My First first!

[NJBikeGal]

I won my first race yesterday!! I'm very excited and had to share the news with all you ladies...

It was a crit in the Lehigh Valley. It was tough for a crit, with two big hills and a descent that allowed us to hit 43+ mph! The race started out relatively controlled...with everyone sticking together for the first couple of laps. After about 4, the group started to splinter a bit and I realized I was in a break of 7 women. A few laps later, we lost one of our seven and the 6 of us were together for the rest of the race. There were a few preme laps, but no one really attacked. On the final lap, one woman attacked on the first big hill. I followed, but didn't counter attack...we were still a ways from the finish. At the bottom of the final hill, I started to charge. I caught her at the top and pulled ahead to the finish line!

I got to raise my arms up over my head and everything...how FUN! :)

[uk elephant]

Congratulations! That must have been such a rush!

[limewave]

Yay! So thrilling! Congrats.

[ohmyspokes]

Yay Sarah! George said he knew you were going to win it all along.

Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you. I had ridden there and my bladder was about to burst.

Was it dry for your race? That descent was scary as he!! in the rain the first few times down.

Congrats! That is so awesome and what a way to wrap up your first season.

[NJBikeGal]

Sorry I missed you, too....I had to rush out of there to get all the way down to North Wildwood for a dinner banquet with the hubby. Good thing I left when I did, because I got lost going home. Man, I hate driving in PA! I didn't really get lost...I just took the scenic route! :)

We didn't have any real rain for our race...just a bit of drizzle, but it was hardly even noticeable. I was thinking about you guys as I was heading home in constant rain! I hope that it wasn't too bad, but I'm sure that first hill was a doozy! How did the race go for you? What was your field like?

[ohmyspokes]

I was soooo not in the mood to race, shivering in the rain at the start line...

I went up the hill hard a few times and Colleen (multi time national junior champ on road and track) rode up next to me and said "If we keep the pace up on this hill, we'll drop people". So she and I took turns, with Arley from Boston Scientific pitching in. And she was right - I looked back and there were six of us: Jackie, Colleen, me, Arley, Emily from GPOA, and Barbara from Somerset. Tough group! We lapped a few girls. I tried keeping a high pace up the hill and heard after the race that they were fighting for my wheel. Got into a little predicament at the end, since I knew every one of these girls could beat me in a sprint. So I gunned it out of the saddle on the last rise, but was passed by them all at the line. :o So, sixth place for me. I was just glad it was over :)

Here's a photo from one of the early laps.

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1179890513&size=l

[Zen]

I got to raise my arms up over my head and everything...how FUN! :)

:D :D :D YAY YOU!

[SheFly]

Congrats! That is the one that has eluded me all season, but good for you for capturing a win! Very well deserved.

SheFly

[AZSpinner]

Wooooohooooo!!!!

[cosc]

NJbikegirl, what a great competitor you are. How I wish I could of watched your win. Congrats.:D

Ohmyspokes, sounds like a challenging race with you giving your all.

[maillotpois]

Wow that is SO great!!!!

[ehirsch83]

congrats!! That is amazing! you go girl:-)

[NJBikeGal]

Kristy, I do not envy you that kind of race on that course. It was a really tough course! Sounds like you put in one heck of a fight though...great job! I admire your guts when it comes to going on the attack...I still have to work on that!

There was a photographer on site taking pics, but he didn't stay into the rainy 1/2/3 race. Here's a photo of me at the finish.

[slmdunc]

Yeeeeeeah! Now that's just COOL!!!! Way to go! :cool:

[ohmyspokes]

What a cool photo. I'm really happy for you!

[RoadRaven]

Woohoo LimeWave

Just adding my "very cool" thoughts to this thread - awesome effort - such a thrill

I haven't won many races and I remember my first win VERY well
:D

[NJBikeGal]

So...to add to my first place news, I just received approval of my upgrade to Cat 3! Yippee...of course, now I have to go back to racing against ohmyspokes! :p

I'm really excited about this. My goal at the start of the season was to finish one road race and one crit. That was it. Simple, easy, straightforward. Now, I'm actually considering a long term goal of getting to Cat 2 and racing the Liberty Classic. I may be insane, but I'd really love to do that! Anywho...that would be a LONG term goal. For now, I just want to hone my skills and keep racing. :)

[ohmyspokes]

Alright. Welcome to the 3's.

I see someone snagged a 3rd place finish at the Rodale Fitness Park. :cool:

What do you think of the course over there? That's where we have our Thursday training crits.

[SheFly]

So...to add to my first place news, I just received approval of my upgrade to Cat 3! Yippee...of course, now I have to go back to racing against ohmyspokes! :p

Welcome to a whole new level of suffering :D I knew that racing as a 3 was going to be harder, but wasn't QUITE prepared for the big jump. Of course, here we have to race with the 1/2s...

Congrats on the upgrade!

SheFly

[Tri Girl]

Very cool! Nice photo- I only dream of winning a race and raising my arms up like you did. Congrats!!!!

[Eden]

Congrats on the upgrade. I'll be doing the same thing soon here, but I've heard good news. Next year even though we'll still be racing with the 1/2's they will be scoring every race separately! I think it will be great for the women's field out here. Its been a bit stagnant since it becomes difficult for 3's to get enough points to move up (a small group of 1-2's take most of the wins....) now maybe some day we'll truely have divided fields.

[NJBikeGal]

Thanks, all...it's nice to be able to share my good news here with y'all!

Kristy - I thought Rodale was a pretty nice course. You can't beat the road surface and the fantastic banked turns. If only there were more hills! :p Not too many....just one more! Sally has always had good races there, and it's definitely a course that plays to her talents. I heard that you're going to be riding with an NJ team? Good luck...I know that you will be a great asset to any team that you join! :)