Hartford Criterium

The park was beautiful; I wanted to ride the carousel. My race unfolded uneventfully. I raced strong but not smart--working hard without much strategy. I finished a satisfactory 15th (out of 42), with a clear idea of what I need to work on. Wanting more, I considered joining a second race to at least get a longer workout, but I was glad I hadn't when the men's 4 became a crash fest with one guy breaking his collar bone.

Bike to Work Day...

...that's every day, right?

Dan called me from the airport, "there's a picture of us in the Cars section of the newspaper." I thought he was palying a "that's you" joke on me. But, sure enough, the Providence Journal printed an article about Bike to Work Day with a picture of none other than our elite cyclocross team riding across town. Huh?

(p.s. Go to Bike to Work Day for free breakfast!)

PINK SUGINO CRANKS!

Look what arrived in the mail today! Mr. Sugino sent three sets of one-off pink road cranks with bash gaurds for our team!

I'm floored.

I met the charming president of Sugino Cycle Industries at the Chie Matsuri alleycat in Kyoto, where he was premiering pink track cranks. He kindly offered his support to Circle A Cyclocross.

I've been racing a little

The team was reunited this week when Dan came up from Florida to visit friends in Providence (he'll be back more permanently for 'cross season). We went to the "free pizza race," that is, the Sterling Classic. I competed in my first Elite field. My dad, grandfather and uncle surprised me by showing up to watch the start! Dan's folks were there to heckle too.

After 3 of 6 laps I was seriously considering dropping out when we passed the ice cream shop, and watching everyone else suffer while I enjoyed a sundae. But when I came up the hill and across the line on the fourth lap, I heard "here comes Hannah Kirshner"announced over the loudspeaker, and couldn't quit. I bridged back up to the middle group and finished near the front of it, in 11th place (just out of the money). Dan was looking strong in the top 10 until someone crashed him out. Lame. Nonetheless, he finished in good spirits.

I've been remiss in posting race reports, because I'm a little embarrassed to. Here is a wrap-up of my season so far:

A few days after returning from Japan, I did the Chris Hinds Criterium on a whim. I rode the 40 miles out to Ninegret from Providence (it's a pretty nice route) and then pleasantly surprised myself with a 5th place finish in the womens' open. Thankfully, I got a ride home in a friend's car.

Battenkill was brutal, as expected. I didn't get to warm up and was all nerves. I dropped my chain on the neutral lap. By the second hill I panicked and got dropped. Gratefully, I rode the rest of the race with three ladies. They felt like my best friends until the finish--I sprinted in ahead of them to place just barely in the top 10.

A few weeks later I raced the womens' 3/4 at the Sturbridge and Palmer weekend. Both circuit races were fun. I placed 11th and 6th, respectively. Finishing in the money at Palmer payed for the weekend!