Way back at the beginning of the year, I identified the High Desert Omnium as my "A" race. I didn't want to just go do it- I wanted to WIN it. After a season of intense training, I knew it was possible as long as I played my cards right.
I won't keep you in suspense. I didn't play my cards right. I didn't win. (insert BIG FAT SIGH)
The worst part of it all? I knew I could have won, had I been more strategic. That's the worst part. It wasn't about fitness or strength. I just wasn't smart enough.
That's bike racing for you. You can be ten times stronger than every other competitor out there (which I am not) but if you don't strategize well, it doesn't matter. My results were close, but not close enough- 3rd in the crit, 5th in the time trial, 4th in the road race. All of that equaled a third overall for the whole omnium.
The other part of bike racing is learning to work with your teammates and I will say that we are definitely working on it. The best part of the weekend was spending time with friends and learning, learning, learning.
I won't go in to the minutiae of every race over the weekend, but I will say this: it was sunny and beautiful and it was in Bend. That alone made it worth it.
Sunset from the Rocking A:
What our 2-year-old daughters do while we're bike racing:
It is not recommended to punch your coach before a race starts:
Pre-race nerves. Yikes.
How Barkernews feels about bike racing:
