Tour of the Catskills - The Prologue...

This weekend a full squad of Wheelworks women decided to take the Catskills by storm. We caravaned out to this mountainous region of New York on Friday ready for anything.

First up was the prologue. It was a relatively short (2.2 miles) uphill time trial with some very steep pitches, but a nice flat run in to the finish so that we could use our sprinting skills to finish the thing off.

No one was very sure how they would do, but we warmed up together and then cheered each other on as we were sent off at our respective times. Nicole was the mountain goat of the day, showing her years of experience by taking 6th place in a race that would, at least on paper, be considered a terrible course for her.

She was well in striking distance of a GC podium spot with her 6th place and we headed to our beautiful host house excited and motivated to see what we could do. The prospect of getting a GC podium for our little team of non-climbers was absolutely thrilling!

Tour of the Hilltowns

Being a team of non-climbers, the Tour of the Hilltowns sounded a bit ominous, at least to me. But with fearless teammates like Anna and Hope ready to see what the Wheelworks women could do, I was up for giving it a shot.

And what do you know, Hope and I pulled off 2nd and 3rd Massachusetts-ians (if that's what we're called) in our state road race championship. Not bad for a pair of racers who prefer a course with lots of turns and more downhill than up. Of course, we could never have pulled it off without Anna setting the pace and keeping the race under control for the entire first half. What a beast she is!

Go Wheelworks Racing!