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I should be cutting the grass right now...

But...it's so nice to be sitting in the air conditioning...that I decided to update my blog instead.

Today was Tailwind-Racing's end of summer race at Stony.  I decided on Thursday it might be fun to drop in and give the cross country thing another go.

By incorporating it into my planned "long" ride, I was hoping it would keep me at a faster tempo during those tricky middle miles.

This morning rolled around and the weather was gorgeous!  I packed up my hydrapak with some treats and began my ride to stony.

Surprisingly I was on time for registration (I'm traditionally always late when I drive) and felt like things were going to work out perfectly.

What I didn't realize was the fine print on the USA Cycling website about Cat 1 registration.  Apparently you cannot purchase a day of license for Cat 1 racing anymore.  Three years ago when I was an active member you could.

A few months ago there were quite a few emails going around about the new "rules" and maybe this information was included in there, but I didn't pay them much attention since they didn't impact my endurance events.

I explained all of this to the lady at the registration table and she said with a very straight and unsmiling face, you can race sport.

And so, I found myself signing up for my age group in the sport category...which started at one o'clock.  Three hours later...

With some extra time on my hands, I decided to ride out and put in some extra miles before the race.  My number plate was already strapped on and as I rode back out of the park it brought a few curious glances (people probably felt bad for me since it appeared I was lost from my race...haha).

Fast forward through three hours and thirty miles and it was back to the line...but first, I am pleased to report that I was able to officially meet Miss Avery Liagre at the starting line (http://www.theamazingavery.blogspot.com)!  Check this kid out!  She is awesome!!!

The course was extremely dry and rumors were floating around that two elite riders had broken their collarbones that morning.  Yikes!

The first lap was by far my favorite, I felt properly warmed up and the dust wasn't as stirred up as it would be over the next two.

I traded the lead back and forth with Lisa Loetzner from the Flying Rhino Club.  It was so nice to have someone to ride with that was close to my pace, I was beside myself with excitement!

Since we weren't racing in the same category there wasn't any pressure, which made it twice as nice!

When all things were said and done, I have to say it was really a nice day today!  I enjoyed the race and was happy to be able to mingle with alot of people I haven't seen in ages.

In addition, I ran into a rider that recognized me from my daily commute :-)!

She said it was my socks that gave me away!!! Lol!