Update on Whitney's Shoulder

Well...I just went in to xray round two for my fractured shoulder. If you missed it, I fractured it lap three, day two at Speedweek in Roswell, Georgia. Although it seems to be healing exceptionally fast (I'm thinking it's the heavy arnica from Arnicare and veggie combo), I'm still 4-6 weeks out from training on the bike. I do, however, get to start PT with Rodrigo at Diamond Peaks now and can start running if I have no shoulder pain. I guess since it's fractured right where the rotator cuff attaches, it's pretty high risk. I'll continue to combine the now running (from walking!) with hiking, leg and core-work, my exciting 40-min no-hand trainer rides and PT. It's definitely a bummer and I'd give anything to be out there racing with Kat. When I come back, I'll be hungry to make up for lost time. 

4th for Kat at SLC's Downtown Crit

I'm home in SLC for a few weeks, and I'm enjoying it!  Nice to take a little break from traveling and get back into the swing of my SLC routine.  Yesterday I had the pleasure of getting ready for my race in my own apartment, and rolling to the start from my front door.  Rode into the city for the Downtown Crit around Pioneer Park.  A pancake flat 4 corner course, this race reminded me of one of my favorites back home, the Witches Cup, without all the fans and hoopla.  Sadly, the race was not well attended yesterday, but certainly has some potential to be a kick-ass event.

The Pro 1-2-3 field was small, yet very aggressive.  A day later, I'm still excited about how the women's field raced.  With Ski Utah making up the majority of the field and then a handful of other strong solo riders, the race started out with attack after attack.  Mid-way through the race, an attack with Kelsey Bingham from Roosters and Laura Patten from Ski Utah went up the road.  With sprinter Nicky Wansgard from Primal MapMyRide in our group, I didn't react to this move immediately, confident I had another strong rider that wouldn't want to race for 3rd place and would help pull this back, or bridge with me.  Unfortunately for me, this was not the case.  I asked Nicky if she wanted to work with me and she very nicely explained that she coached Kelsey and wouldn't work to pull her back.  I shouldn't have been so surprised, Nicky is a super kind person and selfless racer. Although I was frustrated at how this unexpected dynamic impacted my race, I did appreciate Nicky's honesty and am thankful we have good people like her in the women's field.  I worked with Cathy Kim from Cafe Rio after attempts to bridge solo failed.  When we were shown 3 laps to go on this small course, I decided to stop working and focus on winning the field sprint.  In the final lap, Nicky attacked on the back stretch with Laura Howat from Ski Utah on her wheel.  I stayed on Laura's wheel into the final corner and then jumped, passing Laura and almost getting Nicky on the line.  If only the finish was another foot down the road.  If only I had followed the attacked. If, if, if.  I was frustrated with myself, but luckily had a nice ride home to process my performance at the race and take away some positives for the day.   

Kat leading the chase

The rest of my day was spent enjoying Matt's race, watching the Tour of California interspersed with some snoozing, and eating delicious fish tacos from Lonestar.  A nice weekend.

Buzzed

We've all had it happen: you are on a training ride in the middle of nowhere, minding your own business and riding in the shoulder or right side of the lane. A car too impatient to pass safely, or perhaps not paying attention, passes and buzzes you so closely, your heart skips a beat and you swear your life passed before your eyes. Some of us have also had the misfortune of being hit or being hauled off from a race in an ambulance. While all are unpleasant situations to think about, it's best to be prepared. While some situations you can't control, you can carry your personal information with you, so if something were to happen, your identity and emergence contacts are known and you can be better taken care of, faster.

Kat heading out for a ride with her Road ID Elite

Paceline Projects p/b Veloforma is a part of the Road ID Affiliate Program, meaning for every Road ID purchased through the link on our site (click on the Road ID logo to the right), we receive 10% to support the growth of our women's program.  If you or your loved ones (this includes your furry canine friends *See Scout ID) is in need of a Road ID for your rides, runs, trail hikes, etc, please do consider purchasing through our site to support our program!

