Snake Creek Gap TT# 1

It was colder than I thought it would be, that's for sure. Anyone that showed up to race today gets bonus HTFU points. I think it was 20*F at the start with snowflakes and wind, and not even up to 30*F when we finished.

Check-in, shuttles, SAG stops, timing, food, and everything was awesome. Thanks to the tons of NWGA SORBA volunteers that were out in full force today, in the cold!

I didn't register in the Money Class, mostly because these are training races for me and I didn't want any additional pressure. In fact, as we were getting dressed I was so NOT nervous that it was weird. I was just hoping I would be motivated to ride hard enough for a good training day and to stay warm. The infamous creek crossing came about a mile or so in. It was pretty deep, but Carey had clued me in to staying right where it was shallower. It worked like a charm, I just got a little splash on the bottoms of my shoes. Others were not so lucky.

I was carrying extra socks and my chemical hand and foot warmers but I decided I didn't feel like stopping to get them on. Bad move. Soon after that, hands and feet started to get cold. Even worse, the bike wasn't shifting because the drivetrain was starting to freeze. First it was the front derailleur, then eventually the back was mis-shifting. My right foot got TOTALLY soaked in another small creek crossing that was just a stupid mistake on my part. Other than the bike issues and the cold appendages, I was doing OK. Eventually my bottles froze and I stopped drinking more than a gulp of grape slush every hour. I drank a total of about 16 oz during 4:45 of racing! I had planned on a conservative time of 4:15 but took 30 min longer. That's OK, the conditions were pretty rough today. It's good to set the bar low on the first one, now I can only get better for the next two races :-) I did get first place, though, so obviously the other ladies in my category had a tough time in the cold also. Great job to everyone started and kudos to everyone that stuck it through the end. It would have been REALLY easy to sleep in today and also easy to bail during the race.

I'm feeling the after effects of the cold. I couldn't feel my feet for several hours and when feeling did come back it felt like my toes were on fire. Now it looks like my big toes are red balloons. I think I have blistering..mild frostbite? Ugh. I hope it's less painful tomorrow because I have a BIG WEEK of riding planned! It's my last week of vacation before Spring Semester starts.

Thanks to NWGA SORBA and Steve Sharp for the above pictures. Thanks to Bruce, Mulberry Gap, and the many other people out there to support the race today.

Southern Cross is one week away!!!! Lots of work to do on that next...