Tour of Walla Walla Wrap Up

We're home and unloaded, and I'm totally beat, barely able to walk and wondering why I would ever do this to myself in the name of recreation. Patty wonders why she would ever tag along with such a stressed-out psycho for a "fun weekend getaway", or whether she ever will again.

Three hard races over two days is way beyond my powers of recovery at this point in my life, and if somebody could get my boss' number and call in dead for me tomorrow, that would be super.

The last race of the weekend was today's road race, which was 58 miles and nearly killed me. It started off fine - 11 miles with the pack, pretty much what I expected. Then I got shelled of the back - also pretty much what I expected. Then I eventually got hooked up with a few other riders at the pace I wanted to ride - pretty much what I had hoped for.

But then, with about 12 miles to go, I disintegrated. Blew up. It was a long ride back. Bike racing is a tough sport. I got passed by the field behind me. But I was determined to finish and I did. So that's cool.

I'm not unhappy or disappointed with the weekend - it was great to be a part such a prestigious race and my expectations were realistic. If it's not the best run multi-day race in the state, it's gotta be a close second. That's why it draws the best bike racing talent from the region. Results aren't online yet, but in my field of 100, I was 83rd in the TT and 63rd in the crit. My finish in the RR can't be good. But like I said, it was very cool to be an also-ran in this major event.

The officials are amazing. Some from Spokane that I can list off the top of my head are Julie Kelsey, Marla Emde, Tom Miller and Sarah Wilson. Top-notch officials with worlds of experience came over from the west side. Then there is an army of volunteers. Literally. Huge thanks to everyone - organizers, officials, sponsors, volunteers, residents - who pitch in to make this phenomenal race happen!

We had camera 'challenges' and didn't capture what I would have liked. Walla Walla is just gorgeous this time of year and the race is something to behold, and especially on that backdrop. But here are a few random shots . . .