Thanks and safe riding!

MO PRO Recap

After returning home from Speedweek, I spent a few days in SLC before packing up my Veloforma again for the Missouri Professional Cycling Series this past weekend.  Three days of racing in some of St. Louis' very cool neighborhoods, including a night crit in the Loop, Tour de Grove on Saturday, and the Dutchtown crit on Sunday afternoon.  I spent Friday in airports and arrived in St. Louis to a wonderful Billie who picked me up from the airport.  Billie and Leif are an awesome couple I met last year, and I was excited to be able to see them again.  Luckily, I had enough time to build up my bike (with some help from the puppies) and head to the race.

Chase and foster pup Primrose aka Little Girl (Final member of this dog trio, Farley, is curiously absent from this photo...) 

Unfortunately, I was pressed enough for time before the start that I was a bit out of sorts.  Pinning four numbers to my jersey (not an easy task on small jerseys) and sorting out bike issues left me frazzled and not in the best state of mind before a night crit!  I focused on chilling out before we staged and as we began the race, I was in a much better frame of mind.  I aimed to stay either on the front or very close to front at the start of the race given how dark the backside of the course was.  I went for the early prime, but Samantha Schneider from Tibco came around me at the line which she repeated some 50 minutes later to to the rest of the field to win the race.  After this early prime effort, I eased up and found myself at the back to recover for a lap or two.  Wrong move.  The back of the course was very dark and as the field funneled into a tight corner with a large mound in the apex of the turn, things got a little crazy.  I realized too late that I had not given myself enough reaction time.  The speed changed drastically in front of me when riders braked to avoid a collision, and I had no where to go but into the wheel I was following.  I hit the pavement pretty hard in an awkward manner which left me joking about it to the officials in the pit.  Thanks to the extra padding in the rear, I didn't suffer any road rash.  Score.  Unfortunately, my bike hit the pavement just as hard as I did and was not able to re-enter the race.  The derailleur was bent and during the attempt to fix it, my derailleur hanger snapped in half.  And that's how Day 1 of racing ended.  All hopped on adrenaline and no bike.  I was pretty bummed.

SRAM and Big Shark Bikes' mechanic Steven kept my bike after the race in order to fashion a replacement hanger that would get me through the weekend.  At 2:00 AM on Saturday, I got a text from Steven to let me know my bike was ready to go.  Talk about going the extra mile- thank you!  (SRAM's mechanics Jose and Steven went out of their way on numerous occasions to help me out last year. As a solo rider, I can't tell you how much their kindness, generosity, and expertise means.  These guys are awesome and I can't thank them enough.)  With a working bike, I was able to line up for Saturday's Tour de Grove, a USA Crit and National Crit Calendar event.  With about $7,000 on the line for the Pro Women, this was a pretty big race.  My legs were feeling good despite being sore from Friday's spill and I raced well for the majority of the race...right up until the last turn on the last lap.  I completely lost my nerve as the pace increased and the field swarmed around me heading into the 180 degree sweeping corner to the finish.  Instead of holding my position and being confident, I freaked out and the entire field went by.  I rolled in about 33rd and I was very disappointed with myself.

With great company and some delicious BBQ Saturday evening to recover, a stop at Jilly's Cupcake Bar to fuel up before Sunday's race, and some time to re-focus, I was ready to go and in the right mindset for our final race.

So many choices...

Billie knew just what I needed to turn my racing around...

Vanilla Corn Cupcake and Maple Butter cream Frosting with Fried Chicken & Waffle.  Drizzled with  some Maple Syrup.  Yes, this was my pre-race meal.  

The Dutchtown course is a fun one through residential and business areas and along a park, with an uphill drag to the finish.

Getting ready for surgery and unable to ride, Leif couldn't race this weekend.  Instead, he drove the lead moto in our race!

