Another Dam Race
Parker, Arizona, February 25-7

I really have nothing to add to Nicole Freedman's race report on the Parker hill climb, criterium and road race (which she won) other than a few tidbits.

Team Schwab Wins Again "In the final 200 meter sprint, the peloton was forced to weave around a particularly brilliant masters rider who decided to take a pee in the middle of the road (offering proof to Darwin's Survival of the Dumbest theory. ) Despite a confusing finish, Team Schwab won the race. " -- Nicole Freedman   (Full report from Nicole)

Firstly, Marie, Laura, and I were in host housing. What a treat! Leonard built the house all by himself by hand, while wife Ann worked as a nutritionist on a Native American reservation. The result is a beautiful domed house with a lap pool for her, a gigantic metal workshop for him, his bikes, and a special car, and a huge double shower-head shower for them. Marie, Laura, and I were able to make great home-cooked meals and sit down at the dining room table to eat them. Quite wonderful and special after many weeks on the road in hotels.

On Saturday, before the criterium, the five of us took a little spin (they on their tandem). On Sunday, they did a fun ride on the race road course after which she swam.

Secondly, the race put on a nice show. After the hill climb all racers and race people had a group lunch at a restaurant at the bottom of the hill. The following night we all had a group pasta feed a the local casino. The locals seemed excited about the race being in town.

Thirdly, Nicole downplayed the chaos at our finish. With less than three miles to go a men's field (don't even think that I will tell you which one!) passed us, slowed down, got passed by us, sped up, passed us again. Our sprint ended up running into their stragglers. Nicole proved herself to be a true sprinter and wasn't afraid of the confusion, men, and cars surrounding us. A coach once told me sprinters just see differently than the rest of us.

One woman's frightening chaos is another's wide-open sprinting lane.

Fourthly, we had fun.