by admin | July 29th, 2009
Kim Popham started riding with Team Delphine last season and racing this season. Kim is a talented athlete that has competed successfully in many running and Nordic events. Those successes are starting to carry over to cycling, as her 2nd place finish in Sunday’s Battle Ridge Road Race illustrates, where she out-climbed Montana’s top-ranked female Cat 4 racer.
The following is Kim’s account of the race.
I started this race with no expectations since I was totally afraid of descending Battle Ridge and assumed I would get dropped right away. As I came over the top, I was in front (Marjo had told me that was a good place to be so everyone else had to go around me on the descent) and as I expected everyone passed me. I kept trying to get my bike to shift into my big chain ring and it wouldn’t, so not only was I nervous about going down that big, steep hill, I was afraid I would be riding the rest of the race in my small chain ring. Fortunately, it eventually shifted into the big ring and I made it down in one piece.
I could see the pack up ahead and so I started to chase them down all the while thinking about burning matches! That one is from Anna. Anyway, I caught up to the pack and sat in for a while so I could rest. The rest of the ride out to the turnaround was pretty mellow and uneventful.
Croy and I talked a few times about some strategy since it seemed no one wanted to do anything, in fact she made the comment that this was getting boring, telling the rest of the pack that she would ride “3 miles and hour if no one is going to pass me!” She and I did attack once before the turnaround but everyone else stayed with us.
We turned around and started heading back towards Bridger into the wind. Again, the group was still together and pacelining but Croy had warned me to be alert for anything. Around mile 30 or so we were going up a hill and making a 90 degree left turn. Ivy and Jill were up front with Kabrina from Team Luna Chix in the 3rd position and I was behind her. I found that I was out-climbing her pretty easily and came around on the inside so I didn’t cause a wreck. About that time Ivy and Jill were also pulling away from the group and then Ivy yelled “Go, go hard.” So we did.
I found myself in a break away with Ivy and Jill. As we rode away, I remember thinking, “What the F are you thinking, Kim!” The three of us were rotating and doing pretty short, hard pulls. I was able to keep up with them for a bit, but realized that they were hammering way too hard and I knew if I tried to keep up with them, I would never make it over Battle Ridge so I dropped off the back. Jill took off and dropped Ivy pretty quickly.
I slowed down thinking that the rest of the pack would catch me and I could work with them the rest of the way, but that didn’t work either. I caught Ivy as we were going into the rollers before the big climb. I told her I had ended up in that break away totally by accident. She told me not to worry, that we would work together the rest of the way. So she and I started rotating. I got out in front and was ready for a rest and looked behind me and realized she had dropped off the back. So I kept riding by myself. Going up Battle Ridge, I remember thinking “I could walk up this hill faster” which I later found out most of us had the same thought. I kept shifting into a harder gear whenever it leveled off (Marjo’s advice) so I could always have that easier gear to shift into in reserve.
I was ready to give up when I heard Molly P. yelling for me at the top of the hill. Thank God for her! I came over the hill by myself and once again couldn’t get my bike to shift into the big chain ring. I thought, “Oh well, you have to go up Brackett Creek anyway,” so I just tried to relax and stay in front of Ivy. I made it down Battle Ridge in one piece and thought to myself, “Hey, I might actually do pretty well today.” I was never so happy to see a 1K sign in my life! Once I turned into the subdivision I was thinking I was going to make it until I saw the hill I had to climb to the finish! It was brutal! I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get out of my clips when I got to the top, but I did. Not only had I survived; I had fun doing so.
–Kim Popham