Memorial Day Weekend

What a weekend! It was tough for sure but the racing was so much fun as a racer and even more so for spectating. It was a great way to celebrate an American holiday.
The Burlington Road Race on Friday was low key for guys so not much on that.
The Snake Alley was so much fun to ride but the day was hotter than hell. I dropped out after feeling the shivers and my heart rate was through the roof even after swooping down the four block descent. Lee was lookin' good in the masters race!
Bryan gave a valiant effort in the big show by staying near the front for the first part of the race. The heat of the day and the race prompted the second Watergate scandal where race referees and a self righteous lady tried to stamp out the efforts of well meaning support crew to keep the racers from over heating.
Sunday's Melon City Criterium in Muscatine was another hot one. The course had good flow with two tight and slow corners, long steady down to a speed bump (more like a launch ramp), then a steady uphill to a tight corner before the finish. The 3's race kept a steady pace and was a confidence boost to stay in the pack after the shelling the day before. I was primed for the finish coming up the climb on the final lap as people were blowing up and freaking out all around, I was just behind the front dozen going into the final tight hairpin when a couple guys got tangled up and I had to hop onto the grass to avoid it. I was happy to stay upright but too bad 27th is all I could manage under the circumstances. Muscatine homeboy Chad Bishop took the well deserved V in front of his supportive home crowd. The 1/2 race was awesome! 40 miles on the same course with some great breakaway action, I have never seen a race that was called a crit that needed a feed zone.
Monday felt like the final crescendo at the Quad Cities Criterium in downtown Rock Island, IL. The course is great for high speeds through the 8 corners, and so cool to be surrounded by spectators. The Pro women's race was really entertaining for the crowd and our corner was the loudest for them. Will and Andrew represented in the big show as the huge 150 man field created an awesome roar through the downtown streets. Will fought well and made up good positions until the pace took its toll. Andrew was phenomenal as he gradually went to work making up position until he was in the top ten. It was crazy to watch how much skill, power, and concentration Andrew and the others use to maintain position through the course. Our corner was totally buzzing off of Andrew and then all of a sudden we did not see him on the next lap around, then he came around with his kit all ripped up and his bike with crash damage. Apparently in the scrum, some dude put his quick release into Andrew's wheel and ripped his spokes out. Big bummer but these things happen, Andrew is clearly going well, its going to happen big sometime soon.
After the race, Will's family had us over to eat and celebrate the weekend's festivities as well as celebrate Mr. Price's bday. Relaxing with the family and friends after the races is the perfect cap to a great Memorial Day. I think having that support structure and positive atmosphere enables us to weather the challenging aspects of racing bikes.