Paula and Kym go 1/2 in the Pro Women's race
This past weekend we raced the Black Bear Rampage mountain bike race at the Ocoee Whitewater Center. These are some of our "home trails" and we love them. The race was somewhat of an endurance event with the course being 44miles long for all categories. We are all way past the end of "race season" but this one was too much fun to pass up. I helped build these trails and I LOVE them... I was racing.
Star, Lisa, Gina, Paula, Shannon and I all signed up for the race and did some course recon in the past couple of weeks (including a camping trip up there last weekend). We were all excited about the race. It was not a USA Cycling sanctioned event so Lisa decided to try her legs in the expert race with Shannon. Gina and Star were our contingent in the Sport field and Paula and I rounded out our squad in the Pro race. There were some very talented women registered in every field so it was going to be a tough race for all of us. Mark graciously volunteered to be in the feed zone for us (I'm sure it had nothing to do with an excuse to get out of racing a LONG race) and he promised some "entertainment" while we raced.
Gina and Star 1st and 3rd on the Sport podium
We ROCKED!!!! Paula and I worked together for the first half of the race (Did I mention that they started us with the pro men??? OUCH). It was really fun having her to race with. Ultimately, she had better climbing legs than I did and ended up slowly pulling away from me just past the halfway point. I had a long stressful week coming into this race and my legs did what they could do. I am so glad that my teammate stepped up and took the win. GO PAULA!!!
Gina and Star killed it from the very start of their race and Gina never looked back. Star got passed by Grace (a REALLY strong racer friend of ours) and held on for third. It was a GREAT day for Star... she finally put it all together on race day and raced "like a tiger".
Lisa had a challenging day, missing her start. In her defense, the start was confusing and there were LOTS of people that missed their starts. Lisa got to start with the "Burley Bear" category (over 250 pounds). We all found that funny... I would have loved to see a picture of skinny little Lisa lined up with those big boys. Shannon has been off the bike and off of racing for a good part of the summer due to personal issues. Her goal was to put a number plate on and finish. She did that with a smile. Shannon, it is SO GOOD to have you back!!!
Mark in his "feed zone" gear. No, we don't know "why"....
Mark wore his "party shirt" (that is what happens when he goes shopping alone) and a black Afro wig. None of us are sure why he decided to wear it but we are going to call it his "dumb shirt". He managed to lose his brain and mess up 2 of my three feeds. I am NOT complaining... any time anyone stands out there and gives me bottles I appreciate it, but it was really funny that he lost his brain so badly. We all enjoyed teasing him.
Shannon and Mike enjoying the "bouncy slide"
We ended the day with good food and some fun on the inflatable party toys. Shannon gets the award for the best form.
Thanks to Scott's Bikes for putting on such a great event and thanks to all the spectators that were out there cheering us on.
