By Karen Ulrich

The wait to begin our race hurt as the minutes ticked on. I thought my nerves would puncture my skin; I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if I had actually known what was in store! We began with the juniors, but had collectively decided to let them go so we could ride our own race. The first 7 miles were pretty uneventful until Radical

Media’s Kimille Taylor took a leap from behind, later explaining the need to get away from the squirreliness at the back of the pack. The juniors stayed in sight until the first serious climb, which neutralized our pace.

The race unfolded much differently than I had expected. Because I thought the field would explode and split on the climbs, I kept upping the pace at the front, along with Spin Ho’s Nancy Ford. By the time we neared the KOM I was too cooked to realize it was there and missed it by a few spots—it being won by Middlebury Cycling Club’s Megan Guarnier. (Not that I could have done anything more if I had noticed it sooner.) At the top we had a break with about eight, but since so few took turns at the front, there was only so much work that those of us at the front could do. Some time after the first crash (I’m still not sure what happened there) the chasing group had caught us and we were back to a group of 20+ (nice work girls!).

Karen glows while all around her is dark.

As one climb led to another, Ford and I spent a lot of time expending too much energy, me foolishly upping the pace and attacking, thinking someone would join me which never really happened, and then I would die before I could reach the top. It seemed no one wanted to work harder than was required, yet the pack was strong enough to not let anything get away. On the long descent before the final climb, we mixed in with a few juniors and masters, and this is where the second crash took place. I’m not exactly sure what happened here either, but it sounded awful. I can only hope the damage wasn’t too severe.

Two juniors were at the front as we began our climb, I passed them at the base with a few others and again upped the pace—maybe a few of the girls wondering the same as me—do I have enough to make it to the top on my own. (Answer to my thought…a big fat NO! Lesson learned in the race—know your limits.) Guarnier passed me on the first steep section of the climb and had a gap, which Ford and I just couldn’t close, so she and I cat and moused it until near the finish line. I took the last pull up the hill and she passed me before the line. With nothing left to spare I settled for third place to Ford’s second. Guarnier, who took the KOM, won the race. I think I finally caught my breath this morning.