Baked!

I got to take a weekend off of doing my own stuff to support The Wife, her team and teammates, and women racers in general in the Baking Fields^TM of Kern County for the 12th edition of the Kern County Women’s Stage Race. Phew, it was hot, “damn hot” to crib from Robin Williams in ‘Good Morning Vietnam’, most of the time. But those ladies showed their toughness, and went out and put on a display of some darn good riding. Eighty one entrants, 6 fields, 4 stages, and not a single crash! And a lot of good camaraderie, sportsmanship, and class shown by all. Kudos and congratulations to all.

My role at Kern was limited. Guys got to either (a) sit around, (b) pass out water and cheer from the feedzones, or (c) drive follow vehicles. I don’t think anyone opted for (a), and Robert twisted my arm to do (c) on both Saturday and Sunday. A very different perspective on the race. From the feed zone you get a brief snapshot of the status of all the fields as they pass. From the follow car you get a limited view of the action of the front group of one field throughout the race. And I found it is much harder to drive follow when you have emotional attachments to folks in the field, and easier when you know some of the folks but do not have the attachments. Either way, it was easy to admire their fortitude in getting out in that weather and to be impressed with their skills and tactics.

And one has to be impressed by the dedication that VeloPromo and Robert put into this race. It is a logistical nightmare for him, the officials, and all the participants. But it apparent that Robert puts a lot of effort and heart and thought into this event. Icy watermelon at the top of the hot, brutal climb, and him serenading the riders with his “it’s not a saxaphone” clarinet music 2 miles from the top? No wonder a lot who have experienced this event keep coming back in spite of the logistical problems. I am sure that The Wife has already mentally penciled it onto next year’s calendar.

I’ll have a few photos to post later, once I get caught up on things like shopping, eating, sleeping, and hydrating. But not so many; hard to take photos when one is driving along some distance behind the group.