Wichita--not bad at all!

Last summer at this time I was looking forward to my trip to Europe--getting ready for the exotic location of Prague in the Czech Republic. I have no such plans this summer--I headed to the heartland, the midwest for a weekend. When I told anyone I was headed to Wichita, Kansas there was no envy, or "oh, I wish I could go." No. I could find no one who wished to even share the drive for one crazy weekend. So, I went by myself. I spent the nine hour drive singing loudly (and badly) with some oldies playing on my CD player. I then finished a book on CD to finish off the trip. It really wasn't too bad, and I was pleasantly surprised when took the turn from Salina and headed towards Wichita. Up to that point the view had been grass, lots of flat land, and some amber waves of grain. When I made the turn, I saw lots of green....grass, trees and a more interesting land. I had never been to Wichita and only thought of Kansas as a place I had to go through on my way to some other place.

I'm in Wichita for an omnium. That's a series of 3 races in which you get points for each race--and the winner is the one who has the most points. I got a new bike and was excited to try it out. I'm not in that great of shape yet since I just got out of school a few days ago, and struggled getting out early enough to ride in the evenings. I was able to get some good rides on the weekend. The rain and cold has been a deterrent too.

So here I am with one race under my belt--and the verdict on the bike is--WOW!! I felt like I flew. It was very hot (98 degrees) and windy, So the first 5 miles were fast as we had a pretty good tail wind. Of course, whatever we got--we paid for on the way back. The way back was so windy and it was tough to maintain a decent speed. It was only a 14K--and I was glad of that as the heat and humidity really got to me the last few miles.

So far, I am impressed with the way this event is being put on. Everyone is so friendly (we are in the midwest) and it's like a big family with all of the racers. We have the 24 mile road race tomorrow. I'm glad for the distance but may not enjoy the wind and heat again--but the race goes on!! Wish me luck.