Shogren Racing Update

by Betsy & Gunnar.
Nice photos by Fred Jordon.

Gunnar and I are excited to again be a part of the Dynamic PT Cycling Team for 2011. We had a great time last year and appreciate the continued support by Dynamic Physical Therapy and others. The 2011 season kicked off with the Amity Training Series, which was a bit of a shock to the system. Gunnar fared better with his 4th place than I did, as I was not ready when the start whistle blew and promptly got dropped in the first 100 yards. Oh well, I can only improve from there, right?

The next race was the Morgantown RR. I think it’s fair to say there was quite a bit of apprehension leading up to this race, as the weather forecast was not promising, not to mention my confidence was quite low after the Amity beating. I am sure you’ve heard the stories of the amazing weather turnaround on race day, but we went from baseball-sized snowflakes to mild conditions in the span of a perfectly timed half-hour delay. The anticipated weather-induced misery was pretty much non-existent. Gunnar had a great race there, finishing fourth in his class, and I was able to pull off the 123 win. I was fortunate enough to get in a break with some very strong cat. 4 racers and we worked super well together to stay away until the finish. I knew if I could just keep with those girls, I had the 123 win locked up and could just let them sprint it out at the end. I know I wouldn’t have outsprinted them, though, as I poured all my energy into keeping our break clear, and was plumb-tuckered out by the finish. As an added bonus, our road bikes worked perfectly, despite their final assembly being completed that morning.

Jackie sure didn't want to step out in that either.

What a difference a week makes!

Finally, this last weekend, gunnar and I both raced twice. He did the WVU Mountaineer criterium, racing both in the 123 class and the master’s class. That boy does like his crit racing. While he didn’t place in the money in the 123 race, he was pleased with his race and felt that he was able to mix things up a bit. As a bonus, he also won the 40+ race a few hours later! Woot! Since my crit race wasn’t scheduled until late afternoon, I got it in my silly head to do the Mountain Duathalon in the morning, and then trundle on down to Clarksburg for my crit race. While all’s well that ends well, it was a bit of a tiring day. I have neglected running for a couple months, so the 4 miles of trail running was painful, especially since it was rocky and rooty. I am thankful I have freakishly strong ankles! Upon completion of this super fun event, I got it together and started my crit race with muddy shoes and mud still on my throbbing legs. I did not feel as awful riding a bike as I did standing around before the race, thankfully. I would not say I had a great race, but I was pleased at the finish to be able to jump before the 3rd turn and finish 3rd overall. I knew I was by far the slowest sprinter in the group, so I was happy to be able to finish in the money.

Not afraid of being at the front, even with the youngin's.

Trail running to Crit racing... all in a days work.

Thanks again to our wonderful sponsors for making this team happen!