Whew. it has been a CRAZY month. After the 18 hour drive straight (yes, I personally drove 18 hours non-stop to get home) we rested for a few days and then it was off to Fontana for the SERC finals. Needless to say I am exhausted and really tired of being gone. I have seem my husband 12 hours in the last 28 days. I want to be home. But what a summer!!!
With that being said, I had an INCREDIBLE summer. SERC is now over. Nationals are over. I am home...for now. The state road race is this weekend and I think I am going to pass. That is tough for me to say, especially since I won it last year, but I need a little break. Paula and Gina are talking of going and they are both VERY strong and capable of carrying the team colors without me.
The fall will once again bring some great off road epic type races and of course CYCLOCROSS!!! I am already getting excited. If I want to be ready, I need to take August to chill out a bit and play.
While I am playing and recovering, Paula and Gina are getting ready to leave for their BIG goal of the summer. They are going to Leadville to race one of the most well known 100 mile mountain bike races in the world. They have both been training and racing SO HARD. They are going to ROCK. We can't wait to hear about it.
My personal focus this year was a repeat for the SERC series. It was a tough goal; the women's field gets tougher every year. This year we had a total of 40 women that raced our field, including 11 pros. It was made more difficult with the bout of pneumonia I had half way through the season. I suddenly had NO races to drop (only 7 of the 9 count for the overall; you get to drop your lowest scores) and I had to do well at the make-up race to have a chance. No pressure but at one point in the season, a flat tire could have been the end of reaching my goal. Somehow I did it and had one of the best seasons I have ever had. I attribute it to having the BEST teammates on the planet and an AWESOME coach that worked miracles when I figured all was lost. Not only did I win the SERC series for the third year in a row, I was given the "Female Rider of the Year" award. Wow, talk about a tough year to live up to next year....
My teammates also rocked the SERC series. Catherine finished the series with a perfect score. And to top it off she raced the sport race AFTER racing the beginner race on Sunday. She took 3rd in Sport. Look for our "reformed roadie" to be racing in the expert field next year. She is "officially" part of our road squad, but after having done ONE road race this year she will probably be on the MTB squad next year. At different races, every one of my teammates made podium appearances. The highlights for me were at Tanasi where I handed out bottles (that pneumonia thing...) to NINE Vantaggio ladies and Chattanooga where we went 1,2.3 in the Pro women's field. Everyone was so impressed that we had such a big strong women's team this year.
Thanks also to all our sponsors, friends and family. You are the people that make it possible for us to do what we do. THANK YOU!!!
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