Poplollie News 2006
Crawfish Crit Race Report - by Hope Strode
Tualatin, OR, August 12, 2006
We started the weekend at the Crawfish Crit: a winding loop with a steep climb up one side that continued into the finishing stretch. Kori and I arrived as the two lone Poplollie representatives. We started that race with the idea that we were going to practice tactics - and not care about our finish. In other words we wanted to be either 1st and 2nd or get completely blown out the back trying.
Kori launched the first few attacks - getting a gap on the downhill corner and powering up the climb. We each took a few primes and mixed the race up a bit with attacks and short-lived breaks (the women in the breaks were not working much to make them stick - and we don't believe in just towing sandbaggers along).
With about 7 laps to go they called a prime for a free lunch at Laughing Planet. We love LP - and I knew Kori would go for it (I would have if she didn't. She took it with me on her wheel and we had our gap.
Just as I was pulling through we both went down (talk about embarrassing). As I staggered to get myself off the ground I saw Kori trying to get back into the race with her elbow dripping in blood. The officials insisted that she take a free lap and get bandaged up. My bike had hit the ground hard and the pavement had ripped through my front derailleur cable and housing. Everyone told me I couldn't race with my bike in that condition.
Kori got bandaged up and was waiting to be let back in the race by the officials. I wanted to go too - so I rolled up next to her, despite warnings about the condition of my bike. They let us go with the same gap we had before we went down. We both hammered - our adrenaline so high that we didn't ealize how fast we were going. Soon we had a huge gap on the field. We finished the race together - a photo finish at the line - 1st and 2nd. We still don't know how we went down.
After they scrubbed my road rash, cut off my engagement ring and bandaged my fingers we drove Kori to the emergency room for stitches in her elbow. We are both fine - and better friends (sisters) because of it.
Elkhorn Classic Stage Race - by Kori Kunz & Hope Strode
Baker
City, OR, June 25, 2006
[Kori:] The Elkhorn Stage Race consists of four stages
over three days and is held in and around Baker City
in eastern Oregon's high desert. All fields do the
same courses: the first stage is a 73 mile road race
on Friday, Saturday has a 10 mile morning time trial
and and evening criterium, and Sunday is the most challenging
of all at 101 miles finishing with an 8 mile, 8% climb.
This was it's fifth year running and hopefully not
the last to offer a women's field. The road race and
TT courses are incredibly beautiful --rolling through
sage brush and wildflower meadows, by rambling streams,
past old western ranches and horses in pastures, and
with majestic, snow-capped mountains walling in the
valley. The crit course is in downtown Baker City--which,
if you've never been there, is a little bit like visiting
another era--as close as you can come to time travel
without having to risk a ride in some mad scientist's contraption. I should add
that the local newspaper, the Baker City Herald, described the race as "like
Nascar on bikes" to make it slightly more accessible to the hometown folk.
Given the setting, even a bad race experience still leaves you with the feeling that you had a pretty good weekend--if not an epic one. That being said, I can go on to say that I had a fairly lousy showing race-wise. I knew going into it that I wasn't really ready for these distances--having been sick with a little cold the week before, and so busy the previous two weeks that I had barely ridden my bike other than to and from work. In a shorter race I can depend on my stubbornness to make up for lack of preparedness, but in this case no amount of willpower was going to conquer my weak points. This race is DEMANDING, and anyone who finishes should feel like they accomplished a feat.
The weather was hot and hydrating was an issue. Eating while racing is also an issue with me--I've gotten a lot better, but still fall short often, and the first road race was a good example. One Gu gel does not do much to help a body race 73 miles, in case you didn't know. I bonked at the 10K point and fell off of the front group which was chasing a couple of gals who'd broken away on the last climb. A number of people, including Hope who'd gotten gapped trying to take on water in the feed zone, passed me while I struggled to reel myself in to the finish with one of the cat 3/4 riders. I lost 11+ minutes on that one.
The TT was not bad, given that Hope and I had both forgotten our aerobars. It was partly downhill, gently rolling/flat on the way out, then a U-turn and back the way you came with the climb towards the end. I got passed by two gals and then two more, but I passed the second two again on the hill and left them behind me. I felt pretty good about it, considering my usual TT experience, and was pleased to see that I was only 4 seconds or so slower than Hope and only lost about half a minute on the leader. Some of our time loss was due to equipment, so I don't mind that so much.
We lollygagged around for the rest of the day, napping, reading, propping the legs up, then got on our trainers in a shady spot on the sidewalk of Main St. where we could watch the masters race before we had to go.
