---

 

---

Viewing Note: This story should be viewed with the Edwardian Script ITC font installed on your Windows platform in the c:/Windows/Fonts directory. Microsoft Word installs this font automatically.

Photo Credit: Licensed royalty free. Provided by PD Photo.org .

 

---

 
Chapter 3
 
“Something wrong, sweetheart?” Maddy asked as they were exiting the plane after landing at their destination. She sensed something was not quite right, but couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Why?” Gaby replied. The voice Maddy heard was quiet and weak, not the strong happy voice she heard only hours ago.

As the others followed Jenny and stood around the plane’s wingtip awaiting their ride and a customs official, Maddy wrapped her arms around Gaby’s shoulders and held back her fiancée.

“Talk to me, Gabs…” Maddy softly pleaded. “You were getting more uptight the closer we got to landing! Now talk to me … please?”

“Sorry … I didn’t think it showed,” Gaby quietly replied.

“We’re here now and if something is bothering you … talk to me or if not me … your mum … but get it off your chest. You’ve got a race to think about!” Maddy forcefully whispered.

“You know me … get me on two wheels...”

“Yeah … but it’s the rest of the time that bugs me. C’mon … we’re going to be married an’ if you can’t talk to me now…”

“You’re right, darling … sorry,” Gaby whispered.

“I wuz just thinking of Grottoes … an’ how they treated me ‘cuz of who I loved. When we moved to Germany … I decided I wasn’t going to hide what I am an’ people still accepted me for me. While this may not be Germany … I’m not hiding again ... but…”

“But what? Who cares? You don’t have to hide … just be yourself! It’s their problem if they feel like that! Sod ‘em!”

“But … now I have you to think about.” Maddy didn’t miss the concern in Gaby’s voice.

“As your future wife, do I have a say in this?” she softly asked as she gently laid her head on Gaby’s shoulder.

“Always.”

“Then, I’m not hiding either! This isn’t Grottoes and I’m wearing your ring ‘cuz I love you ... an’ we’re gonna be married! We’ll face whatever is thrown our way ... together ... whether they like it or not ... end of discussion!” Maddy gently lifted Gaby’s chin and stared lovingly into her eyes.

“Thank you,” Gaby whispered as she held Maddy in a tight embrace.

As they heard Jenny’s approaching footsteps on the tarmac, they reluctantly released each other.

“Anything wrong, girls?” Jenny was sounding quite concerned, having observed their discussion from a distance.

“It’s okay now, Mum. Mad helped me through it,” Gaby quietly replied.

“I was getting a bit concerned. You looked upset. You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah … (sigh) I was just remembering how it was in Grottoes …”

“I told her … sod ‘em! We love each other … an’ we’re not going to pretend otherwise!”

“Good for you! Good for both of you!”

Jenny finally understood the true extent that her daughter’s previous US experience had scarred her and she could only now imagine the apprehension and uncertainty that was going through her child’s mind.

“I’ll really be okay Mum … just get me on a bike,” Gaby softly told her mother.

Turning to look at Maddy, she gently took hold of her hand and the three ladies joined the others still gathered over by the plane’s wing tip.

A Chevy Tahoe and trailer soon pulled up and a lone occupant emerged.

“Jenny Bond? Hi … I’m Brian Schaum. I’ve been assigned to be your driver while you and your team are here.”

Jenny quickly introduced the team members.

“Pleased to meet y’all … once someone from customs gets here, we can start with the unloading of your equipment,” Brian declared.

By the time they reached Beckley and their hotel, the summer sun was already starting to set. Maddy and Hans quickly made sure everything was locked down before checking in. That evening was set-aside for everyone to relax from the trip.

After Jenny checked in for the team, she passed out the plastic ‘punch cards’ that served as the room keys for their reserved rooms.

“Okay. We have four rooms … so everyone’s got a roommate. Hans … you and Brian are in 112 ... here! Gaby and Kristen … you have 115 ... wait ... your key cards. Nina and Judith … you got 116. Your cards … and you’re with me, Maddy. Oddly enough, we got 117.”

As the shuffling settled, Jenny continued. “As it’s late already, I would suggest everyone just put their luggage in their rooms. I’m told the restaurant across the road is pretty good ... so once everyone’s back here ... we can go.”

Following dinner, Jenny started to organize things for the next day with Hans while the girls drifted to Judith’s room, just to unwind.

Even though the others had seen both girls holding hands or even sharing the odd kiss, it was the first real opportunity for the team to talk amongst themselves since Maddy joined the ‘tour’ and Gaby’s teammates were anxious to hear exactly what’s going on with those two.

