San Dimas Race
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Today’s ride was to go see the criterium stage of the San Dimas Stage Race. Vikki had been planning on riding in it, so we laid plans for an early start so that we could be there in time for the 8:30 start of the women’s race.
As it turned out, Vikki missed the deadline to sign up, so she wasn’t racing. But she came on the ride anyway. Along the way, she told us that we could root for Caitlin as a proxy. Caitlin rides for Claremont Colleges Cycling, which is my sentimental favorite, so this was fine by me.
It was cloudy and cool in the morning, but we all figured it would burn off when the sun came out. So we started out from the park, heading straight east through Sierra Madre and Arcadia.
After a very brisk ride to San Dimas, we got to the race just before the start. Vikki introduced us to Caitlin, and we told her we were going to cheer for her as a proxy for Vikki. She seemed to think this was pretty funny.
The race was the women’s Category 3 and 4, and it was easily the biggest women’s racing pack I’d ever seen. There were probably about 40 riders. I went up to the stand and put in a $20 prime. The second picture shows the rider who took it. She managed to stay away solo for most of the race, picking up several more primes. But she never got more than 10-15 seconds ahead of the pack, and they caught her just before the last lap. Then it was a pack sprint to the finish.
After the race was over, we stayed for just a few minutes more. It was getting colder, and the sun never did come out. I talked for a few minutes with one rather heavily-tattooed racer. We traded some tattoo stories, and I told him how my plan was that my tattoos will always be covered when I’m dressed for riding my bike.
Coming home, we took the most direct route again. It was cold, so we decided to skip the stop at the bakery in Glendora. It wouldn’t have been much fun sitting outside in the cold.
When we got back to Pasadena, the sun finally came out. But by then we were done. Still, it was a nice ride.
45 miles.
