Quad Cities, 2007

Another weekend, another race. i was super excited to fly back to kc to see all my old training buddies and to drive up to one of my favorite races, quad cites up in Iowa. The first race was on Saturday- snake alley. this one is my favorite, since its almost like a mountain bike short track- nice steep brick climb and super fast decent. i was really hoping to do well since i have been working on my sprinting and descents in CO. as the women's race grew near, the black clouds and lightning started. great. i didn't really care since it was about 80 degrees, and most girls are scared of descending in the rain. perfect for me. so it poured before the start and drenched the course. as we began, i felt really good up the first climb. maybe in 7th or so. as i came around the corner for the second lap of 14, my chain broke. i couldn't believe it. third mechanical in the last 3 races. talk about bad luck. but then a bella who i had just met before the race stops, and hands me her bike. i was like, is this legal? i hopped on her bike and rode the rest of the race. considering i had almost gotten lapped after the chain thing, i managed to salvage my placing of 16th. i was so thankful i got to finish- that was so nice of her to do that for me, and sacrifice her own race. if you are reading this, thank you!
The next day, Melon City, i was on a mission. i was ready to finish a race. the crit course had a nice long hill before the finish which suited me just fine. i felt really good, and got to the front by the last climb. unfortunately i didn't sprint so well, but still ended up 5th. i'll take it. That was the best finish i had ever done at quad cities, so i was happy, and made a little money. sweet. Rock Island was on monday, and the course is flat and fast. i was concerned about being able to sprint all the corners, since i hadn't done a crit like that since last year. it turned out i felt really good, and placed myself top 10 most of the race. instead of power, this race was won on tactics- which i don't have much of. i ended up 7th, but i do think if i had used my head a little better and had more practice doing crits i think i could have been a bit better in the sprint. i was happy though since my friend Catherine Walberg won. all in all it was a great weekend, and good training for upcoming races. i am hoping to go again next year, and tackle that snake alley again..