Elite Nationals
A year ago I did not think I would be able to race at Elite Nationals; however, after having a good season and heading into September still feeling strong, I packed my bags and headed to LA for Elites. I knew it was going to be fast and the track was short but I really had no clue what 250m meant. The picture does not do justice for a 45 degree banked turn. If you stand at the top and look down, it looks pretty much vertical...you have to go at least 17 mph to stay upright.

It was fun to be out there with the Colorado team. These are only the bikes of Colorado racers. I think we had 16 or 17 racers out there last week but the competition came from everywhere. Each of the women's fields was so full they had to run two heats before racing for the title. That's awesome!

And who can go to CA without riding along the beach?! Most of us stayed at the same hotel and went for morning spins by the ocean. I loved racing on the track but the morning spins were equally awesome.

Friday was my day off so you can guess where I ended up...my excuse was to work on my tan lines for Mary's wedding but really I would have been there reason or not. I had two days between races so a few hours on the beach were not going to hurt my next race.

And I got to spend my day off with Ben, my friend from college. He has really gotten into track racing and is talking about building a velodrome...maybe in Btown at the quarry where Breaking Away was filmed! :)

My favorite picture of the whole week: Hermosa Beach Pier just after sunset. The best part about this picture is I literally took it on the fly as I was trying to beat a family before the kids started climbing on the statue and was avoiding a couple sitting right by it.

So, the whole reason I went to LA: To race my bike! My first race was the Scratch race (normal race with set distance and the person who wins the sprint at the end wins the race). It was my first mass start race on the 250m and I was nervous. I did not ride a smart race because I was so concerned about the sketchy girls around me and sat up after a big crash with two laps to go. I look forward to doing more mass start races in LA between now and next October so I can race the track with more confidence and race rather than worry about self preservation. The team pursuit was later that evening and I felt really good but one of my teammates was having an off night. As a result, we went really slow which was a bummer. There is nothing a racer can do when her legs are not there in a pursuit. As you can see in this photo, I was ready to go well before my teammates...I had not done a start on the track yet and was very focused as I wanted to get going fast so I didn't slide off the track in turn 1.

Sunday was the day I was looking forward to: The Madison! It was the first running of a women's Madison at Elites but was a "demonstration" rather than national championship race. My teammate that I had been practicing the past month with "quit" bike racing after a bad race Saturday night so I ended up racing with a girl out of WA. We spent 10 minutes on the track practicing exchanges Sunday morning and then lined up to race together later in the day. It actually worked out really well as she is strong and fearless. The race was fast from the start and the first exchange was a bit hairy as nearly every team (10 total) went up for their first exchange. Guess I should tell you what an exchange is! Basically, the Madison is a modified Little 500 as we only have one racer per team in the race at any given time. In this photo, I am coming in from the race and literally throwing (by handsling) my teammate into the race at full speed. Dad was there and took a few side shots which I will post after he downloads them but you can see I only have one hand on the handlebars while the other is holding my teammate's hand. I grab her hand, shoot past her, and transfer all my speed into her as I sling her into the race. Then I sit up and ride up track on relief until she comes around to me and throws me back into the race. It is perhaps the most painful race you can do as you go as hard as you can every time you are on the track and have minimal recovery while on relief. This race was 100 laps/25km which happened to be my longest race of the year. Despite being crazy and barbaric, the Madison is definitely my favorite race and I look forward to racing it as often as possible with the guys next year! :)