Otherwise know as Mel goes to Tour of the Gila.

Day 1: Crashes, crashes, and more crashes.  I guess it makes sense, everyone has to get used to each other in the pack, but geez, three of them should have included me!  Good thing that mountain biker in me knows how to stop fast.  I’ve never ridden in a pack larger than 20, so getting used to a pack of 70 was definitely a learning experience.  For the first half of the race, I couldn’t figure out how to get to the front, but towards the end of the day I started to figure out to hold my place.  I sucked up the climb to Mogollon unfortunately, but still finished mid-way through the pack.  At least I kept the rubber side down.

Day 2: I made the selection with the front group on the climb out of Pinos Altos.  It was a blast flying through the crazy corners and turns up there.  The descent down the Sapillo was incredible, and despite almost following a wheel over the edge, I held it together with the best ladies out there.  Through the valley to Mimbres, the poor Value Act team had to do all of the work to defend Leah Goldstein in the leader’s jersey.  I commented after the race that I felt bad for them and wanted to help out, but I was assured me it is their job and that the whole point is to attack them and take the jersey.  I still felt bad…I’ll probably make a terrible road racer.  Oh well, I got 15th.

Day 3: TT.  Say no more.  I put aero bars on my road bike, but did not comply with the UCI rules, so I had to take them off.  I did have a disc, a TT helmet, and shoe covers though, so I didn’t look half bad out there.  I even passed some people…well, I also got passed by one or two , but who’s counting?

Day 4: The crit.  Amazing.  So much fun.  I will never be able to do a crit with less than fifty women in it ever again.  That was a blast.  I was the only girl in my hoods the whole day…silly mountain biker, but I still finished right up there in 16th.

Day 5: I almost got dropped before we even left town.  That fifth day up at 6,000 feet and lots of miles seemed to catch up with me a bit.  After the pee break in the middle of a neighborhood - WTF?? - there was attack after attack after attack all the way to the base of the Sapillo climb.  At the bottom, the front group took off, and I did not make the selection.  I ended up in the second chase group with a bunch of ladies who didn’t feel like working…save one or two.  I wanted to beg them to please help the little amateur not lose too much time on the last day, but instead I just did some work and got my outsprinted to the finish.  Whatever.

GC: 22nd.  Not too shabby for my first NRC.  Now that I have done my first NRC stage race, I’m pretty sure I’m hooked.  I still truly belong to the knobby tire crowd, but I think I could get used to these epic stage races.

It was great to have my teammate Heather out there all week and she finished 26th in the GC.  My teammate Luisa came out also, but since she had finished an Iron Man with a time good enough to qualify for Kona in Hawaii only two weeks prior, she only made it through the first day.  Since I can’t run or swim really, I pretty much think she is a badass.  Kyle toughed it out and finished the race despite dealing with some serious road rash and a concussion from a bad crash at La Vuelta de Bisbee.  He managed to avoid the terrible crash in the 1’s on the last day which has left one rider paralyzed.  I hope the poor guy comes through.

I’m at Collegiate Road Bike Nats in Ft. Collins right now.  Our ladies team just got 3rd in the TTT.  The first time we ever road together all at the same time was yesterday.  The first time I ever rode my TT bike was yesterday.  We pretty much rule, but I’ll save that for another post.