Philly

Over the weekend we went to Philly for the race known as "Philly." Those Philadelphians. A real creative bunch. Actually its technically known as The Philadelphia International and Liberty Classic, but everyone calls it Philly. Its probably the most famous one day race in America. It used to the national championships for the U.S., but it isn't anymore. Anyway, its still a big race and all the big teams were there. I would post the pictures I took, but Lorena just left to go to Minneapolis for another race and took the camera.

Philly, that city of brotherly love, greeted us with hot, sweaty open arms. It was definitely the hottest day of the year, and I think it may have even been a record high. 98 degrees and probably 98 degree humidity. It was hot and humid and just gross. I hate humidity. There is a difference between a dry heat and this gross disgustingness. Luckily, I didn't have to ride, just watch Lorena! But it was still hot.

Lorena rode so awesome! She was hanging out at the front of the race the whole day, riding with ladies who are getting paid lots of money to do this, women who will be racing at the Olympics this summer, and at the World Championships this fall - and there was 'ole Loretta, mixin' it up with them. She ended up getting 15th place, which is just awesome, especially considering the level of competition at this race.; she was the eighth fastest American. The race if famous for a climb right in the middle called the "Mantayuk Wall." I don't know the exact length of the climb, or the grade, but part was at 17%. For those that don't know, that is steep. The girls had to do four laps (totaling 57.6 miles) and Lorena was always up near the front on each of the climbs. She definitely is a good climber. And she has a pretty good spring too.

Fellow HPC presented by Altarum teammates Kate, Jen, and Kristy also managed to finish, which is a pretty good accomplishment. Go back and lock at the results link, and see all the DNF's. That means that they didn't finish. (note although Jen is listed as DNF, she did in fact finish, and wasn't pulled like some of the girls listed.) So good job HPC! Especially considering all the international riders who were at the race, simply finishing is pretty impressive for this Mid-Atlantic team!

After the race, since we were in Philly, I ate a cheesesteak. I have to say, I have had better cheesesteaks. Oh well.

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