Redlands Bicycle Classic

I was invited to race Redlands on a composite team, Team Squadra Swami's, comprised of a bunch of San Diego girls (Anna Gerber and Jennifer Weinbrecht from Swami's; Catherine Robertson-Goodkin from Wells Fargo; Tammy Wildgoose, Nicole Brandt, and Shani Russell from CA Pools; and Lauren Liscinski from NOW-MS Society). Unfortunately, I took a tumble off the bike on Monday, with Redlands starting just a few days later. Luckily, the x-rays were negative for a collarbone, shoulder, or scapula break, but my shoulder area was very badly bruised, leaving me unable to lift my left arm or put any weight on it.

I decided to start the race anyway, with the thinking that if I could just get through the prologue I could race Stage 1 with the possibility of feeling better. The prologue was very difficult with steep climbs, and being unable to stand or put pressure on my left arm and shoulder relegated me to climbing while seated. I finished 137th, which was disappointing, but I was able to start Stage 1.

Stage 1 was to be a road race in Beaumont, with three laps of a nearly 25 mile course. My shoulder did not feel much better from the day before, but I wanted to at least start the race. With strong Santa Ana winds blowing, the race would be exponentially harder, and the race exploded from the start. I found myself struggling to hang on as we started with a strong cross-wind, then had a strong tail wind (doing close to 50 mph), then turned into the wind (struggling to hold 14 mph). At the end of the the first lap I was around 8 minutes or so behind the leaders, so I abandoned the race. Unfortunately, nobody from Squadra Swami's was able to continue the race, as we all either abandoned or missed the time cut.

It was a great experience to do the race and I definitely hope to race it again, this time without injuring myself just days before the race. All the girls I raced with were great and I had a wonderful time racing with them. Big thanks to Anna Gerber for inviting me to ride with them.