First Race//First WIN!

Karen and Roberta are hooked. After worrying themselves silly about how they would perform in their first crit they both made Vanderkitten proud. They both spent more than enough time up front battling the wind but said it was safer there than in the pack. Karen decided to go for the GOLD on the last turn and never looked back. Roberta followed close behind. Watching them race made the rest of us remember what it was like as a newbie. We’re all glad that they’ve got the racing bug.

Karen decided that bad weather predictions for Bryan Park wasn’t going to keep her away from a race today. Still high from her win she stayed upright on a wet, technical course with two 90 degree turns and rough, bumpy sections.

She was super nervous because it was raining, the course was wet and said she had zero bike skills. She stepped in dog s--- right before she was getting on her bike, rode 3 laps in the small chain ring (Duh), legs were dead from yesterday, Garmin wasn't working, stayed up front almost the whole race (she didn't want anyone crashing in front of her) and did all the work, got out-sprinted in the end by almost everyone, came in 7th out of 9th.

Her impression of the race – AWESOME! She’s glad she did it because she now has more confidence because she rode a wet technical course, survived it, and felt pretty comfortable and learned a lot. This year is all about gaining experience and Karen said she got plenty today.