I was determined to end the weekend on a good note.  I moved around quite a bit in the field, working on keeping the confidence up, and went for a prime and won.  With about 4 laps to go, Vanderkitten racer Jenn Reither attacked. No one chased as previous attacks with multiple riders had proved unsuccessful.  I think most of us thought the field would catch her.  Heading into the last lap, Carrie Cash Wootten from Pedal the Cause attacked and I followed, but the field was clearly on top of that and Jenn was still up the road.  She stayed away for the win and the rest of us followed shortly after, gearing up for the sprint for 2nd place.  I found myself too far back on the downhill heading into the second to last corner, so put in the effort and moved up to the front on the inside as we came through the corner and stayed on Mellow Mushroom's Laura Van Gilder's wheel into the start/finish straight.  Didn't loose my nerve and was in good position for the sprint- progress!  Finished 4th in the sprint, so 5th for the day which I was pleased with.  After the race, a little boy from the neighborhood asked me how I did.  When I told him, he responded, "Wow, that's impressive for a girl like you!"  I was a bit unsure what the "girl like you" part was about, but I soon found out when he asked, "Is you a teenager, or a grown-up?"  I laughed and told him I was a grown-up, but conceded that many times I get confused for a teenager. His next response left Billie and I laughing hysterically as he explained (and acted out) that I looked like one of those grown-ups who looks really young, doesn't grow much, and races horses really fast.  Kids are a hoot.

Enjoyed the rest of the day with Billie, Leif, and the dogs.  Billie, who owns First Impressions Skin Care in St. Louis, gave me a little make-up lesson and we enjoyed some more delicious cupcakes as we wrapped up the weekend.  Leif was super kind to drop me off at the airport at a ridiculous hour Monday morning, and I spent the rest of the day going from airport, to airport, to airport, to airport, and then finally arrived in SLC.  Went straight to work and was welcomed back by very excited, not to mentioned well behaved, kids.  After a long travel day, I was very thankful for this.



 

Healed with Arnicare

After my spill in Roswell, Georgia, my right leg and arm were missing a large amount of skin and both were very swollen. I assumed it'd be the typical 2-3 weeks of hobbling around with a ton of gross scabs, causing people to walk around me like I was infected by a zombie. I started using some homeopathetic remedies from Arnicare USA, one of our sponsors. Having never used Arnicare before, I thought to myself, I cant really hurt myself any worse than I already feel... Less than a week after the accident, all my road rash was not swollen, scab-free, and not tender anymore....no, really.

I started taking Arnica Montana (Mountain Daisy) orally a couple times a day which aids with muscle aches and stiffness, swelling from injuries, and discoloration from bruising. Along with the oral arnica, I used the Arnicare Gel on my bruises. I can't say I'm bruise free but I have had full use and mobility of my bruised left hand (and only hand currently!) that the ER thought I tore a ligament in. Finally on my abrasions and road rash, I opted for Calendula Ointment (another type of flower)...it was just like a neosporin in texture but way more awesome. It says it's for chapped skin, scrapes, cuts and burns...however after one (one!) day the swelling in my leg-road rash had gone down and the wound began to heal so rapidly. Not to be gross, but you know when a scab comes off too early and the freshly-exposed skin is so sensitive and painful? I never experienced that at all and the wound was healing so much faster on its own.

You can barely see the discoloration from the road rash that was bleeding all over the place 11 days ago.

I'm happy to report that I'm healed minus my fracture and will definitely continue to use Arnicare in the future, on and off the bike. It was just a really flabbergasting experience for me.

P.S. They have sooo many remedies for other ailments too like colds, allergies, etc. Check them out and learn more about homeopathetic medicine at their website: http://www.boironusa.com/

Kat breaks into Top 10 at Speedweek!

Speedweek, a USA Crit event and part of the National Criterium Calendar, culminated with the Sandy Springs Global Imports Cycling Challenge yesterday afternoon, a fun circuit with an uphill finish and 6 turns making for a pretty smooth and fun ride.  Although maybe not quite as peppy as in previous races, my legs felt fine yesterday even though this was the 7th race in 9 days and I had driven over 20 hours over the course of the week.  The use of Arnica Gel and self-massage, along with some yoga, really helped me to feel fresh and ready to race each day. *If you've never given this stuff a try, check it out at your local co-op, Wholefoods, etc! 

