Silvermine TT by Maria

Luckily it didn't rain as the weather people predicted, but it sure was juicy out and the wet roads kept a number of riders from showing. The course was easy to follow, beautiful and the hospitality and organization of the event were top notch.

The course started with some climbs on Seven Lakes Drive. The rolling hills lasted about 3 miles and then it was relatively flat. After the turn-around, I finally gained time on the woman in front of me. I managed to pass her, but never caught up to Bonnie from NY Velocity who was sent off 2 minutes ahead of me. She was my unrealistic rabbit to catch. Bonnie had a great ride and finished in 3rd.

My only mistake in this race was thinking that there was a bit of climbing at the end of the race. The rolling hills I had climbed at the start seemed like nothing on the way back because of the momentum from a descent. I saved myself too much for the end climbs and was shocked to see the finish line. I sprinted to the line knowing that I didn't ride my hardest since my legs felt great. Ooops.

I was convinced I messed up placing well since I felt like I could keep riding afterwards, but to my surprise I won by 50 seconds. I was so happy that I didn't mind putting on my sweaty team jersey again for a few photos.

TBW Women's Series Standings

One race to go, and there's a lot of competition in the standings. Bear Mountain will make or break this thing, so go register now! Cat 4 women will have their own start, so racing will do more than just getting you more points in this series—it will also help encourage promoters to continue offering W4 fields.

Place Name Points
1 Andrea Urist 335
2 Yo Kumm 270
3 Robin Zimmerly 248
4 Jennifer Bodine 247
5 Katherine Russell 240
6 Hannah Carrithers 228
7 Teresa DiSessa 224
8 Pamela Saltzgueber 218
9 Elaine Molinaro 215
10 Maria Quiroga 195
11 Annie Malouin 183
12 Wendy Cohen 174
13 Peg Fontello 158
14 Kate Flore 155
15 Elizabeth Kaftan 152
16 Dominique Hall 151
17 Alison Lonshein 144
Cynthia Steiner 144
Jennisse Peatick 144
20 Nancy Heller 138
21 Lisa Maxted 110
22 Lisa Manfredi 106
23 Elena Leznik 100
Cecelia Pleva 100
Leah Oppenheimer 100
26 Kelly Ann O'Connor 96
27 Vickie Kostic 92
28 Kat Campbell 85
Tracy Wargo 85
30 Kate Giordano 80
Lisa Dupuis 80
Mary Cortright 80
Jillian Duncan 80
34 Martha Bush 75
35 Erica Adelberg 70
36 Ashley Prine 68
37 Erin Dyer 64
38 Caroline Gaynor 62
39 Bonnie Fletcher 60
Joann Rude 60
Dawn Wylong 60
42 Shelly Farmer 58
43 Maggie Estep 20
Christina Peske 20
Kelly Milton 20
Elizabeth Liguori 20

Pathetic

You just know a race hasn't gone well when the conversation in the car goes like this:

"I was just pathetic. That corner! I must have gone 3 miles per hour every time through that corner."

"No, you were fine. I was pathetic. I chased on every single lap!"

"You're both nuts. I was way more pathetic than both of you. I mean, I'm the sprinter and for some reason, I thought going through the u-turn in 10th was going to work out? I'm pathetic."

One thing we did all agree on was that the very short course in Denville, NJ was not at all fun. Thanks to a flood taking out part of the course, it was edited down to 4/10 of a mile. Two proper turns in quick succession, followed by a u-turn into a headwind. Repeat 25 times, and there's only one word for it.

Pathetic.