PUR Tour

So the 13-14 race was perty sweet and 11 juniors showed up (10boys 1girl). The boys were all fueled by testosterone but for me I just kept thinking I woke at 5:30 so I could do this race...yeah 5:30AM I think I am crazy (but for bob's it was worth it). It was cool though I mean all of the boys were like hammer heads on the front so I just sat in, smiled for the camera, and held on. And at the end I attacked on the hill like 800 m from the finish and rolled in for the V and it felt good because I knew I was not the strongest rider at the start line...boys.

Race 2
Well, at the start line I switched to the 15-18 girls cat. Since there were actually girls in it but they only showed me 2 of them at the start line so the 3rd one was stamped with a big ? mark. I was tired from the first race but i am fueled by money so i was like OK don't know how long i will last with the women but i will try so i lasted about 8 or 9 laps till I started getting goose bumps and a little woozy, went for a prime and drooped off, and no i did not get the prime which i was OK with at the end of the race because i would have ended up with like 100 pounds of dog food....but yes I was still in the hunt for the 15-18 race and I no we lapped 2 of the girls but I had know idea where the 3rd was. Well, she was still in the pack...dang it. Well came in 2nd which was cool even though I was the first loser:( Well the savage women's team did awesome they seemed to be strong in every area. The savage guys and Juniors did awesome as well...Todd your crazy!

After about one lap two people brokeaway. I chased them down on the uphill half of the but not after expending most of my energy. I stuck with that group till about one lap to go when the winner of the race sprinted away. I immediately knew I would not be able to beat him in the condition I was in so I stuck with the other kid and
waited to see if he would make a move. When we got to the hill he still hadn't made a move so I sprinted ahead of him and finished in 2nd saving some energy.

There was a decent sized field for the 15-16 junior field of about 15 people. The field stayed together for the first several laps, it wasn't until the masters field passed us that things started happening. The masters had a decent sized field, so when they caught us it became quite confusing. Billy and Jeremiah took advantage of the situation and were able to establish a breakaway after the masters field had passed. They were able to stay away for about 2-3 laps. After the field caught them the pace slowed down and stayed that way until that last lap. The field flew up the last hill and when it came time to sprint for the line I was in too low of a gear to catch third place, but still was able to hold on to fourth.

The placing of SHC ladies in this race is due to an actual race strategy and hard efforts by my teammates Kelly, Wendy, and Amy; Brooke was along, but racing in the juniors 15-18 division.

We started the race by sitting in, but that didn't last long. I took a pull. Next thing I know, Wendy is doing long pulls setting a good tempo; and so is Amy; Kelly was up there, too. When attacks happened, it seemed to be Wendy and Amy chasing things down. Wendy was out front a lot. I was sitting in most of the race, waiting for primes or the finish to shake things up. For the third prime, I wasn't really going for it, just ready if a breakaway happened. Nope, everyone came back together.

Then it was time for the finish. Excellent tempo by Kelly up the hill to hurt everyone; but I was forced into my sprint too early when a Kenda woman jumped, and I felt she was a threat. I became the leadout for non-team members, and watched my finishing position of potentially first slip away at the 20 meter mark, and wheels began going by me. I thought I even got nipped at the line by one more wheel, then was relieved to see it was Amy. Turns out my bike throw must actually have worked, because they scored me fifth. Sorry, ladies, that I couldn't give us a higher finish--that sprint was just too soon. With no real wheel to be my leadout, since I didn't want Kenda to get away, I spent all my energy getting up to sprint speed, which wasn't too impressive today. I'll blame it on the hill and the heat. Still, we had a good showing.

Props to everyone who raced in the heat and humidity. It sure was a rough day all around. Great turnout and finishes by our juniors. That squad sure is coming along strong. They'll be fun to watch next year!

Hot, hot, hot! Unless you are one of the gifted, this one was all about surviving the heat.

Deep field of about 70 and HOT. I tried once to get into a break, but with the heat and course it was difficult to stay away. I could gain a lot of ground on the climb, which you could just power over. On the last lap coming into the climb I jumped on Andy's wheel from Break Away and it turned out to be a good move for the field sprint.

I hadn’t been on the bike since Tuesday, so I wasn’t expecting to do all too well. I just planned on helping teammates if I could. The race started with Craig reprimanding me on the first lap for sitting in the back, so I went for a prime to shut him up – got nipped at the line. I was having waves of feeling good and not-so-good due to the extreme heat. The team was working together well. I tried to get up front and set the pace the last few times up the climb. I didn’t think I’d have much left for the finish, but I ended up having more than I thought. Finished as the first loser – they paid out 6 and I got 7th. Nice job to all the SH women!

3-4 race
Couldn't get back in line to the wheel I wanted for the finish. It was a shame because I was still feeling good at this point. At least I got the cash prime.

1-2-3 race.
Control room to legs...we need more power. legs to Control room...we're given her all she's got captain. Control room to legs...keep pedaling. legs to Control room...pedal this, we're done.

Nice size field. One lone Dayton guy got off and stayed away. I easly took the field sprint. Took one prime too,

I love this course. It was a sunny, but rather hot day, especially out on black asphalt. I made it several laps into the race, some of them even pulling the field, before I got sick. I chased down a couple of attacks up the hill, and was hanging rather well with the pack. Then, things get a little fuzzy. I really don't remember the last lap, or getting back to the tent much. Thanks to my teammates that helped off the bike, and started giving me water.

It was fabulous to see so many Savage Hill riders all together. Great job guys and ladies. Congrats to Brooke.

This was a great day of racing. Congrats to everyone who came out and worked hard in the heat as it was a really hot day. I want to especially thank all the juniors and their parents who brought them down to the race we had a nice showing as a team and ended up doing pretty well. As for my race, it was a good day without very good results. I felt really strong and was able to stay at the front of the race pretty much the entire time. I jumped on a few attacks and tried to start a few breaks. I could get off the front but this course just did not let anyone get away and in the end had to just sit up and go back to the pack. I got together with a couple of guys from Team Dayton early on and with two laps to go we tried a counter attack near the finish right after a prime. It seemed like we might be able to get it to stick, but it got caught almost as fast as we took off. Then, with one lap to go one of the Dayton guys led a nice attack just before the little hill on the backside. We got away clean and I pulled through at the base of the hill. About 3/4 of the way up I heard gears shifting and a voice yell "on your left." When I looked back the two guys who were supposed to be with me were gone and the field was charging hard up the hill right at me. I tried to gear up and get going but there was nothing I could do. They blew by me and I was barely able to stay with the tail end of the field. Great race anyway and thanks to the Dayton guys for working with me.