 Yes, I did go through an entire tube in one week!

I enjoyed a call-up for 10th overall and then we were off for our final 40 laps.  It was obvious that everyone was feeling tired to some degree.  Attacks by Tibco and Mellow Mushroom in the final laps proved successful and they managed to hold on to their seconds lead over the field to the finish.  I choose the right side of the road for the sprint and was rewarded by not going down in a small crash on the left side when riders swung too wide and went into the barriers.  Although I was a bit over-geared for the uphill sprint, I managed to pass a couple riders and finished 8th for the day which moved me into 9th place overall.  Although there is a quite a bit of improvement to be made, I'm pleased with how this first week of racing went and excited for our future races.  I had a great time in the southeast and I'm very happy to have met some awesome new friends, Kate & Pete and their lovely family in Atlanta and Rocky and Joan in Beaufort.  It was wonderful to see some old friends too, Shannon Greenhill, the Barnets, and Richard Dillard.  Thank you all for your hospitality and encouragement over the course of the race.  A huge thank you goes out to SRAM, those guys are always so pleasant and helpful, and last but not least, Ashley at Swagger for all her help over the week!  

After the race ended at 3:30pm, I summoned my ninja skills to pack up my bike as quickly as possible and make it back to Atlanta to return the rental car, catch the shuttle, drag my bike box and bags through the airport, and get to my gate on time for a 6:50 departure.  Painful and exhausting.  Matt rocks and picked me up at 11:30 in Salt Lake, and I was welcomed home with a sweet birthday celebration that involved Georgetown Cupcakes (from my bro via my mom) and some nifty gifts from the family (a camping hammock, dutch oven, mixing bowls, maple syrup, and this sweet shirt from my bro...)

*In case you can't see, it's a ninja.  Riding a bike.  Thanks to Dan, Mom & Steve, Leslie & Fred, and Matt :)

Anyway, it's good to be home!  For 4 days.  Yep, I fly out Friday for Tour de Grove.  Resting up a bit the next couple days and hoping work isn't too crazy this afternoon.  Looking forward to racing in St. Louis and seeing Billie and Leif!      

      

Some Speedweek photos

Have to share some of these great pics Rocky sent from my Beaufort leg of Speedweek!

Rocky & Kat getting ready for a ride

Heading out St. Helena Island

Beaufort pre-race spin

Electric City Circuit

Today was one of the more challenging days of Speedweek.  It was hot and humid today in Anderson, SC and the Pro Women's field was scheduled to go off at 2pm and complete 40 laps of the Electric City Circuit, a loop around a big exposed field.  There was no ice machine at the hotel(strange), but I did find a lunch box ice pack in the fridge.  I borrowed the ice pack, stuffed it down the back of my jersey, and huddled with the rest of the women's field underneath the little shade available will waiting for the start of our race.  I honestly can't remember much about the race besides that it was ridiculously hot and at 3 or 4 laps in, I was plagued with self-doubt and wasn't sure I was going to make it to the finish.  When the free laps ended, I was still there thanks to my ice pack and attacked for a prime.  I won the prime and found myself in a 3 person move, but we were shut down pretty quickly and I focused on trying to recover as quickly as possible and move back up towards the front for the sprint.  I finished 10th in the sprint, 11th for the day as Tibco's solo break early in the race was successful.  After consuming lots of water and juice and stopping for a mini Cinco de Mayo celebration to refuel, I drove back to Atlanta to rest up for our final race tomorrow in Sandy Springs.  

In my heat induced delirium I thought these folks might be Speedweek fans camped out at Electric City, following  us throughout the southeast like their European counterparts during the Tour.  Not quite.

