Berkeley Hills Road Race, F1/2/3

My plan was to stick to the p1/2's as long as I could and use them to shell as many 3's as possible. My plan was working perfectly as the P1/2's hit every hill really hard and people were falling off the back quickly. By the second lap we were already down to just a core group of p1/2's and three W3's. I was able to stick with the group on every hill without a problem except the last pitch of Papa Bear. For at least two of the laps up Papa Bear I was able to catch back on, but I ended up falling off the group on the 3rd lap, having to dig deep and solo the last lap to the finish - I was able to keep my 7min lead over the 4th place finisher though - yay! The last time up papa bear was a bit comical, as my competitors to the finish were some recreational riders - I kept saying to myself "you cannot let them beat you to the top" and then i hear Marianne yelling "don't worry about them, they are only on their first lap" =^). Third place at Berekely Hills seems to be a trend for me, we'll see if I can train harder and break that trend for next year. 

A couple of shout outs: 

Thanks to Nathan, Ellen, and Marianne for being at the finish for me - I needed the cheering to get me up the last hill!! 

Thanks to the Tues/Thurs RR group for pushing me so hard and making me get out of my saddle to push one more time to stay attached. 

Thanks to Dave and Ken for pushing me to get better on my descents - I stayed attached no problem - I feel ready for Pescadero and Mt. Hood.