At Bike Jam - Everything was going really well until we (about 4 of us) went down in a crash at the start/finish line and poor Emma came off worst and could not continue. Her bike broke and her body was very battered and bruised, let alone her head as she hit that too. The rest of us, that crashed, got back into the race. I made sure that nothing got away so that Elizabeth and Brooke could finished it off for the team, and that they did.
The City Bikes RFK Criterium was a hard race in the heat. All day the team was on the attack, we wanted to try and get somebody away. Unfortunately it just didn't happen for us but we still rode a very good race and got Brooke and Elizabeth back up there for the finish.
Somerville is known as the oldest race in the USA, but is always one to remember! Again, Brooke and Elizabeth were there for the finish. I got caught out a bit but still finished fairly well as with the other races. Towards the end of the race was when I was doing more work at the front as the first half of the race I found it impossible to move up.
During the week following I found out that I was going to Tulsa. I had 1 nights notice (found out about 9pm) and had to be packed and ready to go by 10am the next morning. That would have been fine but then I remembered that I had to pack for a few weeks (maybe up to 6 weeks) or more as we are just going to be on the road for heaps of races. So here's how Tulsa went:
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and what a fun weekend it was with Elizabeth. The weather was extremely strange! We would wake up in the morning, it would be cloudy, then it would become really dark and stormy. That occurred on 2 out of 3 mornings that we were there. Racing was very sketchy you could say. Elizabeth was involved in a crash on the 1st day as some silly chick couldn't corner, then I was involved in one the next day and for the same reason. It wasn't our best weekend of racing but was good fun.
Monday morning we had to get up early (4am EST) to fly out. We eventually make it back to our home bases, Elizabeth in Florida and me well I had to get straight into a car and drive to PA for Philli week. It was close to 9 hours of travel for me that day and boy was I tired! Our destination was Lititz pronounced as "Lid its" which is where my team mate Beca lives. It is the most amazing little town with a fantastic coffee shop called "Cafe Chocolate". Selina is the owner and what an amazing lady she is. She previously worked for Wall Street and then decided that she wanted to open a coffee shop. This place does not only serve coffee but yes loads of really good quality chocolate! I have never been one for dark chocolate but this is truely unreal!!! There is no words to describe this place, it has a real feeling about it.
So the first race of Philli week was Allentown and well I just shouldn't have even raced as I was sooooo tired from the travel and the weekend inTulsa. This was one of the fastest races I have ever seen....well that's the way it felt...maybe because I was so tired! I decided to pull out as I had nothing to give and need some legs for Thursday and Sunday.Thursday's race was in Reading and this course is so bumpy....ouch! Again it just wasn't our teams day, so our next focus was Sunday the BIG RACE Liberty Classic!!!
So the big race is now over. What a race it was....I was fighting every lap to keep myself in the race. From the 2nd lap there was just 2 of us left in the main field, Arley and myself. Every time we hit the wall I just didn't have enough in the tank to kick over it completely and I had to chase back on over the decend and before the next climb. So on the last lap I was taken through a massive pot hole and my handlebars dropped by over an inch, my rear wheel started to come out of the frame and my gears were jumping around, so it was like riding up the steapest hill you have ever ridden up on the flat! I had to watch the field ride away from me on the wall (17% for 1 mile) as I couldn't get out of my seat or I would have crashed, so it was a solo ride back in on a broken bike, I finished though, a bit disappointed but oh well these things happen.
Now I'm back in Lititz having a few rest days, which have been well earnt! I will find out next week if I'm going to Austin, Texas so until then I'm just resting up and then training hard.
