Turnpike Speed Series

Due to recent budget cutbacks in the time department here at Moving Targets, we're moving to a new once a week blog format.

You will be happy to know that you can now set your watch, or calendar, to the posts here at Moving Targets Weekly. Hopefully. Check here after your postsecrets.

I wouldn't say I've been especially busy lately, but I have been fairly normal. There are some big things on the horizon that may prove to be noteworthy.

1. My middle school teaching gig is starting in one week. I know they're going to make fun of me. I'm terrified of middle schoolers. They're mean.

2. It's Girl Scout time again! I have so much work to do before the year begins. I've got ducks to line up, documents to copy, letters to write and people to call. We're going to do lots of big, amazing things this year. We're going to kick the year off with a pool party.

3. My triathlon is coming up. I'm thinking of joining Team.hammerheads here in Miami. They're super inclusive, I saw pictures of lots of old people on their site. Which means that I should be able to keep up with them.

Today Laura had her first bike race. She was pretty nervous about it, because everyone gets that way about things they have never done, especially when they don't know what to expect. I really can't blame her for the week of ridiculous behaviour I had to endure. I'm just really glad its over. And she did so awesome!

When we got to the race, we didn't know where to go and I had a few uncomfortable moments driving down the side of the street dodging lackadaisical bikers. Laura said it was OK though, and we finally found the parking lot.

There was a LOT of spandex, and not a lot of organization. And bikers aren't very friendly. I think its because their pants are too tight. I don't think they're very careful either. It was a windy day and there were bikes falling down all over the place. You think a person would be more careful with a $4000 bike, but what do I know? We waded through the unfriendly sea of spandex and found the registration booth. Laura then learned that only FOUR women had shown up for the race and that it was effectively cancelled. What? She decided to wait to pay her registration fee until it was closer to race time. Maybe some one else would show up.

We watched the men race. Biking is not much of a spectator sport, so we only got to see them a few times as they passed us on the loop. It was enough to freak Laura out sufficiently. She ran into a few people she knew from riding and from working at the r.sma.s. One girl said to her "Oh, you're wearing Victory Red, bold move"

Laura went and changed her jersey immediately. Luckily she brought a second outfit.

By the time the first two men's races were over enough women had shown up, but they were all hard core team riders. Laura was worried. Not only were they hard core team riders, but they had all decided that they were going to ride with the Category 3 men. category 3 is one step before Pro, I guess. Laura was more worried.

But she's pretty brave and got up there and rode off with them. But Laura is the best biker ever, pretty much I think. She stayed with all those hard core club riders, in the wind, pulled her weight, and gave them a run for their money too. She stayed with the other women, and were only about three minutes behind the men.

I don't know what it is about bikers, but I guess they feel like finishing at all isn't as important as finishing well, and so it's not unusual for people to just drop out during the race if they think they're not doing well. There were a few guys riding back with Laura and her crew (Blondie and Green Helmet) but they dropped out after the third lap. A few of the women dropped out too. Laura said later that she felt pretty taxed but she finished the race and pulled off a good sprint at the end. She did 26 miles in 1 hour and 10 minutes, holy cow.

I am pretty glad I didn't race. I wouldn't have made it. I was sweating like a mountain goat at the beach, just sitting in the shade watching the race. Oh, and cuddling up with a presumptuous guy-rider who thought our blanket looked like a nice place to sit.

It was a nice day at the races. Maybe she'll do it again, but without the week long freak out ramp up.