Love is a dirty affair

I did another race at altitude. And it was great. My result was so-so. I haven't seen anything official, but for yesterday, there are far more important things than my finish position. Like the fact I raced my bike hard, and lined up with the best women racers in the country. And the fact that they complimented my racing, and were kind enough not to mention that they dropped the entire rest of the field.

I learned a few great things. That women's racing is not always a race to be slowest. That women's fields are full of incredibly strong athletes who work their ass off all week to rip each others legs off every weekend. That there is a great amount of respect given to this those that work hard in chase groups. That tactics in the final sprint are hard on the dirt.

The course was touch. 60%+ dirt. Headwinds. And, despite what the profile said, nothing was flat, or downhill. I'd preridden it many times. I knew how tough it was going to be. Maybe it was the classic Roubaix footage Dave played that morning, but I was far more excited to race than I had been in a while.

And I felt better than last week. I was able to do a little work onto the dirt sections. I chased my little butt off. And got compliments from the likes of Jennifer Triplett for the work I did.

It was hard. And I'm tired. But after last week, it was a good reminder that I love bike racing.