Cat's Hill Classic
Cat's Hill features a steep power climb and heckling. Those are really the only important elements of the race.
My favorite memory of this race is here, in 2009. This is when I was more of a bike groupie, than bike racer. If you are wondering what is in my hand, I believe I made a noise maker out of a beer can and black beans. I also believe I was yelling "you're ugly" at Michael. This was well before we started dating, and what a lovely first photo of us this is.
Okay, enough nostalgia. Now we can fast forward 6 years.
The race started from the getgo, with an attack over the hill the second time up. I went to the front to get in position and started to bring it back the next lap. Miranda Griffiths (Vanderkitten) pushed hard up the hill, and then I kept the pressure on over the top, and we quickly established a break of 5 that would last the whole race - Sarah Clafferty (Tibco), Miranda & Elle Anderson (Vanderkitten), and Leah Thomas (Metromint). We worked pretty smoothly the whole race, as our gap wasn't huge. Unfortuatnely, with 3 laps to go, Sarah crashed out. I had a few different race scenarios in my head, but, I didn't have to force things much, as the race scenario just seemed to fall into place. At 2 to go, Miranda attacked on the climb and I was the only one to respond. This worked great for me, as then I didn't have to worry about two teammates on the last lap. I waited to take the front until the climb, pushing it really hard over the crest and into the descent, and held to the line. This is a super fun race with all the crowds and Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Team does such a great job with organizing a fun event!
Thank you Kurt Harvey, Garrett Lau, Guy Bautista, and Alden Tanaka for the photos!
cool to get my name with some real LEGENDS on the winner's trophy!
start line - this is the new NOVA jersey make by Jakroo Custom Apparell. It is super sweet!
ouchie
a less than awesome victory salute.
podium
i won a box of my favorite - strawberry clif shots! i had one of my own before the race, then won 16 at the race.... so that is a net of 15 clif shots. (this caption is why i like the points race)
this quite unfunny race report will conclude with a photo of me and Ben Jacque-Mayne. He won this race too! He is pretty much the coolest pro out there, and has always been super nice and friendly to me, even when I was the biggest Fred and rookie. BJM is superclass!