As soon as both girls wandered into the room and joined the others, Gaby had a good idea that she and Maddy would be a topic for discussion.

“Judith knows from school … so she’s okay with me. Kris knew about Drew, Gaby an’ Maddy … an’ she knows about the real Gaby … so ... how does she feel about two lesbians? Guess we’ll soon find out … then there’s Nina. We haven’t known each other that long … so I’ve no bloody idea how she’s gonna react … on the up side … they’ve all seen Maddy an’ me together … an’ it’s not like we’ve tried to hide our rings either…”

“Okay, kids ... sitzen Sie. The time has come to tell us of many things ... like ... exactly what ist going on between you two!” Judith playfully ordered while staring at their diamonds.

“No mystery. You’ve all seen Mad an’ I together.”

“Is that why you ran out on us last Thursday?” Kristen asked while pointing to Maddy’s ring.

“Uh huh. I had to get to town an’ pick them up before the jewellers closed.”

“What about Friday? You weren’t around,” Nina wondered.

“Back in Warsop ... proposing to Maddy.”

“You’re engaged?...” Judith asked in disbelief.

“...To each other?” Kristen quickly finished the question.

“We’re both wearing diamonds, Kris...” Gaby dryly pointed out.

Although the girls expected some kind of a reaction, they didn’t expect the stunned silence that descended onto the room. After several minutes with no one saying anything, they rose without uttering a sound and unexpectantly walked out, leaving the others back in the room.

While slowly walking down the hall towards the lobby, Gaby came across a side exit. Peering through the door’s window, they saw it opened onto the side parking lot with a manicured treed grass area beyond that.

“Come with me...” Maddy whispered as she took Gaby’s hand and opened the door.

“Where we going?”

“Those trees … it’s a nice night.”

The two crossed the parking lot and stopped under a clump of trees, holding each other and listening to the night sounds.

“It’s happening all over … innit Mad?” Gaby tearfully whispered. “I thought…”

“No ... it’s not! It’s nothing like before. Kris and Judith already knew about us. They just need a bit of time to get over the engagement thing, sweetheart ... you’ll see … it’ll be alright. Even if they have a problem with it … your mum’s not going to let their ‘problem’ ruin this tour!” Maddy softly reasoned.

Both girls continued to silently embrace each other and only released their hold later when they heard a door close and nearby voices.

“I think that ist them over there … by those trees!” Maddy thought it sounded like Judith, but they both remained silent.

“Hey … you two! We haff been looking for you,” Judith called out as she and the others approached.

“When ve told Jenny what happened und you weren’t in your room…” Nina added.

“I’m sorry Gabi. I should have expected this. For as long as I haff known you, you haff always talked about ‘your’ Maddy,” Judith quietly apologized as she hugged both girls.

“Mein Gott, girl! We don’t even haff steady boyfriends yet ... und you tell us that you’re ready to get married! You two set a date yet?”

“Nein…” Gaby started to quietly reply until Kristen approached them.

“I’m sorry guys! Crikey, Gabs ... talk about being gobsmacked! You don’t do anything in half measures ... do you, girl? You’d think that for as long as I’ve known you two, I would’ve expected you’d to go off and pull something like this ... and then when you do...”

“Still, you gotta admit … a bit of a shocker, innit? It’s not every day a girl friend tells me she’s getting married to another girl. Anyway … I’m so happy for both of you!” Kris quietly squealed as she gave a hug and a kiss on the cheek, to both Maddy and Gaby.

“I never knew you liked girls, Gabi. I admit it did throw me to see you guys together und I didn’t really notice your rings until we were talking in the room. At first … I was … how you say … repulsed … then I realised that you’re still the same person I’ve always known und you’re still meine Freundin,” Nina sheepishly admitted as she hugged the two girls. “Congratulations!”

“C’mon! We gotta get you back to your mum so she knows you’re safe!” Kristen advised.

As the four girls entered the main lobby of the hotel, Jenny hurried to embrace both of her girls.

“The others told me what happened. When we tried your room and you weren’t there … I started to get worried. Where were you two?” Jenny anxiously inquired.

“Outside … lookin’ at the stars. I had to go somewhere to think an’ Mad came with me,” Gaby softly explained to her mother. “When the others didn’t say anything ... all I could think about was Grottoes.”

Jenny was aware of her eyes misting over as she hugged her daughter and whispered, “It’s not going to happen, darling…”

“Will you be okay or would you like me to swap Maddy and Kristen? Maddy might be able to help you if...”

“Tempting ... but I’m fine, Mum ... really,” Gaby joked as she and Maddy clung to each other.

