Medford Race

Unfortunately, I have been feeling sick since Millersburg. It started out as a kind of stomach thing, where I would not feel well after I ate. Which, of course, made me eat less. I have been drinking a lot of water, but food has not been too appealing of late, so the eating thing has not been so good. I started feeling a bit better mid-week, so I figured that I would still get out there and race Medford. After all, it was being promoted by a buddy, Ken Mills, and I want to support local racing...so....

It was a small field, only 10 riders on the start line. With prize money going 10 deep, we were all in good form from the get. I punched it from the line, wanting to make sure that this wasn't one of those days where we tool around at 15 mph for 45 minutes and then sprint for the line. They surprised us with a few primes while we were out there, which was really nice...although I wasn't really feeling up for chasing them.

The field was small, but strong...Jess Chong was in there, as was Beth Bonilla, Tricia Carnila, and Jackie Paull. In fitting form, the 5 of us ended up breaking from the other 5 and beating the crud out of one another. Jess launched a wicked attack and was away for about 6 laps. Tricia, Beth and I worked our butts off to keep her within reach and then I made a massive effort at one point and caught her. We stayed together for a few laps and then the attacks began again. This time, Jess got out and I was at the front. When I tried to have someone else pull through, I realized that it wasn't going to happen. Right then, Beth launched and bridged up to Jess. DAMN! Tricia and I reeled them in again right before the final turn to the finish, but we were too cooked to fight them for the win. Still, we sprinted our butts off against one another to take 4th (me) and 5th (Tricia)! It was a fun day overall. My health is not thanking me now, and G told me that I was not allowed to race tomorrow, but that's okay!

It is always such a treat to race with women like them. Women that are willing to put their own bodies on the line, willing to push themselves to the limit to see what they can do. Women who are not satisfied to simply sit in the pack and wait for the finish, but who want to mix it up and play, even if it doesn't always work out.

Check out the video on the local paper's website...click here and then scroll down...it's on the right hand side!