This weekend was a huge beginning to a small idea expressed by one of our own, Josh Powell. You see, Josh's mom suffered a stroke a while back causing her to endure the effects. In preparing for the 2008 season he wanted to participate in an event that contributed to the very thing that he has watched his mother endure but the closest event that he could get information on was in Canada. So, he felt the urge to possibly make something happen here on the local scene not knowing that it would all culminate into what is now known as Spokes for Strokes.
Saturday's Hoover Crit brought rain, tornado warnings, sun, rain again and ended with a blue bird sky. Nerves were on edge to see who would show for our first Spokes for Strokes event because prior to the event only 40-50 riders were pre-registered. Well, to our surprise about 200 riders would show to support the third leading cause of death in the US, now that speaks volumes about the cycling community.
When I say the race was on, the off button was nowhere to be found. The Masters men started things off right with a few heated laps to show us young lads how to "bring it"! Then the ladies toed the line to prove that this is not just a man's sport. After the masters race it was time for the CATs to line-up. Larry, Brad, Mike and Justin entered a field of about 42 hungry CAT 5 riders- this was the first crit experience for Larry, Brad, Mike and Justin. Larry and Brad started in the front while Mike and Justin hung back to see how things would play out. They played out alright. Larry and Brad held on to the lead pack for a while until an over anxious rider took out Brad's front wheel...notice the road rash in the top pic. Larry stayed strong up front, Mike held on as long as possible and Justin was humbled by the intensity of the sport. Larry finished 9th.
Stacey brought a strong effort to the womens CAT 3/4 race while the other Qwik Chix were there for event support. Thanks ladies!
The Spokes for Strokes series ended on Sunday with the F.A.S.T. Century-one hundred miles of the most beautiful countryside one could imagine. One hundred and five zealous riders showed to tweak their early century fitness. That brings this weekends event to a close with a head count of about 300 riders, tell me one man's vision is a small thing. This was for you Mrs. Susan Powell!
To add to this already long post I would like to announce that we are going to attempt posting individual race reports, as they are submitted, for each event that we participate in. The reports and pics will be posted at the end each post. Thanks for reading, Justin.
Reports: Mike
Pics and more pics
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