“Okay ... but if things get too much, you let Maddy know and I’ll try to give you two some quiet time together. I’m not Jules...” The veiled significance of Jenny’s closing comment didn’t escape Gaby.

“Don’t worry, Mum ... not gonna happen ... I promise,” Gaby whispered as she quickly hugged her mother.

The next morning at seven sharp, she called each room, with a personalized wake-up call. The girls were told to dress casually for breakfast and meet in the lobby in an hour. Gaby claimed the shower first and promised Kristen that she could have it first the following day.

Once Gaby relinquished the shower, Kristen got up off the bed and gave her ‘roomie’ a big hug before heading off for her own shower.

“You will send me an invite to your wedding … right?”

“Of course…” Gaby replied, somewhat caught off guard by her teammate’s playful demand.

“Good! Now that we got that settled…”

Following a peck on the cheek, Kristen walked into the bathroom.

“This looks like the right room … an’ she looks like Kris. A clone, maybe? Naw!”

Once everyone was gathered in the lobby, Jenny explained that although the race wasn’t for another day, there was still a lot to do.

The day’s planned workload was light to give the girls a chance to get over any jet lag, but still included a drive over the race circuit and a follow-up team meeting. When Jenny mentioned that all of West Virginia lay within the Appalachian Mountains, the rest of the team instinctively turned to look at Gaby. They had a feeling that any tactics they thought up, would likely build upon her hill climbing talents.

A short time later the girls donned their team jackets and walked across the road from the hotel to the restaurant. While they were waiting to be seated, they caught the eyes of many of the customers who were already eating. Several of the cyclists among them openly focused their gazes upon Gaby and her flag festooned collar.

“Apollinaris! Guten Morgen!”

As Gaby and the others scanned the room, they noticed a couple of the girls from Team High Road beckoning them over to two empty tables beside them.

“Can we be seated with them?” Gaby asked the hostess while pointing to the source of the greeting.

“Sho’ can!”

As they followed the hostess to their tables, the other cyclists present in the room silently watched the scene unfold. They knew the reputation of both teams and what kind of competition they now faced.

“Can we make room for three others?” Gaby asked as she saw Diane Biggs walk in, followed by Erin and Jessica.

“No problem … but keep your mum’s seat open, Gabs...” Kristen replied while the others shifted over.

Gaby immediately waved to get their attention and the three women soon found themselves seated amongst two of the powerhouses in women’s junior cycling. After they got settled, she began the lengthy round of introductions amongst those seated at the three tables.

“Erin and I read in the Comics you guys were coming to this race, so the three of us thought we’d come see how you were doing,” Diane mentioned, while pointing to Erin and Jessica.

“Diane’s not riding this time. She was curious to see how it’s done in the big leagues,” Erin grinned as Diane playfully slapped her in the arm.

Once Jenny finished with her call to Dave, she walked up to the hostess’ table and asked where the rest of the team were seated. As she was being shown to their table, a wave of respectful silence descended amongst the cyclist’s in the room.

Although accustomed to some attention, Jenny was caught off balance by this and momentarily froze, causing the restaurant’s hostess to also stop and scan the surreal scene. It had been awhile since she had encountered a reception like that and it made her feel warm inside. Jenny eventually nodded her head and smiled in thanks, before continuing to the table and her ’reserved’ seat beside Gaby.

Shortly after Jenny was seated and their food orders taken, Jessica noticed Gaby’s ring.

“What’s this?”

“Things worked out,” Gaby quietly offered while directing Jessica’s gaze to Maddy’s hand. Still feeling a bit uncomfortable with her surroundings, she wisely kept her voice low.

“You’re not going to keep me away, you know. I’ll expect an invitation...” Jessica quietly, but cheerfully hinted.

“That’s two! Guess we better start a list, Mad…” Gaby whispered.

By this time, both Erin and Diane had picked up some of the hushed conversation and noticed the diamond rings on both girls.

“Let’s...” Diane excitedly began.

“Shhhh ... later,” Jessica silently mouthed while looking directly at her two fellow Virginians.

Following breakfast, Brian brought the van around and the team climbed in for their planned tour of the race venue.

“Before we leave to tour the circuit … all I want to say is that this area is quite rugged, as you’ll see. It’s only a single lap … starting and ending in Beckley. However, don’t let that fool you. It’s a very technical thirty-six miles … thanks to the rugged terrain in these parts. Okay … everyone set? Let’s go.”

Three hours later, they arrived back at the hotel and went into their ‘huddle’ to discuss the course, in detail, as well as what everyone can expect during the race. After the informal meeting, Hans and Maddy made sure everything was in order with the team’s Tahoe and the bikes, in preparation for race day.

