The Women 1-3 started with the Men Cat 3. There were 6 women who started and 19 men. We rolled out pretty easy. The first time up the climb we did go slow. Then two guys got away. The men let them go and then would sporadically chase. They put in an effort to catch right at the 2nd time up the climb. I got popped off. I worked hard to catch. I missed my feed because I was going too fast; the bottle flew through the air. Then I chased hard and caught.

On the next climb, a guy attacked. I got popped off there and chased the rest of the race. I caught Zach, a new Cat 3 from Lost River. He said that he had intestinal problems and shouldn’t be racing. I just rode my race, chasing like mad. Zach was content to sit on my wheel. He pulled through once in 17 miles. When we hit the feed zone climb, he took off. That made me unhappy.

I was passed by the lead break of the Masters A group. There were four of them. When they turned a corner, Joe Savola went down, taking Chuck with him. Luckily I was far enough back to watch it unfold, but I was able to ride around the carnage. I worked hard, hoping I could catch the stragglers. I ended up catching Zach again and he was with another Cat 3. They basically sat on my wheel to the finish. Jen Halladay won it. I was 2nd, Laura Stott 3rd.