Good times in Spartanburg, SC

Hello all!  Had a great time racing in Spartanburg yesterday evening.  I arrived a bit on the early side in order to have time to connect with the former Mayor of Spartanburg and fellow Dartmouth graduate, Mr. Barnet and his wife Valerie.  They came out to enjoy the race and festival and of course, I enjoyed Mr. Barnet's banter and greeting, "So, is this what you are doing with your Dartmouth degree?"  I guess a liberal arts education has lead to a VERY liberal post college experience!  From racing a bike in circles to teaching art, working in the ski industry and the public health field, and baking, the Dartmouth student's thirst for new experiences, challenges, and knowledge hasn't diminished even though I left Hanover a long time ago.  This family was incredibly generous and welcoming when I did an college internship in Spartanburg with SEAD, a program to empower high-school students from under resourced backgrounds to excel in high school and college.  I was thrilled to be able to connect with the Barnets and hear their updates on all my students' wonderful achievements, and enjoyed their support at the race as well as their friend Richard Dillard's.  Richard was one of the first people I rode with when starting to bike 7 years ago.  

With their wishes of good luck, I lined up for our race yesterday evening and enjoyed a call-up for sitting in 10th overall.  It is quite nice to start the race at the front and not worry about having to fight your way up there.   The race yesterday evening was faster than the previous races, most likely due to the large sweeping turns on the course that made it easy to maintain speed even though the course wasn't flat.  I was pleased with my effort yesterday, winning a prime, spending some time on the front to bring back breaks.  While doing work as a solo rider looking to be fresh for the sprint might not be the best idea, it makes for a better experience in the race and most of this week has been about testing myself and where my fitness is at.  Once again I botched up my chances for the sprint with my position, coming into the straight on the left side of the road where a curb and barriers jut out at two points, and I had no place to get through to pass the 3 racers in front of me who were neck and neck going at the same speed to the line.  15th for the day.  One of these days, it will click!  Maybe even today?  Race goes off in about an hour.  Time to get ready and stuff my back pockets with ice from the hotel ice machine.  It's hot and humid in Anderson today.

GO! GO! GO!

Speed is the theme for the week here.  7 races in 9 days and quite a bit of traveling in between.  It's pretty much been go, go, go since Whitney and I arrived in Atlanta almost a week ago.  The Walterboro race was a good one and there was quite the large group of kids cheering.  Thank you to Forest Hills Elementary School for the encouragement!  Had a fun time racing, each day feeling more and more comfortable moving around the pack, taking corners, and sticking my nose out in the wind, and bridging and following some moves.  The Walterboro course has a very long and wide section that parallels the start/finish straight and this is where the race is won.  The second to last, and last corners are tight and it's a short distance to the line after you pop out of the last turn.  Unfortunately, I did not win the race to position on the backside of the course and was way too far back to be anywhere close to contesting the field sprint.  Finished 19th for the day which was disappointing, but managed to remain in 10th place overall.  The Pro Women were very fortunate to be treated to a delicious and fun post-race reception following our race by the McLeod, Fraser and Cone Law Firm.  They've been putting on this special event for the women for many years now, and we hope they know how much we appreciate their thoughtfulness!

Sara, Carrie, Kat & Chris enjoy the lake view

Yesterday was an off day for us as we traveled to Anderson, SC.  We had a fun caravan going with Carrie Cash Wootten and Chris Roettger, and we enjoyed a nice spin around a lake (although somewhat anxiety provoking as Sara got a flat on the highway, Carrie sliced her finger open on the glass as she was helping to fix the flat, and then Chris was chased and nipped at by two dogs, and I kept wondering what lay in store for me.)  We made it back to the cars for lunch and Sara and I hopped some fences to get down to a beach.  The water was perfect and we enjoyed a very nice recovery swim!  After arriving in Anderson, our home away from home for a couple days, we went downtown to enjoy some live music and a tasty birthday dinner at a new joint in town, Summa Joe's, serving local produce and homemade pizzas.  Great food, some vino, live band playing the good stuff, a little cake, and merry company made for a great birthday.  Thank you guys!

