Here is your chance!!!

So, you have not been out much??? You love TEAM headstrong, but sickness, injury, life in general have been getting in the way.........maybe you are even a little guilty? hesitant to even come out?

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE AS WE SWING INTO AN INTENSIVE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY:

4/30 - TOUR DE MOORE - Bird, Emily, G and I....we need some help!

5/3 - SCTAC - TEAM will square off in A and B groups - look for 10-15 TEAM headstrong riders. Head to Pita House after?

5/5 - Greenville Spinner TT Series - Come on you road bike....great training. We will try to ride early and do an hour spinout together after!

5/6 - Spartanburg Crit - Short ride for Friday PM Crit. Features good Women's 3/4 field as well as Women's Pro/1/2.

5/7 - TEAM ride. 3-4 hours. Hard ride with Furman as the jump off point at 8:00 AM. Pace line, hard on the climbs....regroup at the top of each climb(mostly rollers on this route). A shorter option is possible. DS is the ride leader.

5/8 - Global Imports Sandy Springs Crit - North of Atlanta....again good Women's 3/4 field and Men's 55+.

Hope to see you out.

Boone Roubaix.....

Perry mentioned to me a race up north of Boone called Boone Roubaix in honor of the Belgium Spring Classics... He thought it would be fun and since I had no plans I thought a little different terrain and race might be interesting..... Unfortunately I did not read the website.... (fool)

Shame on me... this is a real test of legs, lungs, tenacity, and resilience.  You see the first spike up above... well that is how far we made it with the 35+ lead pack after a neutral rolling start.   The really cruel part was that you passed the start finish line twice.... just as you are about you to hit the unpaved 1mile 15% climb that continues on for another 2 miles to the summit on a paved road.   And this is not the "Koppenberg" which comes later and serves up a 20% gravel climb section followed by a ripping descent down .. yes a dirt road, which several riders left various body parts on.....

The Pro 1,2 and 3's saw a third of the pack quit,   But did Perry and I bail?  no way, we paid our money and we were going to suffer to the end. (Team Headstrong).. which meant solo riding for the last lap as Perry's companions bagged it and I could not hang on to the 2 riders I was with up the dirt climb...... BUT.. we did finish  (11th and 12th of the 45+..... the last 2 riders as everyone else quit).... SO.. I guess you could say we are "true Hard Men of the High Country"

If anyone wants to do it next year I will be happy to give them directions.

2011 SC Women's Open Criterium Podium

Sam 1st, Giselle 2nd and ex team-mate Debbie Gillespie 3rd......   Sam and G rode a great race.... Congratulations Sam on a being the SC Women's Open Criterium State Champion..... counting down to the Road Race....

I love Racing

SC STATE CRIT CHAMPIONSHIPS - Joe, Perry, Bird and I started in field of about 42 folks racing for the 45+ and 55+ championships.

Bird went to the front immediately to control attacks. In about lap 4, David LeDuc bridged to a 3 man break and I caught the wheel of Richard Distlerath to bring it back. LeDuc is gone in seconds in this type situation.

Perry joined Bird at the front and so it went, me setting in. With 3 to go, a fella left his line and ran me off the road into the grass. I lost 5-6 wheels but regained them quickly in the turns. Not easy, with speed running at an average of 28-29 mph.

Into the bell lap, I marked Richard, my 'guy to beat'. Joe came by, just like planned, for the lead out and I got on with one rider between he and I. I was in a perfect place, coming into the last turn on the outside, at what would later be determined to be 24.5 mph. I had pedaled through this turn for 20 laps but at this speed the bike was laying over too far. I grounded my pedal, lost control and went over the handlebars into the weeds. I landed squarely on top of my head, breaking my helmet and destroying my Giant frame. Barely missing a large tree, I found myself laying on the ground checking to see if things work. The paramedics came and I felt I should get checked out.....this was a big impact.

Teenie soon arrived. In a neck brace, I could not move my head but heard familiar voices and saw some faces. Never hesitate to check on a friend or team mate who is down. Those voices were very encouraging. My team picked up all the pieces. I went for a CT scan.

Joe continued to the finish, thinking I was still on his wheel. I wondered how many more times my team mates put me into a position to win only for me to fail. I felt glad to be alive.

While writing this, the phone rang. George called because he had 'heard'. I've got tell you, I was overwhelmed. A guy who has flown off his bike a zillion times calls to check on me? I fully understand why he is one of the most loved champions in cycling. I fully understand why I value his friendship. People have called and emailed from all over the country. News travels fast in cycling.

I am already back training with a very sore neck. I will always remember laying on the ground and thinking how glad I was to not be alone.

Great Racing Coming Up

4/16-4/17 - Pivotal Low Country Race Weekend is coming up next weekend. This is a race the TEAM reimburses for and will feature the State Crit Championship on Sunday. Looks like so far, we have Bird, Giselle, Sam, Perry, Teenie and I. The race on Sat is somewhat technical but the Sunday's race is 'crit lite'. Hope you can get out.

