Putting it in Perspective: Sitting on a tarmac may be better than sitting on my Tarmac....

Perhaps 25 hours to fly from Rome to DC is not so bad after all.

Last week I missed the opportunity to race Poolesville.  One of the more pleasant thoughts that went through my brain when I upgraded from 3 to 2 was the fact that the Poolesville RR had no W1/2 field.  Yippee.  This race that I should love because of the gravel and a couple of short bumps was something I dreaded (gravel = dust, dust + asthma = no fun).  This year a W1/2 field was on the books as a combined field with the Cat3 Men.  Jordan emailed earlier in the week to see if Wendy and I were racing and what sort of strategy we could have together. 

Hoping Trevi Fountain myths hold so I will return to Rome.

Alas, I was busy dodging Vespas and Fiats while crossing cobblestone Roman streets and had to miss the chance to tear down gravel roads in Maryland with CA and Jordan.  No comment as to who selected the timing of this work trip….

Brandenburg Tor neben den US Botschaft

Site of racing of a different nature

As I was sitting in the airport at JFK, 17 hours into my rather extended journey back to DC from Europe, CA texted and asked if I “would please race Wilmington Grand Prix”.  Wearied eyed and really not understanding the magnitude of the rest, I thought nothing of it.  In a moment of weakness the subsequent day, fueled by happiness to be home and the effects of jet lag, I misguidedly agreed.

Just to frame the situation, Wilmington GP is a Pro/1/2 field.  Other races of mine have had the Pro part in the title….but the Pros were not in attendance.  This will be my first big-girl race.  When I checked the current start list, I found the following demographic data:  I am not the oldest one in the field…there are at least 2 women older than me…unfortunately their names are Laura Van Gilder and Tina Pic.  Had I had a daughter in my late teens and she went on to race, the woman predicted by roadresults.com to win the race would be my daughter’s age. 

With races almost every weekend, the flow of nerves follows a pattern.  Monday through Thursday, I love to race.  Friday includes packing which I hate to do, so the utility from racing declines a bit.  On race day, I hate racing.  I think of the joys one must have at simply being a couch potato.  Once the race begins, I am fine, with the desire to either vomit or bolt suppressed.  Post-race evening, I love racing until I have to unpack and do laundry.

It is now Tuesday. I should be in the “I love to race” phase of the week. Why do I have Saturday morning nerves?  I should have three more days of race happiness.  Yesterday I could not imagine ever flying again (25 hours from Rome left its toll).  Today being stuck on the tarmac in Rome with a malfunctioning plane and the potential to be a story on CNN sounds very appealing in comparison to sitting on my Tarmac.

Bottom line:  Saturday evening I will be able to say that I toed the line with women whose podium pics will probably grace the pages of VeloNews and my nerves which seem sort of epic right now will be long forgotten.  The academic in me wonders if I should go back to school for another  PhD…this time in psychology….I know I am not the only one with butterflies and such before a race.  What makes one continue to go to bikereg.com?  When CA said, “do this race”, why did I listen (those who know me well know that I seldom follow instructions from others)?  

I am looking forward to be able to race with Kelley and we will both miss Wendy - her vomiting is due to medical rather than psychological reasons....get well soon!!!!