Alkek Elite Regionals

Yesterday and today. Lots of racing. 200mTT, 15k Points race, Keirin, Team Sprint, Sprint, Pursuit, 500mTT, 7k Scratch race, and a MADISON! I am toast. Again - much like FSA. Anyways, the usual suspects showed up: Shelby, Cristin, Cyndy, and even Maureen. Unfortunately Julia crashed hard on a ride 2 weeks ago, and though her broken nose and face are healing, her concussion is worse, so she was not racing. I took 3rd in the points race, pursuit, Keirin, and scratch race. Cyndy raced the team sprint with me, so that was a really fun new experience. And of course the Madison! Now, I wasn't *planning* on doing the Madison, but only 3 or 4 teams had signed up, and they needed 5 to actually make it worth running. So at the beginning of tonight, Jameson came up and asked if I'd be his teammate, so they'd have enough teams. For some reason, I said yes. So there I was, racing a 60-lap Madison after I'd already raced 9 times this weekend, and had JUST finished my 7k scratch race. Well, it was a BLAST. Jamison and I agreed to just do the hand-tap exchange, but halfway through we decided to try a sling, and it ROCKED. He slinged me, and it was so much fun! We tried it again the next time, with me slinging him, and it didn't work so well, but I've never done this before, so I was rather happy with our performace (and no crashes). All in all a great race weekend. I came home with a few extra bucks, and some hardware to boot. I actually took Cyndy and the finish a few times, which was a little encouraging since I was off the bike for essentially a month for Africa. It's nice to know I haven't lost as much fitness as I thought. And this whole thing just reminded me how much I LOVE racing. It just makes me feel so awesome.

I said goodbye to everyone at the track tonight, and it was a little hard. I almost started crying when I said bye to Leigh. And he told me he'd introduce me to some really awesome racers in Seattle (whose names I actually recognize from FSA), which simply ROCKS. I'm definitely taking him up on that offer.

Well, now I have to get ready for Andy to arrive, finish organizing my stuff, finish my last day of work, get ready to move, and pack for my trip to Germany - all in the next 5-and-a-half days. Aaaa! Wish me luck...