I was greeted at Smithsburg High School for the road race this weekend with a big smile and a little gift by my teammate Anna 
Circus Peanuts!!!
These mid season morsals were very special because they had sufficient car time so they stick together like one big peanut and the aroma takes on a whole new concentration. I knew Jdub would be jealous. Thanks for thinking of me Anna!
Also racing were Fast Kate and Lesley fresh off some very impressive performances at Nature Valley with the Super Pros. Mimi was back trying her legs at the races this year as opposed to officiating. And then a huge surprise attendee was our PA teammate, Bellie. I just renamed her Miracle Mama . She's always been Mama but I added Miracle because good things always happen when she is around.
My race went like this...Lap 2 of 6, Lesely attacked had a little gap. I rolled to the front next to Fast Kate. A few riders began to roll up after Lesley. My attempt to tag on to the back was the first indicator that I had crap legs. I immediately drifted to the back of the field with what sounded like an asthma attack, ok maybe it wasn't my legs after all.
We turned the corner to hit the most difficult rollers on the course. I was still at the back looking for the "skinny side" of the peloton. This would be the side that looks the lightest (lbs.) so I could roll up and over. The strategy didn't work because in the middle of the hill some unnamed rider* (*stolen this from Plain Jane she always refers to the unnamed rider and I KNOW she's talking about me) crashed, jamming up about 10 of us. I had to unclip on the hill to get the bike around the silly mess. Another unnamed rider, big girl, riding for an out of area team, decided she would pick up her bike cross-style and run up the hill. I started laughing and suggested she go across the hill to clip in, it might be a little faster. Sure enough she caught me on the down hill side and began working together to catch the peloton. We chased for 1.5 laps and stayed about the same distance from the group. I give Miracle Mama credit for this next part. They neutralized the field to let the 50+ race go by. This would not have happened if she decided not to race! They restart the field, my legs feel funny from chasing. A few girls decide to ramp it up and a break was formed. I was able to hang in the field the rest of the race but it wasn't pretty. Our very own Lumpy rolled up on the back of our field from the 50+ race. I tried desperately to get him to bust a hole thru the field for the finish but it was a no go.
I offered up some advice to the other girls from last year's race when Goat had the move of the day, taking off on the last rollers and sticking it for the win. I believe she did the same in the field sprint this year! Congrats to Goat on a great well deserved GC win!
After my TT experience I decided nothing good could come of racing the crit. I heard it was brutal. Lesley made the final break and finished up strong in the GC. Fantastic job after 2 weeks of NRC/UCI racing. Big shout out to my buddy Janelle for a monster bridge to the break and a strong finish!
Thanks to Antietam Velo Club for bringing stage racing to the Mid Atlantic.
