That is from Dick Evan 112 mile road race on Oahu. It was my first time ever in a road race and I was borrowing a “too big for me” road bike. I was scared to death! It was like the local group ride plus a million more people with crazy bike handling skills that blew me away. It was so rainey and crashes were going down all around me. I was in the very middle of a huge pack. 10 men on either side and dozens in front and behind, I felt so trapped and fear was setting in if one of them even moved an inch I was going down. There was a group of Big Island boys with me. Once the race got “racing” they told me to hang on, don’t take any pulls, just let them work. I trusted their bike skills so I clung to every wheel. We made the front pack and I felt safe (finally). The boys totally took me under their wing and I was now the first female. My back skewer poped out. I was frazzeled and decided to run my bike until bike support got to me. One guy from my pack stopped to help me knowing I had a chance to win for females. As he was fixing my bike 3 women passed. Once I was up and riding again my mission was to time trial and get myself to the front. It worked and I soon found myself in the lead (unfortunately one of the girls went down on her head, I asked to help her because she was a friend and the win was not that important). I did end up winning that day but ONLY because of my incredible team (Jahn S. , Kevin Murrar, Jeff Pfierfer, and Doug Wilkerson)