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.