Later at dinner, Erin and Diane happened to meet the two girls outside the restaurant.

“Jess told us! I guess congratulations are in order ... both of you!” Erin quietly enthused as she and Diane hugged the two girls. “Damn … you two sho’ make a purdy couple!”

“It doesn’t bother you?” Gaby asked.

“Hell, no! We’re not all like that … but after listening to Jess. We understand why you kept your voices down.”

“Better add two more names to that list, sweetheart…”

“Listen to her Gabs,” Diane mischievously put in before the four of them entered the restaurant to join the others.

During the meal, conversation naturally drifted to the upcoming race. Erin and Diane quickly volunteered to help out the team at the feed. Rather than rely only on the race organizers, Jenny was grateful for the offer and in return invited Jessica to ride along in the van with her and Maddy.

Race day and preparations were finalized for the ten AM start. Erin and Diane had already positioned themselves at the ‘feed’, which was located near Harper, just over seventeen miles into the race.

As the start time drew closer, Jenny took her place behind the wheel of the SUV, while Hans sat in the front passenger seat ready to spring into action should his mechanical talents be required.

Maddy sat behind Jenny with the water and some other supplies beside her.

“Jen ... what can I do besides take up room?” Jessica asked once she sat down on the bench seat, opposite Maddy.

“Maddy?” Jenny put Jessica’s question directly into her lap.

“There’s not much to do ... but I guess you can keep these two cases of water between us and hand me some bottles or some of those energy snacks when I ask for ‘em.”

“That all?”

“It makes my job of passing ‘em out a little easier,” Maddy joked.

“Will those four go through all of this?” Jessica seriously asked.

“Considering the nature of this course ... it’s quite possible,” Jenny answered as she quickly glanced over her shoulder, into the back seat.

Team Apolllinaris took their positions, ready for the mass start. Jenny positioned their SUV amongst all the other support vehicles, behind the cyclists. Besides the individual riders and the two European teams, there were a number of American-based club teams as well as Giant Canada/Team Whistler from Canada. The race was only two years old, but the field for the 2008 edition consisted of some seventy-five individual cyclists from three countries.

Exactly at ten AM, the peloton moved off. For the first eleven miles or so, it remained rather static, with everyone more or less out for a relaxing ride, checking out the course.

Like in Atlanta, Gaby chose to position her team near the front in the early stages, content to let Team Giant and Team High Road do the initial work with setting the pace.

As the field approached Surveyor, there was plenty of movement with many of the rider’s jockeying for positions within the peloton. It appeared that her strategy paid off once again as the activity level in the field, increased.

Once past Surveyor, the first serious break came when two of the Canadian riders took off, with one of High Road's girls close behind. They were quickly brought back in, but in the process when all attention was focused elsewhere, Gaby and Kristen blew by the leaders and opened a lead between them and the rest of the peloton. Uta and Sabine, from Team High Road, eventually crossed the gap and joined up with them.

Shortly after the successful break, a girl from the Canadian squad tried her luck and crossed the gap, unchallenged by the other riders. In time, with help from the local terrain, the gap between them and the main peloton was extended to almost three minutes!

A short time later, eleven others that included the rest of Team High Road and Team Apollinaris broke from the main peloton while ascending a fairly long grade.

Upon reaching the feed at Harper, Gaby remembered Atlanta, years ago and the way she felt after crossing the finishing line. This time she wisely decided to take Erin’s offering of a mussette. Besides, Lance wasn’t around!

By slowing down the pace for the feed, it gave the girls of the chase group the opportunity to join the five leaders resulting in a tidy little group of sixteen, leading the way.

Between Harper and Maple Fork, the main peloton closed the gap to the point where the leaders could see the breakaway group. It looked as if they would eventually absorb the leaders, but sheer determination on the part of the lead group eventually saw the gap again grow, this time to almost seven minutes by the time they passed by Bradley.

A fourteen-mile run to Beckley now lay before them and with the number of strong riders amongst the leaders, it appeared to Gaby that if it came down to a mass sprint, that the team’s role would be to position Kristen in the pack so that they would be able to take full advantage of her sprinting ability.

With all of Team Apollinaris together once again, it meant Jenny’s job was easier in that she didn’t have to run between the main peloton and the leaders to keep her girl’s supplied with water, energy snacks and advice. It seemed about the only one that got off lightly, was Hans. Thankfully, except for a quick on-the-fly adjustment to Judith’s gears, there was little demand for his talents.

