I'm just back now from my LONG day in Ojai, feeling the effects of beingout in the sun all day, not to mention the racing part!

Chicken ranch was well represented in many of the races...and I'm sure lots of racereports will be flying around soon enough.

My first race today was at 7:01 am. Too early for working that hard, at least when you're still sore from yesterday's crash! Let's just say my back was screaming at me for about half the race. I rode in the main group, but didn't work the hill properly on the last lap, and only got 10th.

I was a little annoyed with myself, but hey, it's experience. Although teammate Susie Willett was awesome, and managed a 4th placefinish.

I only wish I could spin up the hill time and time again the way she can! She's going to rip it up at sea otter...

However, being the persistent type, I ate, hung out and cheered for the4/5s, 35+,3's and 2's, and then took the line again for the pro1/2/3race.

Now that one was a bit speedier! It was also really hot. My goal for the race was to ride hard and lay it all out, and see how long I could last (the teams of TIBCO, Colavita, Value Act, Touchstoneclimbing were all there, not to mention the so-cal strengths of Helens,and southBay wheelmen).

I lasted a whole 6.5 laps before getting gapped on the hill. I kept on chasing, as I had told myself I had to get a reasonable workout in, and would ride until I got lapped. I made it past the halfway point, so I was ok with that.

The few other women from the morning race crazy enough to toe up for #2 were already all dropped out by the time I left the course.

But the most important thing was that the second race of the day was actually FUN! With nothing on the line, and only myself to satisfy, it was really fun to ride with the big girls.

Oh well...maybe next year will be another story.

Kimberly