Union Vale July 12, 2009 Ashley Prine Rides Again in Cat 1,2,3

Union Vale, NJ July 12, 2009

I had not done the is race in 2 years and was excited to see if my memory was correct of the course- mostly rolling with some hills that could be made to be hard- but with a pesky downhill that make breaks hard to stick… memory correct!

Maria set pace for the race on the first 2 laps and put in a few attacks working her butt off for Donna and I. The first 2 laps were nice and steady with the start of the end of the second lap getting a bit spicy with an escapee Anthem girl on the downhill and a nice attack by Maria at the start of the third- here we go!

My legs were feeling loose after a very stiff first lap, but I was breathing great and climbing pretty well- Anna M. attacked at the top of the feed zone climb to string us out a bit popping some girls off the back- then soon after in flat section Donna put in an attack and I countered- Audrey came after me pulled around and we then had a counter from Anthem- so fun fun!

So Anthem kept it spicy all the way to the fast down hill when 5 of us got a break on the downhill. It was a good one: Anna M, Beth Miller, Audrey, Yvette and I- we were missing just one person….. Ann Marie Miller! We pace lined and were doing our best to stay off the front for the final lap but Ann Marie dragged a few back up to us- thankfully Donna was with her! - We were about a group of 10-12- so we slowed down and took it easy a bit before the climbing started again- we got passed by the pros so that made the feed zone hill confusing but Anna M. attacked at the top. For some more spicy attacks on the hills- I was just trying to conserve what I had left for the finish.

The last selection stayed together going into down hill- some girls got a bit of a gap including Beth Miller who won- she started the hill first- the finishing climb for me was hard- I lost it a bit but finished 8th- but was reassured to see Donna up the road finishing strong!! For 5th place- Fun racing yesterday!