Summa Joe's Birthday Dinner

Tonight we are off to Spartanburg, SC about an hour's drive from our hotel for the 5th race of the series.  This course will be challenging with a bit of a hill in it and will definitely be missing Whitney for this one.  We spoke just a bit ago and her healing is coming along nicely- thankful to Arnicare for Calendula and Arnica Montana to help my teammate feel better!

 

Gimpin'

So as Kat mentioned, I took a pretty good spill Sunday. Seeming how I'm stuck with only one hand, I'll keep things extra brief. After a jaw-chattering and foot-tapping ER visit (my two, odd reactions to pain), and Kat helping me get some drugs, pack, and rewrap my wounds, I found a flight home the next morning. I guess being covered in road rash with a sling and a splint, you warrant attention, wanted or not. Some of the Southwest crew were awesome and helped me get my luggage checked in. TSA originally wanted to pat me down, road rash and all, since i couldn't lift my arm for the body scanner.  Luckily I dodged that too. By the time I got to my gate, I was the last to board and stuck in the middle seat with my oozing wounds nearly touching two dudes, neither of who thought to offer up their more prized seats so I could not ooze on them. Either way, my pain meds kicked in and I passed out...my mom picked me up and I promptly passed out for the ride home and then took a three hour nap until Zack got home. The next day was an Orthopedic doctor appt my mom shuttled me too. While my bruised and swollen hand is okay, my fractured shoulder is not. It's fractured where the rotator cuff muscles meet the shoulder bone. They are hoping after a month of a sling and no shoulder movements, the fracture will have healed enough to start PT and eventually riding. Assuming I heal, it's looking like my racing season is on pause until August, which leaves me with Tour of Elk Grove, Gateway Cup, and Mayor's Cup. It's definitely a bummer as I was really looking forward to racing with Kat all year, not to mention our awesome schedule, but I'm going to make the best of it. I can ride the trainer without hands, walk, hike, and do non-arm activities. I'm focusing on what I can do and hope to come back to race with Kat with a POW!

Beaufort Recap- Onward and Upward

Hello again!  Paceline Projects p/b Veloforma is slowly inching our way up in the Speedweek competition.   Hopefully this steady progress continues!  Yesterday evening I lined up for the 3rd race in the series in Beaufort, SC.  With a particularly tight and technical corner on turn #1 which spits the riders that make it through upright out on a narrow road, I knew that I would have to do a better job of positioning myself in the race if I wanted to stay safe and have a decent result.  After a nice spin on St. Helena Island in the morning and a stellar pre-race turkey sandwich (and yes, Rocky and Joan roasted this turkey themselves so it was delicious and noteworthy), the legs were feeling good and I was ready to race.  My new Beaufort fans were very vocal during the race, and Rocky's reminders to move up were encouraging and did the trick.  I stayed out of trouble and spent more time towards the front than I have been the past couple days, so success in that regard.  With Mellow Mushroom and Tibco forming a strong break of two up the road, multiple all racer primes, and few field primes, the pack was fairly complacent and those of us in the field prepared for the field sprint.  We went through a sweeping bend heading to the finish line and things became a little dicey when some were not very careful to hold their lines.  It happens.  With no where to go but into the barriers or another rider who was also trying to avoid the sporadic sprinting, I had to ride in at the same position I headed into the finish with.   About 10th or so.  Finished 12th for the day.

Veloforma enjoys Beaufort view at dusk.  Special thanks to Alex Raicer for providing me with some super fancy wheels to race on this week. 

Enjoyed a wonderful post-race meal (a local shrimp, chorizo sausage, green apple, alfredo sauce, mozzarella and basil pizza) with Rocky, Joan, their neighbors, and Sara Clafferty, another racer who volunteered to be my travel buddy for the remainder of the week.  In case you are curious if this seemingly bizarre pizza combination was good, it's a ordering risk worth taking if you have the opportunity.  Very tasty.

