Brownstown Road Race

This was a great race on a great racing day! Cool, light breezes (always the case in Lancaster!), and beautiful roads.

20 miles, 4 laps of a 5 mile course. 21 riders in the filed to start, 9 of which were members of my team! It was a field of pink!

We started out on the course, which was relatively easy. Mostly flat with only a few big ring climbs. Two of these came at the end of the lap, the last one leading to a false flat to the finish line. My team took the front, setting a nice pace for the first lap. I was up front (3rd behind 2 teammates), so I was COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to the fact that there was a crash less than 2 minutes into the ride. It was brought to everyone's attention when we were neutralized at the end of the first lap because the ambulances (yes, that's plural) were blocking the road. Even then, I admit that it took me a few minutes to realize that the crash was US and not one of the men's fields simultaneously on the course. I finally figured out that the rider who was being taken to the hospital was Tracy from Fuji (a WONDERFUL woman and a veteran rider). We found out yesterday that she had 8 broken ribs and a punctured lung. Apparently, the rider in front of her hit the brakes out of the blue and took her down.

Eventually, they restarted us and we shook off the crash and continued. Again, my team took the lead and pulled us through another lap. At the end of lap 2, some other riders pulled to the front to take over. Is stayed settled into the front half of the pack...just waiting! Though there were a few charges to the front, the pack stayed together and no one seemed interested in pushing off the front (although my legs wanted to, I knew that I couldn't do it on my own!). My team busted their humps to be on the front for nearly the entire race. They were inspirational on Saturday! And, it paid off!

Up the final hill, I pulled to the inside and started my push! I got to the top of the hill with one other rider next to me and we pushed for the finish! I ended up holding off the third place rider to take 2nd!

Whoo hoo - so far a great weekend all around!

Bummer about the crash. We had a similar thing happen early in the year. It may not have even been out of the neutral..., but two of our riders were squeezed from the outside (one rider on each side of them - they shouldn't have even beeen moving up since it was NEUTRAL!) and got knocked together. They went over and another poor gal went over the top of them. One of our gals gashed her knee bad enough for stiches (her next race after the knee was all healed she broke her wrist... poor girl neither accident was really in her control either, mainly bad luck) and the one who went over the top broke her collar bone.

Ah, my old stomping grounds! Congrats on the 2nd place. :D If I am thinking clearly, you would have ridden past the house my family lived in when I was born. :cool: When I got back into riding last year, I loved zooming around back there on the weekends. I'm glad you liked the course. It is a beautiful area, isn't it? The roads are a little thin and curvy but actually, rather safe for most riders since the locals take them slower cuz of the horse and buggies everywhere. Too bad about the crash though. She must have come down really hard.

Don't forget to go on back in Aug for the Covered Bridges Ride with my former bike club. It's not a race... but the scenery shouldn't be missed. http://www.lancasterbikeclub.org/cbm.php
Of course, we are the kick off to the Triple Crown Series that happens in June as well. I hope some of you ladies made it to those. http://www.procyclingtour.com/connected.cfm/press_id/29
Then you've got the US National Cycling Festival this coming weekend in Seven Springs. http://www.7springs.com/bike/roadfestival.htm It's in western PA so maybe a little far for you in NJ. If you ever go though, take some extra time to see some of the cooler sights in the area like Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright. http://www.paconserve.org/index-fw1.asp

Ahhh, so many cool places in PA to see from a bike. :D

Wow, Sarah! Congrats on 2nd place! That's awesome.

I heard there was a crash in the Women's field on another forum. I'm really sad to hear Tracy Lea sustained those injuries.

I raced with your girls Sally and Doreen on Saturday, and them plus Jody and Naomi on Sunday.

-Kristy

congratulations Sarah :)

Thanks, girls!

The whole crash situation was really upsetting! I was sitting there while we were neutralized trying to figure out who was missing, and I finally turned to Naomi and said, "It was TRACY!" It was a shock because she is so strong and such a veteran rider. Just goes to show you that every time we come home from a ride without a scratch, we should be really thankful!

As far as I know, she is feeling better, but with 8 broken ribs, she's going to be in quite a bit of pain and in for a long recovery.

What's next for you, Kristy? I was looking forward to the Dutch Country Stage Race, but the Women's fields were canceled. Looks like I'll have to do the Tour de Toona at the end of the month to get in my stage race for the season! :cool:

One stage race! You gals ought to move out west. We have about 8 (from April to August) within a days drive of Seattle to choose from.

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Originally Posted by Eden

One stage race! You gals ought to move out west. We have about 8 (from April to August) within a days drive of Seattle to choose from.

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There are others, but as a newbie rider, I have been a bit hesitant to try one. I finally got up the guts and then the darn thing got canceled! So, now, I have to do one of the hardest stage races in the state! At least I'll get to watch the pro gals race, too...so I guess I shouldn't complain! :)

Tour de Toona should be fun! I'm not sure if there are any going this year, but we've had some of our higher cat women out there in the past. Don't sweat it - its not as bad as it might sound. Just make sure you have a lot of food around, because I can almost guarantee you'll be hungry all of the time, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and get plenty of sleep.

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Originally Posted by NJBikeGal

What's next for you, Kristy? I was looking forward to the Dutch Country Stage Race, but the Women's fields were canceled. Looks like I'll have to do the Tour de Toona at the end of the month to get in my stage race for the season! :cool:

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I was looking forward to the Dutch Country, too...but in all honesty, I'm not yet back into the swing of things after getting hit by an SUV two weeks ago. Giro de Cielo is next for me. I'll have my bike (and hopefully legs) back by then.

Are you really going to do the Tour de Toona?

I'm sorry (cleaning out my ears)...Did you say, "hit by an SUV"?!?!?! :eek:

What happened?!

I am going to do the Tour. Sally, Naomi, Dana and I are headed out there with our coach to attempt to ride the PA mountains! :) I'm looking forward to getting my butt handed to me on a platter! It's be GREAT! :):)

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Originally Posted by NJBikeGal

I'm sorry (cleaning out my ears)...Did you say, "hit by an SUV"?!?!?! :eek:

What happened?!

I am going to do the Tour. Sally, Naomi, Dana and I are headed out there with our coach to attempt to ride the PA mountains! :) I'm looking forward to getting my butt handed to me on a platter! It's be GREAT! :):)

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It happened at a 4-way stop. Low speed, driver's fault. I was banged up, but nothing serious. It's funny - as it happened, I thought "My glasses! My bike!".

That is so freaking cool about Toona. I was thinking about trying to hook up with a team next year. Did you upgrade to a Cat 3?

Sarah - if you're a 4 OR a 3 - you should do the Giro up here in Sussex County (I work ~25 min away from the giro site). There's a rough uphill TT and crazy crit on Saturday then longer circuit race on Sun. Prize list and amenities are fantastic this year...they've done a great job. It's July 14th and 15th.

I'm a Cat 4 at the moment, but from the looks of things, I'll be upgrading before the end of the season. Dana has been saying this since the NJ State Race!

I thought about doing the Giro, but decided on Toona because I'll have some teammates there with me. Strength in numbers is always good! ;) Plus, that part of PA is soooo pretty! Maybe I'll hit the Giro next year. Good luck to both of you up there! I'm sure you'll have a blast.

Kristy - sorry to hear about your accident...happy to hear that you are ok! Mushed bikes can always be fixed...mushed people...not so much! :) Glad to hear that you are in a non-mushed state!