At the one-mile marker, there was a lot of activity within the lead group. At the half-mile marker, Sabine from Team High Road and Jenelle, from Team Giant, broke from the group of sixteen. Several of the other girls quickly responded but they didn’t catch them until the last hundred or so yards! Jenelle kept her momentum going and threatened to trigger an all-out sprint!

Gaby and Kristen emerged from a small group within this new breakaway and chased down the two girls. At about fifty yards, Sabine couldn’t keep the pace and dropped back, but in so doing, caused Kristen to ease up a fraction to avoid a collision.

Sensing that her teammate wasn’t with her any longer, Gaby seized the initiative and called upon all her reserves to overtake Jenelle in the last few yards. Uta sprinted up to the leaders but she faded with only yards to go. In the end it was Gaby, by less than a bike length — followed by Jenelle and Kristen.

The official times put only fractions of a second between the top three! Uta crossed the line a full half second after Kristen. In terms of team efforts, it was the three non-American teams that took the top four positions, with Team Apollinaris capturing first and third, Team Giant grabbing second place and Team High Road coming in a respectable fourth.

The race organizers had booked one of the hotel’s conference rooms for a small reception that evening, for all to relax. The following day was deemed a ‘travel day’ for everyone.

Next morning Gaby was already dressed and just closing her luggage, when her mum came around and knocked on the door with her seven AM wake-up. When she entered the room, Jenny noticed that it was all cleaned up, bags packed and Kristen was seated on one of the room’s chairs.

“Up early … were we?” Jenny asked with a smile.

“Ummmm … five-forty-five sound about right, Kris?” Gaby asked as she walked past her mum.

“Give or take…”

“Okay … breakfast at eight. Meet in the lobby.”

As Jenny left to awaken the rest, Maddy walked into the room, past Kristen and straight to Gaby with a ‘good morning’ kiss.

“I could easily get used to this,” Gaby dreamily commented as she held Maddy in her arms.

“Ready for your last brekkie in Beckley?”

“Just need our jackets,” Kristen replied.

Both girls grabbed their team jackets and Kristen made sure she had the room pass before the three girls walked out the door, letting it lock behind them.

Once the team assembled, they walked over to the restaurant only to discover that it was very busy with the other bike teams having the same idea. The team was spared the long waiting time when one of the girls from T-Mobile approached the hostess desk after spotting their team jackets.

After the previous morning, this time when T-Mobile was originally seated, they informed the hostess that Team Apollinaris and their friends were to join them. Erin, Diane and Jessica were already seated when Jenny and the team arrived.

Following breakfast and a few tearful farewells between the two girls and their three American friends, everyone adjourned back to the hotel. A short time later, the team was on the road back to Charleston.

As he closed the plane’s cabin door, the co-pilot turned to his passengers.

“Guten Morgen, meine Damen … Hans … Sicherheitsgurte, bitte?”

After bidding them a good morning and asking them to fasten their seat belts, he proceeded to remind them of the emergency procedures as pilot began to taxi the aircraft.

A short time after he returned to the cockpit, they were airborne and heading to Toronto, the first of two Canadian stops on the ‘tour’.
Since the flight was going to be a couple of hours, Jenny took the opportunity to let everyone know that this race will be quite different from Beckley.

“This will likely turn out to be a sprinter’s race … so your focus will be to get Kris through this. It’s to be run on a pistol-shaped paved racecourse. In fact an F1car race was run on the same track last week. This means you can expect a mainly flat course with wide paved surfaces, some sweeping curves, a couple of very sharp curves and fast long straight sections ... in other words … a fast track.”

“The bulk of the course sits on their permanent exposition grounds, but it also uses a long straight section of a city street. The road race will be seven laps for a total of 70 kilometre.”

Following a brief pause, she continued her talk.

“Okay … just like Beckley. Today is set aside to get registered and settled in … then tomorrow, we do it!”

Almost as an after thought, Jenny added, “We’ll be at the ‘Westin Harbour Castle’ hotel. Any complaints with the room assignments you had in Beckley?”

As soon as she asked the question, Jenny threw a subtle glance towards Gaby and Maddy.

“Good! We’ll keep them for the rest of the tour. Well ... that’s it for me … any questions … comments … no? Then relax for the rest of the flight.”

Approximately two hours later, Eric returned to the cabin to ensure all his passengers were prepared for landing at Toronto’s Pearson International. Since they approached Toronto from the west, but had to land from an eastern approach, the team’s aircraft assumed its spot in a large flight pattern that circled a large portion of the city. This gave the girls a good chance to see Toronto from the air.

Finally they were on the ground and taxiing over to the north side of the airport to the ‘Field Aviation’ facilities, where they where met by two customs officials and another van, trailer and driver, supplied by the race organizer’s.

