The women's 3/4/5/35+ field at the Pescadero RR raced 1.7 laps of a beautiful 28 mile course, featuring three major climbs: 1.1-mile at 4%, 0.7-mile at 7%, and a brutal 1.5 mile climb at 7% known as Haskins Hill. Coastal dunes and redwood forests are the special hallmarks of this race and I loved the course! However, I experienced a little deja vu after finishing when someone said "You picked a hard course for your first one! At least everything after this will be easy." I literally heard those exact words being said to me when I was running Big Sur. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Pre-Race
My initial research going into this was tough to gather. But it would have been nonexistent if it weren't for a friend, Clara, who was actively racing in New York. She'd been through a season while in law school on the east coast and had a few races under her belt with a team (NYCC/CRCA).
While a lot of women are getting into cycling now, the resources, information, and support for women interested in racing are still extremely limited. Unless you know someone that races, it feels like there's a HUGE barrier to entry and it's hard to navigate your first steps. And with the Bay Area being so spread out and having to drive to every training ride or race, it's hard to "try it out and see if it's for you" without committing all of your free time to racing.
At least, as one of Clara's friends put it, the people are nice - "a little hard to break into but thick as thieves once you do." If you're new to women's cycling and you happen to read this, please don't be too shy to reach out to me or anyone you might know. I don't know very much, but the very little I do know, I will try to make sure you do, too! Safety, fun, and of course shared sufferfests on the bike are the main concerns of women cyclists. Women cyclists, at least in the 3/4/5 field, are not as intimidating as I thought they'd be and, more importantly, they are extremely supportive!
Clara gave me a very thorough checklist which helped eliminate a lot of pre-race anxiety involving thoughts like "WHAT DO I DO/BRING?" My basic nutrition plan was just Gu, at least every 45 minutes but usually a few minutes before a climb, one water bottle with Skratch, and two other water bottles. I made sure to pack post-race food as well.
Race Morning
The organizers were taking payments for race-day registration in cash only. This might be a standard and well-known thing, so bring cash just in case if you're doing race-day registration! Luckily, I paid for my one-day license and race fees all together all on the same form with my credit card number.
After registering, I did a short 2 mile warm-up just to get my legs going (it's recommended that you spend longer, but IDK...) and then lined up during the pre-race briefing. Being inexperienced, I told myself that the race was basically a really hard training ride with other people involved and made sure I told the folks around me that I was completely new.
Race
Before Pescadero, I had never ridden in a big group before, let alone that close to other cyclists. I knew what to expect and Clara had given me some pointers, but the feeling of being in a peloton is a very unique one. I felt pretty bad for some of the folks around me who might have had to brake suddenly because my nerves were making me tap my brakes harder than I intended. Luckily, I didn't cause any major problems and I was only softly chided once to "hold [my] line" but it still would have been a lot better if I had gone to a group riding clinic beforehand.
In the women's 3/4/5/35+ field, we broke apart fairly early on the first climb. I lost the majority of the first group after the second climb on stage road and found myself left alone with one other person. I wasn't sure what cycling etiquette was but I think we took turns pulling (at least, that's what I wanted to do). When we conversed, she apologized for being slow and I was like "No way! You're not slow!"
Eventually a pair of cyclists from the JLVelo team caught up with us and they taught me how to pull and I eventually caught on to what riding in an paceline was like. My very first experience in an echelon! So big big big thanks to Serenity and Ivy for working with me and giving me so much advice! It really really really meant a lot to me :') and I hope to one day pay it forward to another budding cyclist.
I worked with the JLVelo girls through the first lap and through the second climb on Stage Road. During fast descents, I would barrel down ahead quickly but Serenity was amazing technically on the descents so she would pass me and I would eventually catch up with her and follow her line. It was always a lot easier to follow her since she knew where to go!
With about 8 miles to go, I lost the JLVelo girls while I was trying to catch up to two riders on a descent: a Cat 3 and a speedy Cat 4. But they were so so speedy, I couldn't keep up or do my work on the pull. At most, I thought I wouldn't be able to sustain their pace so I let them drop me and I went at my own pace for a while until one of the JLVelo girls caught up with me again.
Later, I would pass the speedy Cat 4 who had been sidelined with a mechanical (ugh! sucks so much!) and I eventually pushed ahead all alone on the final climb up Haskins (after promptly tossing my water bottles at my boyfriend in the neutral feed zone - thank my lucky stars he was there!!).
My early pacing seemed to be perfect because the final climb up Haskins Hill was only 4 seconds slower than during the first lap. Of course, I was struggling A LOT more to get up and I was breathing like a maniac but I just wanted the suffering to be over so I just pushed pushed pushed for 11 miserable minutes... Several riders in the men's field were gliding past me with seeming ease while I felt like my legs were on fire. Finally, when I reached the finish, I pulled to the side and felt like my lungs were going to explode. I'd never felt that sensation before... but the feeling of finishing was pretty dang amazing!!
So yeah. Pretty proud and happy about my first race! I never knew I could go that fast for so long.... 16.9 mph, 3,800+ ft of climbing, 47 miles.
Results-wise, I thought I did pretty well. I probably landed in the third quartile of the field (W 3/4/5, 35+) but it's hard to tell since the results were picked from separate categories. I placed fourth among five other category 5 racers but I finished before half of the category 4 field, so there's that to be proud of. :)
I wish I had more pictures from the event but this one from the race start will have to do:
P.S. I LOVE MY NEW BIKE. Money well spent!!!! Will try to post a review on the Cervelo S5 in the future. :)