This morning called for an early departure, as I volunteered to visit a local elementary school in Walterboro, SC the location of today's race.  Of course, I woke up to this funny card from the Keith's wishing me a Happy Birthday before we continued onward to Walterboro.

Joan & Kat 

Sara and I were escorted to Forest Hill Elementary School by Melissa who heads up the Let's Go! Program which aims to get more kids and their families moving and eating healthy.  We arrived to a packed auditorium with very enthusiastic kids to discuss bike safety, making healthy snack choices, and the races tonight.

We had some volunteers come up to the stage to see if they could pick the bikes up, and of course even the littlest ones, hoisted my Veloforma right over their heads with ease.  They had many questions ranging from "I like to ride fast, but my dad tells me to slow down or I'll break my bike, but I really want to ride fast, what do I do?" to "What do you do when you can't keep up with your friends?"  Of course there were the usual inquiries too: Why are your tires so thin?  Why do you wear that?  Why do your pedals look like that?  Are you famous and have you been on TV?  I had a great time and sounds like we will have some young fans out there tonight to wish us luck.  I'm planning on doing a bit of spectating this evening as well.  Kids' race in a few hours!  Excited for tonight and was notified by my friends and forever teammates, Debony and Bruce, from back home in NH that I'm sitting in 10th overall.   Looking forward to continuing that upward climb this evening!

Stay tuned...

Rosewell & Other Speedweek Updates

Greetings from Beaufort, SC!  After a hectic couple of days, I have the opportunity to put my feet up and reflect on Speedweek thus far.  So, we've hit some bumps.  After an exciting first race at Athens, Whitney and I were geared up for our race the following day in Rosewell, GA, eager to use our diverse strengths to complement one another and achieve a notable result.  Unfortunately, luck plays a role in our races, and we were most unlucky this past Sunday.   Early in the race, Whitney was caught up in a crash on the back side of the course which left her quite beat up.  Although this tough cookie was adamant on staying at the race for the finish and postponing the trip to the ER, she eventually caught a ride with the ambulance to have her elbow, shoulder, and hand looked at.  Upon Whitney's direction, I remained in the race and luckily avoided the later crashes.  Feeling a bit unsafe hanging out in the middle of the pack, I opted to take a page from my teammate's book (How to Race Like a Bad Ass Woman: Thoughts and Reflections From an Aggressive Racer.  Chapter 1 Don't be pack fill.)  I got to the front and stayed there for a bit going for a cash prime.  I won the prime and stayed toward the front for a bit after that, but heading into the finish, things became dicey again and I didn't quite have my wits about me.  I drifted too far back heading into the last corner before a long drag to the start/finish line, eliminating all chances of a good result.  I still managed to pass quite a number of riders to secure a 18th place finish.  Eh.  Nice shot from the race on cyclingnews... http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/roswell-criterium-2012/photos/220319

Once I found Whitney's bike, rental car keys etc, I made my way to the ER to find the nurse torturing her (in the kindest way possible) with his scrub brush.  Most of us have been there and know how crummy it is to hit the pavement, although it's impossible to recall the pain of road rash with complete accuracy.  After x-rays they discharged her and we made our way back to Atlanta after a quick stop at CVS for essential items (meds, pints of ice cream, spoons.)  Monday morning, the hospital called Whitney to let her know that they did find a fracture and she needed to follow-up with a specialist.  After packing up the bike and car, I drove Whitney to the airport so she could get back home and start the healing process as soon as possible.  I continued on to our next race location and arrived in Beaufort, SC late yesterday afternoon.  After a long and lonely drive, I was welcomed by my hosts Rocky and Joan Keith and their soccer playing pup Kiley.  They are phenomenal folks and I'm so grateful for their hospitality and company!  Rocky and I went out for a great spin last night and then enjoyed a delicious dinner and my favorite, dessert!

Feeling well rested today and looking forward to a fun night of racing in Beaufort this evening!