The driver introduced himself as Ron and following introductions of the team members, he helped Maddy and Hans unload the plane. Once everything was secured in the van and trailer and they were cleared by customs, they started their 25 kilometre trip to the hotel.

During the drive to the hotel, he took Lakeshore Blvd to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds and the site of the next day’s bike race. Finding the stretch of pavement that doubles as ‘pit row’ for the annual Molson Indy, Ron quickly found the ‘pit’ allotted to Team Apollinaris.

Maddy and Hans quickly unhooked the trailer and secured it, assured that the race organizer’s also had security for the night. Meanwhile, Jenny and Ron took the opportunity to drive the girls around the planned course and let them study it first hand.

“Not overly technical … is it?” Judith pointed out.

“But it is fast,” Kristen pointed out. “I think I see some potential … don’t you Gabs?”

“Uh huh.”

At the hotel, with the girls already familiar with the room assignments, things went quickly.

“Okay ... that was painless. Any ideas before dinner?” Jenny asked once they were together in the hotel lobby.

“Wouldn’t mind a peak at the CN Tower. You can walk to it from here ... according to that guy over there,” Kristen voiced while pointing towards the reception desk.

“Ja. That ist the tallest free-standing tower in der vorld!” Nina enthused.

“Any objections?” Jenny asked. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Arriving at the base of the tower after a short walk from the hotel, the girls discovered that it’s the world’s tallest free-standing structure at 1815.5 feet. Ever the adventurous one, Kristen led the others into the high-speed elevator for the short trip up 1,122 feet to the outdoor observation deck and its glass floor.

After they took in the indoor observation deck above them, it was time for the team to descend to ground level where they headed to their reservations at one of the local eateries. Following supper, it was back to the hotel and a team strategy meeting.

During the meeting, Gaby and Kristen noted that except for the sharp ninety-degree turns off Princes Blvd. onto Lakeshore Blvd. and again off Lakeshore onto Ontario Drive, the course consisted of wide two and thee-lane roads with for the most part, gentle sweeping curves and long straights.

They also noted the course dramatically narrowed at those two turns, which could cause potential ‘bottlenecks’ for the peloton. However, a few riders in single file could get through at speed and the team could potentially use that to their advantage.

Their training with the pro Team Apollinaris saw the girls regularly hitting 45-50kph, so the idea was to use speeds like that in bursts to wear down the competition. On one hand, the trick was not to use it so much that the team also tired out in the process, but on the other hand, they were confident that their training with the pro team had gone a long way to prepare them for such an effort.

Next morning, a six AM wake-up and breakfast with another ten AM race start. Toronto police had already closed off a portion of Lakeshore Blvd. for the race when the team had arrived at the Exhibition grounds.

Ron pulled into the team’s position on ‘pit row’ before eight-thirty. This gave Hans and Maddy plenty of time to prepare the support van as well as let the team and the bikes go through the registration process.

Jenny called the team together for a last minute talk. When it was time, they assumed their start positions. Maddy remained in the ‘pit’ while Jenny and Hans took the van to its position at the rear of the field in preparation for the mass start.

Once the race started, Gaby again, took her team up to a position near the front, content to allow others to do the work and set the pace. The peloton quickly slowed and bunched up to negotiate the sharp corner leading to the narrow single lane road that allowed access onto the wide straight that was Lakeshore Blvd.

As soon as all the team was on Lakeshore, Gaby used their speed and surprised the competition by leading the three other girls in an early breakaway. Several others, including two from Team High Road also broke out and joined Team Apollinaris, but soon found that in order to keep up, they had to maintain the fast pace that Team Apollinaris had not only set, but were maintaining.

Leading the pack, Kristen next prepared the group for the turn off Lakeshore Blvd., back onto the exhibition grounds via Ontario Drive. They followed her, single file to the right-hand side of the road where they were able to enter the rather sharp turn, taking the corner wide and ending up near the left-hand curb as they exited the turn.

Despite the efforts of this lead group to take the turn at speed, one of High Road's girls failed to negotiate the curve, sliding into the hay bales that lined the sides of the sharper corners, taking down three others, including Nina. Judith, being the fifth cyclist, went into the bales but quickly rejoined the race and chased down her friends.

Jenny was driving the first support vehicle on the scene, followed by the race’s medical team. Fortunately, injuries were minimal — cuts and scrapes. Nina’s front tire was bent from the impact and had to be replaced, but Hans soon had her back in the running.

