Hub Racing News

Arley and Sally braved the double Nor'Easter this weekend in Granogue and Wissahickon, #3 and #4 in the MAC series.  It poured rain for the several days leading up to the race, so we all knew what we were in for; ankle-deep mud, the kind that always seems to find it's way into places one would never expect.  This would be a heavy pit day.

 

Arley had a rough start, getting caught behind Laura van Guilder who had some trouble clipping into her pedals.  She surged to the front, took a different line off of the pavement into the mud, and suddenly found herself in 4th place.  Perhaps to excitement of her position distracted her, because suddenly she was on the ground on a slick, muddy corner, and lost position.  Her race would be riddled with crashes in the mud (one of which should have one the best crash award, because it was a pure faceplant on the off-camber descent), and would land her in 10th place at the finish.

 

Sally moved up steadily from a third-row start position, passing Arley during her faceplant crash.  Sally too suffered a few small crashes due to the slick conditions, and would give up her 7th place position to Rebecca Wellons as a result of a bobble late in the race.  She finished 8th on the day, earning her first UCI points of the season.

 

After a night filled with picking mud out of bikes, clothes, ears and wheels, we moved on to Wissahickon on Sunday.  We were hoping for slightly drier conditions, since the race had finally stopped a few hours after our race on Saturday.  The weather turned out much better than yesterday, but in exchange for the rain was a strong chilly wind, which would play a major factor on Wissahickon's flat course.  

 

Arley had a better start today, although had some minor mechanical issues with her rear shifter (which apparently still had a bunch of mud caked in it, oops).  She powered through some traffic in a muddy section, taking a higher line than the rest of the field, where she gained several positions in one shot.  She would settle into 8th place, where she would finish, after catching Rebecca Wellons and passing her on the barrier section with 2 laps to go. 

 

Sally had a tougher time with today's tacky muddy conditions.  When asked how she felt, she claimed "when you're an old lady, some days you just don't ride that fast."  We're not sure about the old lady part, but for an old lady, Sally sure can ride a bike fast.  Sally would end 14th on the day.

 

We had a great time this weekend getting down and dirty.  Thanks to the club guys (Matt Even and company, and Cory Twyman, even though he isn't on our team!) for cheering tons for us in cold, wet, gross conditions!  And thanks to our "Sougnier Extrodinaire" Carol for doing an awesome job in the pit for us, it would not have been possible to race successfully on Saturday without her help!

 

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