[Hope:] Main St. was full of life Saturday afternoon. The locals all came out and squeezed into shady places to watch ?Nascar on bikes.? The race was choc full of primes and at the last minute a local shop donated $300 cash in extra primes to support women?s racing. The race was fast, virtually every other lap was a prime lap so there was no recovery until the race was over. My goal was to stay in the front of the race and cover all the attacks; which made for a very exciting yet exhausting race. Kori raced a smart race, sitting in about mid-field, conserving her energy for the final lap. Her racing skill and clever tactics allowed her to position herself well coming into the final turn. She blew past me and took 5th in the sprint! I finished right behind her in 8th.
The last stage was a 101 miles with 3 climbs in the middle and an 8 mile 8% finishing climb. I learned my lesson after the feed zone fiasco on Friday?s stage and carried 4 full bottles of water, and lots of food (I thought that I had a lot but one woman had 5 bottles ? 2 on her bike, 2 in her pockets and one stuffed in her sports bra.) Everyone rode conservatively and took it easy up the first few climbs so the pack stayed together until the final climb. At the base the race leader attacked and Kori and a few others responded. I jumped on Kori?s wheel hoping to just hang on. Soon we?d whittled the break down to 5. Another attack by last years race winner and I tried to hang on but soon 3 women rode up the road leaving one other and me behind. We worked together for a little while before she dropped off and I rode the last 10K alone in 4th position - somewhere between the break and the splintered main group.
At the top Dan and Team Midtown met us with cold recovery drinks and watermelon.
It was a great weekend - I recommend the race to everyone next year!
Rehearsal Raced Report - by Erin Luckhardt
OBRA Rehearsal Race, Eugene, OR, June 10, 2006
Saturday started out bright and early with a handful of Poplollies showing up to volunteer at the registration table at the State Championship/Rehearsal Road Race. There was a great volunteer turnout so a few of us who thought we were going to be put to work ended up “supervising” the table and eating muffins.
Due to Hope’s work related injury, Kori was the lone Poplollie in the Senior Woman field. Race officials decided to combine the Senior Woman with the Men’s Masters 30-because of small field sizes which made Kori quite happy when she learned they shortened her race by one lap! The other women in the field were no match for Kori, she hung with the men for a few laps, then made what seemed to be a great move by falling off the back with the tallest guy in the field thinking that she could get a free ride to the finish –see picture- Unfortunately, this dude didn’t light the spark as Kori had hoped as a group of 3 woman caught up with them and road the remainder of the race together until Kori left them in her dust on the way up the finishing climb to become the Oregon RR Champ and put yet another #1 placing in the books!! Yea Kori!
Shortly after 2:00 Kay, Lisa, and Erin rolled up to the line for the Woman’s Cat 3 championship race (3 laps) followed by Veronica and Lauren in the Woman’s Cat 4 championship race (2 laps). The cat 3 race was looking quite dull to the Poplollies after all of their exciting training rides. After an uneventful first lap Erin decided to shoot herself off the front not once but twice, only to succumb to the stronger legs of the rest of the field and got shot out the back on the long climb to ride the final lap by herself. Kay and Lisa were hanging tough though that final lap. The cat 3 RR Champ title goes to Lisa who proved that she has a wicked uphill sprint as well! I think she even surprised herself – see picture.
See video clip
Kay finished up strong shortly after Lisa to take 4th
place and, after some words of encouragement from her
support vehicle; Erin attacked a few suffering old men up the finishing
climb to take 7th in the woman’s cat 3 field.
It has been decided that the most improved Poplollie award goes to
Veronica for her spectacular job in finishing *5th* in the cat 4 race! We
were all super excited to see her great result and hear how well she
was moving around the pack and pacing herself up the hills. It
was rumored that she was pulling the filed up the finishing climb?!? (not
exactly an action shot but very cute picture!)
Lauren was finally able to put herself on the other side
of the officials table and finished her first Road Race of the season
strong by making her goal of staying with the field for quite a long
time and finishing up 11th!
Sunday brought yet another day of biking. Norman and Nancy rented a van to shuttle Kerri, Erin, Lisa, Kay, and Garron up to the Alpenrose Velodrome in Portland. After we arrived and rented our bikes our instructors split us into 2 groups and basically threw us onto the track which, for those who have not been there, is an approximately 250 meter oval with 43-degree banked sides. It was quite intimidating, to say the least. After a few laps of scared faces and lots of “holy crap” being yelled it looked like the team found there legs and was shooting up and down the sides like pro’s … well almost. We’re hoping that Kevin can accompany us up again soon so we can perfect our head butting techniques. Garron took some great shots and will hopefully post them soon!