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I hope you are all doing well… Another couple of great weekends of racing have passed. We raced the NORBA National weekend at Sugar Mountain, NC and this past weekend we raced the State Championship road race in TN.

Sugar was another muddy mess. We drove through storms to get there and the roads were still soaked when we pulled in for the pre-ride. UGH. The course was a version of the old AMBC race course that I used to love to race so I was excited about being back there. The descent was different than in the past…even more technical and really muddy and slick. Oh well, let’s just hold on a hope for the best. The pro cross country was fast and tough… I struggled a bit in the beginning but descended really well and took back a number of places before the finish. Jamie tore it up and was the 3rd U23 woman in the field, Paula was not too far behind. We took 28th (Jamie), 31st (Paula) and 41st (me). Shannon lined up for what proved to be a DOMINATING performance in the expert women’s field… she won convincingly. With that win under her belt she has now OFFICIALLY upgraded to a pro. Congrats to Shannon!! Jamie and I raced the Short Track on Sunday and held our own on a really steep course.

This past weekend it was time to head out on the road bikes. We have not raced as much on the road this season as in the past due to mountain bike scheduling conflicts so we are all anxious for the fall road season to get going. The TN state championship road race (as well as a TT and Crit…not state championships) was this weekend. For 2008 we are adding 3 girls to focus on the road and one of them, Gina, made this her debut weekend with the team. Shannon, Gina and I lined up against a 20 woman field to race for the state champion jersey. It was a hard fought battle and it was HOT. Record highs this weekend and while we were out there it was 99 and HUMID. The heat got Shannon about half way through the race and she sat up. Unfortunately, she then took two wrong turns, saved a turtle, found a dollar and bummed a coke off of a stranger. You have got to love that girl!!! She crossed the finish line (eventually…) smiling; after all, she did save a turtle. Gina and I ended up in the winning break of five riders and it came down to a sprint…. I WON!!!! I am the 2007 TN state road race champion. Not bad for a mountain biker. Gina took 4th. Shannon and I opted out of the time trial but Gina took 4th there as well.

The next day was a miserable crit. For some reason, every time I seem to pick a road race weekend it is the same parking lot crit in Nashville (they run this course about 5 times a year…). Think newly paved BLACK parking lot, record highs (101 officially…the car read 108) and racing at 11:15am. Shannon left for a week in Cost Rica on Sunday morning so Gina and I were left to carry the torch. We wired us on the race radios with Mark on the other end telling us what to do and we had a plan. There was one really strong girl that we noticed at the road race that was in visiting from California… she was the main threat. The plan was for me to keep attacking until I got away and for Gina to stick to Kelly’s (the CA girl) wheel; forcing her to chase me and pull Gina up. After about 1 ½ laps in, I attacked expecting the games to begin. No one went after me. Hmmm… I am now out front, alone with 36 minutes left in a HOT parking lot crit. This MIGHT have been a bad move. I kept pedaling. 10 minutes in, this is alright…. I can do this. Kelly is now charging hard and Gina is sitting on her wheel. I have 28 seconds on them. 15 minutes in, this is starting to hurt…I can still do this…. The gap is down to 20 seconds. 20 minute in, okay, this where the short track ends… I am not sure if I have 20 more minutes in me…keep pedaling. 15 seconds on them. 30 minutes in, THERE IS NO WAY I CAN DO THIS FOR 10 MORE MINUTES!!!! The gap is now at 10 seconds and I am dying right here in this stupid parking lot. 35 minutes in, tunnel vision….I am going to puke. Keep pedaling. 6 seconds. 2 laps to go….the gap is 5 seconds…. I can’t see, I can’t pedal, I am now using my ENTIRE body to propel the bike forward… 1 lap to go… I no longer remember what a bicycle is, what my name is or where I live. I am quite sure I am going to puke. Sprint to the line… I WON!!!! Gina out sprinted Kelly for second. Our plan worked beautifully. Gina took second overall for the weekend (I did not do the time trial so I was not scored in the Omnium). I did have to be helped off the bike at the finish line.

Jamie went to NC to race the NRC crit. She is a very new, yet extremely talented rider. The Jamie quote of the weekend was: “There were all the big pro teams there…it was really fast!!!” Jamie, what did you think a NRC crit was going to bring out??? She did great and lasted until 2 laps to go before being pulled. Not bad for her debut at the NRC level.

Now it's time to head out to Snowmass in Aspen, CO, for the NORBA National Series finals. Racing that high up is going to hurt, but it is a beautful place to race. I'll give you an update from there...

Thanks for everyone's support!!

Kym