I scootered Donna to Enterprise rental car in Shakopee on Tuesday. We met back at the Dakotah Meadows RV Park and had lunch before we headed out to the Minneapolis Convention Center. The gal at Enterprise gave Donna a free upgrade on the car – we got a VW Passat and it had South Dakota plates matching our coach and scooter plates!

VW Passat with South Dakota plates

We found parking across the street from the convention center and made our way to the hall where check-in for the Senior Olympic Games was taking place. Donna picked up her packet and we had a look around. Pickleball is a Senior Olympic sport. We found a vendor near the pickleball area selling high-end paddles made by RiverStyx here in Minnesota. They were very lightweight and reported to be extra durable, but at $166 each, we passed.

Donna at the check-in

From the convention center, we drove out to the fairgrounds to preview the bicycle race course. We saw several racers riding the course for practice. The course was laid out entirely within the fairgrounds complex. It was a criterium-style course with lots of tight turns and little elevation change. The length of the course was just over three miles – the race would cover eight laps. Donna hadn’t raced on this style of course before – she’s always been on longer road courses with fewer turns.

Donna said the race started at 9am for all competitors. She had e-mails dating back for months stating this. I found it hard to believe. For one thing, men and women rarely start together. Add in the fact that 300 riders were expected. Three hundred riders of all age groups, genders and abilities on a tight criterium race course at once would be a recipe for disaster. She was nervous and I was nervous for her.

On the way home, we made another stop to visit with Donna’s friend, Shannon. We took a tour of her house and chatted for about 40 minutes before we were back on the road. By then, we were hitting rush hour traffic and it was brutal. One of the things I don’t miss at all is the requirement to commute in rush-hour traffic. I don’t have to do it, so I avoid it whenever possible.

On Tuesday night, I was looking for additional race information on the Internet. I stumbled upon a document that showed all cycling participants by group with different start times for each group. One group would begin their race starting at 8am. Donna’s race would start at 9:30am. This document wasn’t provided in the race packet nor was any reference made to it in any communication Donna received from the organization. We were glad I found it, but not too impressed with the way we accidentally learned the schedule.

We were up early on Wednesday morning. Well, Donna was up early, she didn’t wake me until 6:40am. I was planning on leaving here by 7am. That didn’t happen – it was 7:15 by the time we left. I had mapped a different route from the traffic-ensnarled route we took the day before. Our new route took us east, then we hit I-35E north. This worked so much better. That’s always the challenge when we’re in new locations – we don’t know the traffic patterns and best alternate routes. Google maps help, but there’s nothing like local knowledge.

We made the drive in less than an hour. We found the check-in table despite the lack of any signage directing racers where to check-in or what was expected. We talked to several people who all thought the race started at 9am. The men’s races didn’t begin until 11am with some of the age groups starting at 1pm and 3pm. A lot of guys were unhappy about getting up early and fighting traffic to be there for a 9am start that wasn’t happening. The race director really needs to figure out how to communicate the schedule. I wonder if anyone missed the 8am race, thinking their event started at 9am.

We found Donna’s Aunt Kathy and her cousin Ginny at the start/finish area. Donna warmed up and staged shortly before the 9:30am start. As I suspected, the race pace was very fast. The leaders were experienced racers who powered through the turns on this flat course. Donna started off fast but says she got dropped in the first quarter mile. The pace at that point was 27.2 mph! Her goal was not to crash and to average 17-18mph with some drafting. Riding alone, she made it to the finish with a 16.7mph average pace. She was feeling her lack of training these last months due to a combination of heavy rain, unsafe roads, and too-hilly routes along our route. So while she didn’t do as well as she expected, she’s happy to have had the experience of making it to the National Senior Games.

Donna on the course

Catch the draft

After the race, we followed Ginny and Kathy to a popular restaurant called Muffuletta’s in the Como Park neighborhood. Of course, Donna and I ordered the muffaletta sandwich. I had sweet potato fries on the side with mine – Donna had a salad. Donna’s Aunt Kathy used to work nearby and says this restaurant gets packed for lunch and dinner. The service and the food was excellent and we enjoyed eating outdoors on the patio.

Donna, Ginny and Kathy after the race

We backtracked our route down I-35E and made a stop at Costco. We wanted to stock up on a few things while we had a car. I ended up making an impulse buy that I’ll describe in my next post.

Today we expect mostly sunny skies with the temperature reaching 80 degrees. Later this afternoon, Donna will drive to downtown St. Paul for a book signing at Subtext Books.