I never in my wildest dreams thought I would take 1st place in the women's expert race, especially not my 1st season racing in this category. There is a disclaimer, though. My teammate Asa, who normally wins 1st place every week and is the one who sets up the courses every week, was feeling under the weather and wasn't racing in top form. However, I've been told she is very competitive and will not just let someone win, no matter how she is feeling.
Here's how it went down. I was able to pass the first couple people leading us out in the first minute or so. After that I gave it all I had knowing they were all chasing me down. It was a very hilly course. I'm decent at hills, both up and down, so this was to my advantage. I thought I was going to die after only the first lap because of how hard I was going. I still had three more to go. I hung on and kept riding as hard as I could. By the 4th lap I had noticed there was a pretty big gap behind me and couldn't even see my nearest competitor. On one of the long uphill sections I decided to sit and spin up the hill rather than stand and power up it. When I got close to the top I suddenly see Asa coming out of nowhere passing me. I yelled "Oh, Asa!" She just laughed and cruised on ahead. I was so mad that I'd held the lead for so long and she was just going to swoop in there and take it right out from under me. Oh no! I was suddenly very motivated and took off after her. I followed her down a very tricky descent and even followed her line, which could have been a disaster, as she is a pro downhiller and I had not even ridden that line yet. I almost ate it on one drop off. Fortunately, I stayed up and got down the hill okay. Right after that was a big steep uphill section that split into two. She took the left and I took the right. I hammered up that hill as fast as I could and passed her! After that I put my head down and didn't look back. I went all out to the finish and won the race!!!
I talked to Asa after the race. She came in about one minute after I did. She teased me about lolly gagging it up the hill and told me she wasn't just going to hand me the race. Lesson learned. Thanks Asa!
Steve raced too, but he wasn't feeling so great, so he was happy to have finished 11th. He is such a great supporter and cheerleader for me and I super, super, super appreciate him.
The kids didn't get to race this week because they didn't live up to their end of the bargain. They had to get their jobs done at home in time to be able to ride and practice for the race. They slacked off several days in a row, hadn't practiced, and had to miss out. Hopefully, they learned from that. We're not about to shell out the money for them to race if they are not going to be responsible!
This gives you an idea how many people are out there racing. There are about 500 people racing on the course AT THE SAME TIME! Chaos? Sometimes. You have to get really good at passing people. I'm on the far left in the front.
That's Asa in the red with the mohawk on her helmet. I'm right behind her on her tail. This is the beginning of the race.
I flew down this hill and passed tons of guys in front of me, including my own teammates.
Passing.
Steve cruising past people too.
Go Steve!
Takin' a walk on the wild side!
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Takin' a walk on the wild side!
Joshua
Scott
I went to a 70's birthday party for a friend who was turning 40. I borrowed some clothes from another friend. When I came out of my room, ready for the party, Noah says to me "you look like grandma". I laughed and told him she probably looked pretty similar to this back in the 1970s. Am I right, Mom?
Scott, thumbs up!
Mike or Papa Cat, owner of Mad Cat bike shop, was turning 41 on Memorial Day. What better way to celebrate than a team mountain bike ride in Auburn? There were nearly 30 riders there. It was super fun! Thanks to Steve for staying home with the boys so I could go. What a sweetie!
