Evanston Grand Prix - Whoa....

First of all - not race related at all...my little brother Chris and his wife Michelle are having a BOY!! yay - a nephew for me!! Anyway...

So the Superweek Pro 1/2 women's series culminated today at the Evanston Grand Prix on a flat, fast, tight 6-turn course in downtown Evanston. So many awesome, amazing, supportive friends were on hand to cheer for Team Kenda today including:
Steve Seide
Mary Nelson
Eric Bremer (who was volunteering!)
Karen and Greg Drennan
Mike Ferren
Steve and Peggy Thordarson
Brian Kavanaugh and MerriEllen
Tony from Judson(I don't know his last name....)
Bill Nedza and Donna
Jerry Ortega
Troy Henikoff with Karlen and Addison
Bob Issac
Josh Mallan
Kris Over and Brad
Ted Anderson
Mike from Judson - again, don't know his last name but he was giving time splits!
John Walker
Marek Jasinski
Jim Brady
Lou Kuhn with Chloe
Mike Puzen

Thank you so very much everyone - it meant so much to me that you were all there - and surely I forgot a bunch more or just didn't see you...

The race was pretty fast and the field was rather sketchy, especially in turns 5 and 6. There were a few pileups that I fortunately avoided. Corie (my teammate) and I stayed toward the front and out of trouble for the majority of the race. I even snagged a cash prime! With about 2 laps to go things were getting pretty strung out and crazy so I tried the best I could to hold decent position and stay out of crash danger. Between turns 5 and 6 someone touched the brakes a little so I had to hesitate and that was the difference between winning and 4th place for me today. 4th is acceptable, given that things were pretty dangerous out there.

The really bad news was that Corie was bumped after crossing the finish line (behind me, so I didn't see it) and crashed hard into the barricades. She ended up at the hospital in a ton of pain but after x-rays fortunately without any broken bones. There were countless people who selflessly gave their time and made an effort to help us get Corie's things over to the hospital and make sure that she was taken care of including:
Catherine Walberg
Jessie Cole
Imelda March
Kris Over and Brad
Cathy Corbett
Steve Seide
Also, thanks to Heidi Mingesz (USA Cycling Official) for her kind words - they mean more than she knows!

It looks like Corie is just bruised and sore so hopefully she will be able to do the 24X9 National Mountain Bike Championship in Wausau next week. She's tough as nails - I think she'll recover this week and be ready to go!!

Next weekend is looking open...maybe just some hard training rides and a lot of rest.