::Race Journal::

Although I don't exactly ENJOY flying... that is the only way to do this race (Miami - Ohio = 32 Hours). I made things slightly less irritating by carrying 2 bags and not checking anything. Anyway... Our lay-over in Atlanta lasted a whole 20 mins in which I got banged 7 bucks for batteries. The Atlanta - Columbus flight was basically ALL Bmxer's (including Michelle Cairns). Finally I got to Columbus, Ohio at about 9:30 pm, found Jessi Helmer, and headed off to the Hyatt. Our hotel was home to all the Miami locals (Doans, McGavocks, Jedlinskis... etc), and 75% of the rest of the BMX Community, so we had plenty to do. Being the Florida-born, Florida-bred girls that we are, Jessi, Renee, and I decided to have a snow ball fight and make snow angels when the snow was only about 2 inches deep (if that). All we ended up doing was making snow angels sans-appendages and getting really... REALLY cold. Practice didn't come early for me, but I woke up at 7:30 anyway (don't ask...) to look at the track and see everyone that I most likely hadn't seen since Grands in September. The starting hill still looked pretty shady to me, but it ended up being pretty interesting. During our first girls 20" practice, Jessi, Megan Thompson, and I went on every gate together; one of these became pretty interesting. In the 1st turn, Jessi and I almost killed each other because I basically T-Boned her front wheel. (By this time we were coasting and talking to each other - much to the dismay of Rich and Jack who were yelling at us to atleast PEDAL in practice.) Well... on the last straight... Jessi decides she wants to go inside of Megan (who is on the left chalkline). She ends up looking pretty blonde because she made Megan fall of the side of the track and crash in a sitting down position. This basically had the whole track laughing for awhile. Our last Girls' 20" Practice STARTED at 8:10pm, so we got ditched for dinner and had to make other arrangements. We ended up going to Max & Erma's with Factory Profile and Jamie Lilly. It would have been more fun if the food wasn't so crappy. Either way... we left at 11-ish to make curfew. : ( Finally, President's Cup day rolls around and immediately there is a TON of Florida - Ohio rivalry (Go Canes!). Sorry to bad-mouth, but Ohio ended up stealing half the Florida bleachers and ripping off our banners... which isn't very cool. I didn't transfer from 1/4's (yes... 14-15 Girls had QUARTERS), but I made my cruiser main and ended up casing the double of the triple REALLY bad and getting 8th. On President's Cup night... through Factory MCS connections, we found out that Florida was finally dethroned. This was verified when I saw the state commisioners drinking away their sorrows around the cup. Although it does kind of suck and I know the cup is Alice Bixler's baby, life does go on. Plus, Florida is going to be the victor on January 3rd, 2003... so it's all good! : ) So Florida hands over the cup at about 8 in the morning and races go on as usual. There is still the University of Miami v. Ohio State issue... but not a lot of state to state rivalry involving something other than college football. I ended up getting 4th in my 1st moto, then in my 2nd moto my chain fell off because I cracked my freewheel, so I didn't transfer. :*( Jessi Helmer got her 1st Cup in the 14-15 Girls' main event... (1st year she's been) - Congrats girl!! : ) Saturday night was pretty fun. We spent the 1st half of it looking for Kalin Hall Jr. and Renee McGavock though. Then we watched CJ McGuire and Josh Meyers "ride the escalators" and go crazy over a little remote control car. Eventually, Jessi and I ended up in the bar with all the adults. Richard Montalvo and I ("The Nerds") ended up quizzing. We must have all changed each others cell phone messages about a thousand times, but maybe it's because I'm eccentric... haha. Sunday morning I had to fix my freewheel, but I basically did nothing. Rich bought my freewheel at J & R Express and then sent me to Fizz'z Bike Shop to get it changed out. (Ahh... the power of being a girl). I ended up with 4-2-2 and near tears in nervousness for the semi (which I am prone to a constant 5th in). Well... tradition continued and I got 5th... very close to taking myself out... errr crashing in the rythym section. Atleast there's always Sunday night social activities to look forward to. Our hotel actually was dead for once, so I walked across the street to hang out with Factory MCS, Richard, The Meyers', Jack McDaniel, and the rest of that crew. Rich and I busted out with some more SAT words and then Jessi throws in "persnickety." Both Rich and myself are really defensive saying that's not fair... you can't just randomly make up words. But, Jessi kept saying we were both persnickety and to look it up when we got home.(Persnickety: 1 a : fussy about small details : FASTIDIOUS b : having the characteristics of a snob 2 : requiring great precision ) Ok... Ok... so you got us once, but we still have great articulation. : ) That's my Christmas Classic experience in a nutshell... Pictures and report will be up soon. Right now I'd like to give a H U G E thank-you to Richard Montalvo from BMXVideo.net for letting me use his 35mm camera, lending me some "nerd books", and buying my freewheel. Also... for making sure I didn't bust my ass on the pro jump at the track. : ) Another big thank-you to the Doan's for not only letting Jessi and I stay with them, but also for extending our Grands curfew by one hour. And ofcourse, my Mom and Dad for buying me a plane ticket to Columbus, Ohio (keep the tradition alive in 2003... please?).