Troupe Racing Co.

report by : laura knight

The morning of the Traverse started with promising weather. The skies were sunny with a temperature in Blackstar of 49 degrees. Of course, I was dressed only in shorts and a short sleeve jersey. I knew, though, I would quickly warm up at the start of the race.

As we gathered into the coral, my friend Mary and I realized there was only one other woman besides ourselves in the race. Three women! Really! Although this guarantees us a podium spot, it does kind of take the fun out of it. I also know this would also increase the competition between Mary (my good buddy) and me.

We began our climb out of Blackstar. I felt alright but not terrific. Mary and I reached the top in less than one hour. We then began the rolling hills of the Main Divide out to the Motorway. The road had been graded and therefore was nice and smooth but yet a little on the loose side as we made our way around the corners.

I gained some time on Mary on the downhill in between the Motorway and Four Corners. I decided to walk a particularly steep uphill and take in some calories at the same time. As I am about to finish my bar, who do I see? Mary. Now it is game on.

Tim, Michelle, Monica and Roy had all either ridden up or drove up to Four Corners. Mary arrived first. I was hoping for a longer pit stop but she jumped on her bike right away. My friends were all excited to see me and I could blurt out was “I need water” and off I went. I really appreciated them being there but I had to jam! It is a good thing my friends understand me.

We then began the climb up to Santiago Peak. Mary is now about 1 minute ahead of me. As we are just hitting the really loose gravel, a Suburban decides to join us. Not fun.

Our game of cat and mouse continued through most of the race. She kept reappearing at the end of each climb. I also knew she had just ridden Breathless Agony last weekend and she was riding with a sprained hand. It was difficult at times to race against one of your good friends. I was hoping she would do well; I just wanted to do better.

The final rollers at the end actually started to get easier. I got to the top of Trabuco, let some air out of my tires and I began my decent down. It wasn’t my best decent but it would help it I rode it more than once a year. Also, I flipped over the handle bars in front of Paula Newby-Frasier last year and hit my head so hard I almost vomited. My goal was therefore to make it down safely.

I finished in 5:49, 15 minutes faster than last year. Mary took off 36 minutes, so it was victorious for both of us. We returned to the campground and enjoyed some chicken as friends again.

We met up with Charlie and Mykyta for the awards. Charlie had the ride of his life with a 4:40 and first in the 30-45 categories. Mykyta came in 3rd. I came in second out of three women. Although we are a small team, we sure had some podium time! Also, it was great to hear the crowd cheering “go Troupe” for us. After the awards, it was time to head home after a long but successful day at the office.