One of our biggest team weekends of the year was the SERC race here in Chattanooga. The Trek Store of Chattanooga was the round sponsor and it is our home trail. We were excited. After my rest and recovery after the June craziness I was once again ready to ease back into racing, albeit a bit slower than where I left off. I knew it was going to probably take the body a few weeks to get back to "race shape" after the time off, but I figured that with my knowledge of the trail I would be okay.
We had the whole team sans Anina and Amy signed up to race. Anina is on her way to South Africa to race her National Championships. We wish her the best and hope she brings us home a jersey. Amy was in Ohio with family obligations. They were both missed.
Saturday started with the Trek demo trailer and fun times talking about how awesome our bikes are to the local riders. I am sure our passion translated into some new bikes for people. It's easy to be passionate about the bikes you are riding when you are on the best bikes in the world.
Our pre-ride was a ton of fun. We had an AWESOME presence with 6 of us out there riding together. We definitey turned heads. We laughed and enjoyed having all of us in one location. Dinner that night was at Star's house, we did a pot luck of sorts with everyone bringing their favorite pre-race meal. Yummy!!!
Sunday was hot, as has been the case the past few weeks. We started out on the pavement and Shannon went to the front to be my "lead out man"... she was fabulous. She launched me into the single track in the lead and I never looked back. I wasn't "race fast" but I rode strong and consistent. It was enough to take the win in a large women's field. My teammates did not fare as well, although it was not for lack of trying. Amanda was riding strong and kicking butt in second place until the trail decided to kick her butt. She crashed hard and ended up walking out in search of bandages and possibly stitches. Fortunately she was ok and no stitches were needed. Catherine rode most of the race in 3rd place until her still frozen camel back didn't thaw and she got totally dehydrated. She lost tow spots in the last 30 minutes for 5th place. Still a strong finish but not what she was hoping for. Star's brakes got stuck on for the whole race and she cramped. Kelsey fell and re-injured her bad hand. Emily just had an off day.
It was a tough ride for us and one of the hardest days we've had as a team all season. In spite of it all we had a lot of fun, rode our bikes and took home the win. Even our bad days are ok. And I would rather have a bad day with my teammates than any other ladies on this planet. You girls are the BEST!!!!
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