As a result of the minor pile-up and the sharp turn, the larger numbers of riders in the main peloton slowed right down and were forced to ‘string’ themselves out to make the same turn. Even when the peloton had snaked through the turn, the breakaway group still had a two-and-a-half minute lead.

Entering the wide sweeping turn that would take them off Ontario Drive onto Princes Blvd and the straight run past ‘pit row’, Kristen noted both Judith and Nina had rejoined the rest. Being careful not to use body language that would give her intentions away, she upped the pace, pulling the rest of the team away from the initial breakaway group. Her computer showed that they hit 54kph during that breakaway attempt.

As they raced down the straight past ‘pit row’ they resumed a slower pace to make the sharp right, back onto Lakeshore Blvd. The four girls intentionally let the peloton close the gap while on the straight, giving themselves a bit of a rest and knowing the main field would have to slow for the sharp turn, while they would be able to take the turn at a fair speed. Back again on the Lakeshore, Gaby and the others resumed the fast pace.

Throughout the race, they continually varied their pace and took advantage of the track’s layout to slowly wear down the opposition while increasing the gap between themselves and the main field as well as fending off at least two attempts to chase them down.

On lap six, Kristen took the turn onto Ontario Drive a bit too wide almost hitting the retaining wall, leaving Gaby to take up the slack. Soon after she rejoined her friends, seven others including Jenelle, Lisa and Heather from Team Giant, managed to catch and this time stay with Team Apollinaris.

Once they reached Princes Blvd on the bell lap, it was clear to all that this would have to end in a sprint, given the talent in the lead group and the nature of the course. Gaby decided to force the issue knowing Kristen was in a good position to go — if they could do something about Jenelle.

Once they hit the straight, Gaby and Judith broke out in a mad dash with a few hundred metres to go. Although Gaby knew she wouldn’t win a sprint at this distance, she hoped two of the Canadian girls would chase after her and Judith. With a wide straight, Lisa fading and Jenelle occupied, Kristen went wide to the right, passing the four girls and catching Jenelle by surprise.

Seeing Kristen go past her, Gaby gave it her all and in the end it was another victory for Team Apollinaris in a clean sweep. Kristen was first by several bike lengths, with Gaby and Judith next to cross the line. Jenelle came across the line in fourth place, less than a wheel length behind Judith.

With the all-out effort in the sprint, Gaby was ‘spent’ when she crossed the finishing line. Unlike Atlanta, she managed to stay on her bike until she approached the team’s trailer on ‘pit row’, where Ron ran out to help her off the bike and guide her to a place she could sit down.

Despite High Road's best finish with Elsa, who crossed in fifteenth position, there was a friendly but competitive three-way rivalry shaping up between Team Apollinaris, Junior Women's Team High Road and Team Giant.

Following the podium ceremonies, the trailer was loaded up and the team went back to the hotel. There, Hans unhooked it, leaving it for the night in a secured compound in the hotel’s parking lot.

That evening at dinner, on the eve of their first scheduled ‘off-day’ of the ‘tour’, Gaby and Maddy approached Jenny.

“Mum?”

“You two want something, don’t you?” Jenny asked with a smile.

“We didn’t say anything,” Gaby innocently replied.

“No … but I know my daughter and that tone of voice ... now, what can your ol’ mum do for you?”

“Tomorrow … do you think we could go to that beach that Jessica mentioned is near here?”

“An’ to that Indian reservation, no doubt … hmmmm? Don’t forget I talked to her, too!”

“… But after what you girls pulled off today … I think we can arrange it … now all we have to do is to find how to get there ... you wouldn’t happen to know the name of this place, so we can ask at the desk?”

“Sandbanks Provincial Park!” Maddy confidently volunteered a bit too quickly for Jenny.

“You’re sure?” Jenny asked while trying to suppress a knowing grin.

“Uh huh…” Gaby confirmed, once again demonstrating her mastery of conversation.

“I don’t suppose you also know how to get there?”

“Not really … but … Jenelle does ….her Gran lives in Picton … so she knows the area really well,” Gaby hastily admitted.

“Jenelle? Picton?” Jenny flatly echoed.

“Jenelle Harrison. She’s with Team Giant,” Maddy offered as Jenny turned to look at her.

“... and Picton?” Jenny pressed for more information.

“It’s a town near the Sandbanks,” Gaby provided.

“An’ this Reservation?”

“That too. Oh! … by the way, Mum? This is Jenelle,” Gaby casually replied while motioning for another girl to come into the room.

“Okay ... you win! Let me talk to Hans and see if he has any plans for tomorrow,” Jenny conceded with a chuckle while she picked up the phone to call his room.

