Over the Hill...

Women's Cat 1/2/3 Field in Mt. Pleasant

What a difference a week can make. Living in Michigan can be really annoying some days. The weekend of the West Branch Classic was cold-hovering around 50 degrees, windy, and rainy. The following Sunday the Mt. Pleasant Road Race was a scorcher, sunny, again windy, and in the 90s. I had planned on racing all three of the Mt. Pleasant events, but my sister was in the hospital, and I was taking of my nephews. I didn't feel quite right leaving Russ home with four kids all weekend, so I opted to just ride the road race on Sunday. We had a strong showing of Hagerty women at this race, with 6 of us represented in the Cat 1/2/3 race. Lauri and Susan were doing well in the omnium, so it was our job to protect them and try to get them on the podium. We all worked hard and eventually Bridgett got away in a break with about 6 riders. The race picked up to try to bridge the gap and bring the rest of the racers up to the break, and that is when I was done. I had worked a lot at the front and attacked twice and my legs were not able to attack again. A few others were dropped as well, so I at least had two people to ride back to town with. It was still a very long 20 miles, and I don't think I could have been much more miserable. I drank a bottle of water on the ride down, and had three bottles with me, and it still wasn't enough. I was getting chills from getting dehydrated and the only thing to look at was flat farmland. I really don't know what is worse, riding in cold rain or the hot sun. I made it to the finish though and I came in 12th overall in a field of about 25 and 4th for cat 3 women. Susan made it to the podium with a strong 2nd place finish. 

My biggest victory over the last few weeks and perhaps my whole cycling experience is....I MADE IT UP SMOKEY! With the group. Didn't get dropped. Mark the date, it was June 5 on the fateful Tuesday Night Ride that I made it up Smokey Hollow, to the lighthouse, and all the way out to 7 hills. I did get dropped there, but that is ok. I made it farther than I ever have, and hopefully one of these days I will make the whole ride. But just the fact that I made it that far was so exciting, that I was shouting for joy at the top and probably everyone around me thought I was a bit crazy. It really felt awesome though, and I can't even think of a finish in a race that felt like as big of an accomplishment as this. 

The following Tuesday was windy again and I have had just about enough of riding in the wind, so I finally took the number plate off of my mountain bike from the Mud, Sweat, and Beers race and revisited the woods. It felt great to be back mountain biking again! It's been nice having a few Saturdays at home and relaxing after four busy weekends of racing. Nothing is on the calendar right now for races, I will see what happens in the next few weeks. Thanks for reading!