Hammerstein

In T-minus 18 days my dad and I are racing the Trans Rockies as a co-ed duo which means that for 7 straight days of racing we need to be within two minutes of each other. In preparation, we've been doing a few 8 hour co-ed duo races which actually function very differently--we do as many laps in 8 hours as we can, but only one of us is on the course at at time--but we call it Trans Rockies prep nonetheless :). One of these races was the Hammerstein in Laguna Seca, CA.

I started us off at noon which proved to be a good choice as I put up the fastest woman's lap of the day on that one, coming in at 53 minutes, start loop included. I also had an IF over 1.0 which I was ecstatic about since I spent the month before this race feeling really terrible and while getting in the right amount of training hours, definitely coming up short on intensity. My dad went out next and I spent the break with my mom and Rosie.

My dad came in with a blistering fast lap and I was off again. I fell in behind a pretty fast guy and in the process of sticking on his wheel, I slid out in a corner, tearing up my knee and, I would find out later, busting my derailleur hanger. I hopped back on, though, and tried to make up for lost time. Then, at a steep section, I shifted down and sent my chain into the space between my rear cassette and wheel. Ugh! I had to stop, flip my bike over, and start tugging. A very nice man stopped to help just as I pulled it out, and I thanked him for his good karma. Finally, I came in and based on my time, figure I lost about 6 minutes.

Rosie likes chairs.

Is it over yet?

Again, my dad put in another good lap, making up for some of my lost time, and I was off again. This time, I was a bit more conservative because I could feel my legs growing tired. About 10 minutes in, someone fell in behind me and for most of the lap he stayed there which proved to be a huge help as it kept me motivated. On the slog out, he pulled up beside me and said hi, and then offered to take a pull which was much appreciated.

I finally checked our standings when we made it back and we were sitting in second behind a fast couple who appeared to be ahead of use due to the man's 50 minute laps. (My dad and I were in the 53 to 56 range.) My dad and I just kept chugging and when it was all said an done, finished 12 minutes behind in 2nd. While bummed, I later took solace in knowing that the woman has the fastest course time on the Tahoe 100 course.