My first race was a surprise and meant to be a joke. I would go with the team from the Cosmic Wheel in Bogota NJ and take pictures. The boys would race because there were no girls racing locally in 1978. So one Sunday they signed me up. I was nervous and excited at the same time. Being up on the gate my nerves turned to anger when several of the boys started laughing and making fun of me. Like most 11 year old boys would do. Well the gate dropped with a "riders ready pedals set" and I came in third place in my first race! As time went by and I began to win against the boys the laughter stopped.
