art from Mike Joos
The Tour de Whiteshell Road Race took place at Seven Sisters this past Saturday, and the image above somewhat describes a bit how i felt at this race.
This was one of my first road race. I am a triathlete, not a roadie by any means, and i felt a bit out of my elements. I am the head-down, get-through-anything type of person. I am the lone wolf who works on her own. I need to do 3 sports in my race. Road racing is so different from triathlon and i have a lot to learn from this sport before i get comfortable with it. In short this is what a very wise person,the Winnipeg CycleChick herself, told me: "There is a time to be slow, there is a time to be fast and there is a time to be really fast and they all have a reason why. There is a time to pull and a time to draft. Learn to read other competitors body language and react to them." Oooufff! All the tactics that i have to learn! Next road race will be better.
This is how much i am a triathlete at heart: all cyclist will have their energy bars, gels or whatever nutrition they carry with them in their cycling jersey's pockets. I had my gels taped to the top tube of my bike. I still somewhat prefer this method because i do not have to fiddle around in my back pocket to search for my gels.
Next race i will not be boxed in towards the finish line so that i can react quickly to whatever is going on at the front of the pack. I will be more in tune with the other competitors, and come out with flying colours!
Leak Kirchmann pulling the boys along for a ride! It was amazing to see someone of this "stature" at work!
art from Mike Joos
So i am hoping i will be feeling more like this at the next road race.