4/30 - Tour de Moore is in Southern Pines and is very unique. It is one OF the oldest and most competitive RR's in the region. The course is wonderful. The women will race in 3/4 and that is cool. G, you will need to race in the Male Masters 50+ but you can do it! I will be going down and hopefully we can carpool and lower costs. Contact me for details.

SEE THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Top US Ranking

A lot of early season racing is paying off for Teenie. Of course, her biggest fan(me) is pretty excited. This does not include her big weekend at RHO. I am not sure if Cat 4 results will show up in this?

Womens Master (50-99) Road Race Rankings (2011) There are 19 results.
2011			Name	License
Rank	Points	Results
1	20	2	Martha Stedman	48605
1	20	2	Melinda Berge	252799
3	19	2	Christina Maddox	273819
4	18	2	Candace Porter	334730
5	16	2	Liz Perry	316824
5	16	2	Julianna Kimball	180320
7	8	1	Ellen Guthrie	208087
8	7	1	Suzanne Bowers	141377
9	6	1	Donna Ingle	338828
9	6	2	Madeline Finch	127715
11	5	1	Cris Kiser	287258
11	5	1	Melissa Cafiero	224273
11	5	1	Barbara Meyers	208562
11	5	2	Elizabeth Benishin	75937
11	5	3	Emily Wamsley	260217
16	4	1	Norma Hilton	196223
16	4	3	Joan Case	242557
18	3	2	Cindy Mike	267996
19	2	1	Lesley Jensen	17778

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Tough Chics

This pic gives you just a little idea why we are one of the best women's teams in the Southeast!

Stay tuned as the season unfolds for more victories and podium finishes.

Upcoming, look for them in both SC State Crit and RR Championships.

Sat. - Rock Hill Winthrop Lake Crit

Arriving early its cold, the sure am glad I race in five hours, kind of cold. I register and go about the work of setting up the official Headstrong headquarters for the day under those now famous bike growing trees. Wind is coming up and the flag at the line is getting straighter and straighter as it flaps in the wind. I watch Perry, Randall, Joe, Cristina, and Emily all run great races but those are their own stories to tell. However, there is no better way to get pumped for a race then watching your teammates take it to the field. We all run to get some food and then its go time. The homestretch feels like a wind tunnel blowing straight into my chest. The attacks will definitely come there. Great advice to get to the line early by Randall pays immediate dividends when the race starts at a spirited pace. Some three or four bike length breaks occur but the field is bringing them back time and time again. Cash primes start to be called but with no amounts. The “how much” question goes around in the pack, and answers of fifty cents and a penny are offered up. Although funny if they can laugh the pace is not hard enough and it starts to get tight. We come to the bell lap and its spread out across the entire road. Elbows are out and I feel unfriendly handlebars on both sides. I know there will be a surge on the hill. It’s the last opportunity to pass before it goes single file to the line. I’m on the left side of the road a little too deep when the right side surges. We shoot through the negative radius turn down the hill sweep left and we are in the stretch. People are kicking very early I keep sitting repeating wait wait wait in my mind. 200 meters I start my sprint and pick up about 5 or 6 spots and end up 9^th on the day. Not bad for the first Cat. 4 race.

Sun. - Road Race

Cold again at the 8:00am start time. Serious weather checking and gear choices are being made. I warm up with leg warmers but shed them right before the race and this gets me a spot almost at the very back of the combined Masters 45+ Cat 4 field. The first 20 miles of the race is spent dodging massive craters in the road but thanks to Mel’s Saturday scouting mission I stay to the left and avoid most of them. Aside from the wheel crushing holes, moving through a large field is not a piece of cake, but I finally make it up to Brandon and Bird. I make a mental note never to be late to the line again. First hill at 20 miles offers the chance to move up some major spots and I finally feel comfortable with my position in the field. A couple more hills with the most painful for me out on the main highway and we start to really roll. Somewhere in a fast descent is a hard left had turn that is either not marked or some people got squirrely and the smell of brake rubber is in the air. Another surge as riders try to cash in on the surprise. Two masters are soon off the front perhaps from the surge but most of the Cat 4’s at the front refuse to chase. One more steep hill at mile 34 but the lead group hangs together. The mileage starts to creep towards 45. A few surges and I should have known we were coming to the end, but it does not look familiar. Later it would be discovered we somehow scouted the wrong road after riding the closed road that makes up the last 1.5k of the race. I see the orange cones that mark the closed road and I find myself on the extreme left riding on the yellow line. A rider on my right starts yelling at me to get left. I can’t see the sign on the right to mark the 1k where the whole road opens. Riders swing left finally and I grab a wheel. Gaps are opening and closing incredibly fast. My leadout is slowing. There’s daylight to the right. I power through the opening and only see one guy on the left as I hit the line. Ends up a third place with second getting me by a tire width. There is no better way to spend a spring weekend then with great teammates racing the bike can’t wait to do it again soon.

SCTAC

If you want to be a racer, there is no better training ground! Teenie and I are headed to Chipotle after for grub. Hope to see you and hope you join us for social time!

Cin Sweeps at Mars Hill

A double win!

Mars Hill Race