Some things you do in cycling to prove a point – to yourself. The point is made by climbing a steep hill fully loaded with your commuter gear and laptop, finishing a charity ride with the front group, or mastering a new trick on your fixed gear.
For this racer, it was crossing the line with her bike. She didn’t have to do that. In the last lap of a crit, racers in a crash get the pack finish and time, but she did. It was to say, “I finished this damn Boat Street race.” She had crashed the day before at Ballard.