August 12, 2006, My write up to TeamTripower of the Chesapeake Cat 4 Men's race

Her First Men's Race

In the Cat 4 race Dan got swept up after making a valiant solo effort off the front with only a couple of laps left to go. I got 12th with a weak sprint and Laura got....

That's right, not content with one race for cat 4s she had to show that what is "understood" as a men's race is technically not so. I knew better than to assume it was a joke when BJ and Laura lined up with me at the start line with smug smiles, so I asked if they were serious. "You can't be f-ing serious." Ok, I didn't really say it that way.

In the end, but before the start, BJ pulled out (provoking a phrase fraught with senseless innuendo), and a field of at least 40, apparently short of one pair of balls, clipped in. Team loyalty was thrust aside as wagers were quickly placed with the lap count as the deciding factor. Talk of "What the f--- is a girl doing in our race" was perhaps countered with information about the ass that would be beaten. Women racers stuck around to watch with vested interest. What happened to my cheerleaders? One of them was on my wheel.

After the first hard effort I looked back to see if she had survived. She had. I made a couple of short-lived attacks off the front. At one point I was near the back chatting briefly with Cook. I decided it was time to stretch the legs again so I moved up the field and off the front. When I looked back the first thing I saw was the team colors and it wasn't big Dan, but lil' ole Fuzzy Pits.

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I think she was up for a novel challenge. She had many quiet questions before the start about whether she would be dropped. Far from it. If you bet all the laps and around 23rd place you won.

--Art