Hawaii State Criterium Championship

Sunday I rode in the Hawaii State Criterium Championship at Kalaeloa. Amber and the kids came along for the show, and it turned out to be a pretty exciting morning. I warmed up with Ben and Casey before lining up for the Cat 4/5 race. The field had about 30 guys, and I lined up in the back for the gun to avoid the madness of the first two corners. On the first turn in lap two, the rider in front of me misjudged the corner and went down very hard shoulder first...I almost joined him but managed to stay upright...WHEW! On the first turn in lap three I almost put myself on the pavement because I took the corner really hard with my inside pedal down...the pedal scraped hard and nearly sent me flying...again I managed to stay upright! After 25 more laps the bell rang and Ben, Mike Fujita and I gave it all we had to get across the line. Mike outsprinted me over the line, but thankfully he was not in my category. Come to find out, I took the State Champ medal for my category Cat 4 30-39...miracles never cease...my goal on Sunday was to stay on and not crash. I was so excited I was about to jump out of my skin!