“Okay … that’s settled,” she mentioned when got off the phone.

“Turns out that Ron’s invited Hans to spend the day with him … so that leaves us with the van and me to do the driving. If Jenelle wants to come along and be our guide … she’s more than welcome ... assuming she’s got the day of as well.”

“I do,” Jenelle quickly confirmed.

“Okay, then ... I’ll go find her team manager to get his permission.”

“I guess that means you’re comin’ …right?” Maddy quickly turned to their new friend for her answer. Jenelle enthusiastically nodded her head and then ran off to help Jenny look for her team manager.

After a short hunt, Jenny found Team Giant’s manager and quickly got the necessary approval for Jenelle to accompany the team the following day. After Gaby and Maddy joined their new friend, the three girls took off to round up the others while Jenny found herself in an enjoyable discussion with her counterpart after finding they shared some common ground.

By mid morning the next day, after a bit more than two hours on the road, they were unloading the van at the Provincial Park. Jenny and the girls soon found themselves walking barefoot through the warm sand, following Jenelle to one of the many cabin-like change huts scattered along the length of the beach. Once in their bathing suits, they all gathered on the warm sand, holding their towels and beach bags.

“Now, which way?” Jenny asked. The girls were impressed when they crossed over some low dunes and saw a wide stretch of sandy beach in both directions.

After locating a bit of territory with an empty picnic table and a bit of shade they could claim as their own, the girls became aware they weren’t the only one’s impressed with the scenery!

“Blimey! School’s out...” Kristen quietly enthused as they saw a bunch of athletic college-aged guys looking at them.

“I think I’ve been going to the wrong school…” Judith playfully remarked as she noticed a few of the boys in particular. Moments later, the girls were all laughing and chasing her into the warm waters of Lake Ontario.

Nina voiced her surprise at how far out they could go before they were out over their heads and how sandy the bottom was! All too soon, it was decided it was time to head back to the table and the lunch they picked up at one of the stops along the highway.

When it came time to ‘catch some rays’, nobody skimped on the sunscreen as no one wanted to wear skins with a sunburn. Early in the afternoon, it was collectively decided to get dressed then head for stop number two and some shopping at the “Trading Post” on the Tyendinaga Indian Reserve near Shannonville.

Some time later, after travelling on country roads, they’d left Prince Edward County and were pulling up in front of their destination.

“Doesn’t look like much,” Judith offered.

“Papa would call this a tacky tourist-trap,” Nina quietly mentioned as she looked at the three log-cabin buildings, covered in all sorts of knick-nacks fastened to the outer walls.

“You guys gotta see inside … there’s three floors of stuff … all made here on the Reserve!” Jenelle urged the others to head inside.

“Mein Gott! This ist amazing!” Judith enthused as the girls ventured through the doors of the main building.

The exterior might’ve been not as grandiose as its reputation but after entering, all the girls quickly discovered it was clearly a case of ‘not judging a book by its cover’. As a couple of the staff stood by, Jenelle explained that most of the clothing and jewellery were on the first floor, furniture and art on the second and third floors.

“Okay, girls … away you go! Explore … but … remember we’ve still got a long drive in front of us … and whatever you buy has to go into your luggage!”

Jenny turned the girls loose on all three floors of Mohawk-made merchandise, but in the end packing considerations decided jewellery and clothing were to be the most popular items. However, no one came out of that store, empty-handed.

“Gabs … whaddya think?” After having worn Gaby’s pair, Maddy was eyeing her own pair of moccasin boots.

“Think you’ll have to try them on … somehow I doubt they have a size conversion chart,” Gaby jokingly replied.

“Should get a pair, Kris … they make real comfy slippers on those cold winter nights and they look ‘kewl’ in the summer,” Maddy related as Kris was also examining the moccasins.

Both girls also bought a few pairs of earrings and other jewellery. Gaby bought another ‘Nighthawk feather’ as she thought her other one was starting to look a bit worn, despite Maddy’s assurances to the contrary. She also came away with another fringed rawhide jacket to replace the one she got on her fifteenth birthday.

Just before she walked out, Gaby made sure she picked up a business card and brochure for the store.

Jenny was feeling a bit lighter in the wallet as well, after she also purchased a pair of moccasin boots and jewellery for herself, plus a plain rawhide jacket for Dave and a woman’s beaded rawhide jacket for Jules.

Finally they all climbed back into the van and once again, hit the highway, this time back to Toronto and their last night in the city.

Tomorrow, the ‘tour’ would jet off to the West Coast of Canada and their last Canadian stop — Vancouver.
 
 
Comments are Greatly Appreciated!

---

 
To Be Continued...