Meadows Circuit Race Report

Jen, Britt and Ali headed up to the Meadows Circuit Race in Doswell, VA on Saturday. There were 24 women lined up in the combined field on a cold, wet morning ready for 18 laps on a 1.4 mile course; a unique loop that included several sharp tight turns, a nice (read short) uphill push and a fast, fun downhill all on smooth pavement.

The pace was steady from the start with Syn-Fit riders taking turns at the front. A couple of efforts were made to create a gap but nothing worked until about 5 or so laps in when two of them actually went off of the front along with a North Tek-Aria rider. Ali jumped to get in on the break making a four person split which eventually became three as one rider fell back into the pack. Back in the field, Syn-Fit &VK kept the pace high making it difficult for any attacks to be successful.

The three person break worked well together rotating pulls until coming into the final two turns when Ali took her shot at pulling around for the win and pulled it out. Jen won the field sprint after a hard effort to reel in a rider who attacked early in the last lap. Unfortunately, Brittany had to pull out of the race midway due to a work related phone call (work, such a four letter word).

Overall, it was a good day and we were glad that everyone who entered stayed upright considering the conditions at the start. It’s always good to race with a mix from MABRA and VCA. Thanks to Richmond Velo/3 Sports for putting on this second annual event. Hope word spreads for more sign-ups next year as it is one of the more challenging courses in our series and we need to continue to support it!

P.S. from Ali: Big ups to our buddy "Jimmy Jam", owner of Jimmy’z Mobile Bike Workz, for stopping my pig from squealing the night before...she's got a nice purr now. He does great work and you can check him out here on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jimmyz-Mobile-Bike-Workz/281457917012

Felines on Fire/Conquer the Canal & VaDu

Thanks to Fat Frogs for hosting the Conquer the Canal Time Trial Saturday! Vanderkitten was well represented by 10 women across four categories and placed as follows:

40+ Women: BJ Samuel 1st place, Suszann Magner 9th place, Christy Hamlin 10th place Cat 1,2 Women: Laura Cook 1st place, Ali Ingram 2nd place, Jen Pope 3rd place Cat 3 Women: Brittany Macdonald 5th place Cat 4 Women: Roberta Guimond 5th place, Karen Franke 7th place, Lisa Armistead 14th place.

Quick facts from the race: 40 women were registered; Vanderkitten had the three fastest times of the day for women; BJ, at age 60, had the 3rd fastest women's time overall (30:24); Roberta bettered her time from last year by over a minute (32:55); Laura, Ali, and Jen swept the women's 1-2 category; Brittany and Karen get the "good sport of the day" award, one for dusting herself off and getting it done, the other for her patience :)

April 10th 2011 – The Tail of Du ‘kittens

After a successful day of conquering the canal on Saturday, three ‘kittens traveled to Surry, Virginia to compete in the Virginia Duathlon – Lisa, Christy, and myself, Jen. Sunny skies, warmer temperatures, and NO WIND contributed to a beautiful race day, which is significant because I only signed up for it after the Jeff Cup was postponed two weeks ago due to snow ....then the VaDu had to postpone due to freezing rain as well. Lucky for me, now I get to compete in both events.

Looking svelte and resplendent in new VKVB gear from JLVelo, Lisa and Christy BOTH hammered into FIRST place in their respective age groups. In fact, Lisa had such a great race that she dropped a full 6 minutes off her time from last year. These fast ‘kittens have now added the coveted VaDu Duck Decoy trophy to their collections. Excellent job Lisa and Christy!!

I decided to team up with Iron(wo)man Rachel Wigton of Fat Frogs Racing for the VaDu relay. This was so much fun that it didn’t even feel legal!! I love my bicycles, and Rachel was born to run fast! Rachel was the first female runner into the transition area and launched me into my fastest 40k time trial ever. While I was enjoying the weather, BBQ, and getting a sunburn, she also turned in the fastest women’s second run time. We finished first overall for the relay teams for women, men, and mixed.

Thanks to everyone at Kale Running, the Hupps, and friends for another great Virginia Duathlon!!

(photos courtesy of Jacob Anderson, self-proclaimed manderkitten)