At the tip of Michigan's pinky
For some, it was a weekend of incredible racing, anticipation palpable with numbers pinned properly to jerseys, clouds just rolling away to reveal sun, and legs twitching nervously before the women's start. The Tour de Leelanau, on the NRC calendar and a women's UCI race, was a show-stopper. The women would race 69.5 miles through rolling hills on Michigan's pinky-finger peninsula, spotted with blossoming cherry orchards the racers would only see as a blur or potential distraction. The brilliant layers of blue glossing Lake Michigan, visible from the entrance to Peterson Park, would be lost on them. For an entire Sunday afternoon, they'd be next to cross-eyed with oxygen debt and muscle fatigue as they pushed themselves to the limit along with some of the fastest women on earth.
For others, well, we also enjoyed the weekend of incredible racing. Passing out water bottles, in the feed zones. But don't think we didn't push ourselves to the limit, too. Months of training to prepare, interval workouts using weighted-down bottles, stadium runs to prepare to sprint along with the racers at 30mph -- it's enough to push anyone to their edge. But Team Priority Health prevailed. And in our taper before the race, we, the support staff, managed to go for a blissfully enjoyable, relaxed ride all along the Leelanau Peninsula. We saw orchards, and orchards, and trillium -- forests filled with trillium, as the afternoon sunlight filtered through the canopy and struck the white flowers. We saw all sides of the Peninsula, many small towns filled with fantastic stores and restaurants, rolling hills covered by vineyards, and lots and lots of baby farm animals. And as with any ride that's almost too good to be true, we finished with a sprint back to our cottage on Lake Leelanau.
For those of you who may have missed these sights, as you sped along in the pack, chasing that lead group... and for those of you who haven't made the trip up to the Leelanau Peninsula yet, here are a few photos from our weekend. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferrisa/2537138440/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferrisa/2537131100/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferrisa/2536324711/
(more are available in the photostream, too)
Ann
