Heading East to Easton

By Emily Flynn

The 3rd stop on the team’s schedule we headed down to PA/NJ for a weekend of racing. It was a triple-header that included Easton Twilight on Saturday, the Tour of Plainfield on Sunday, and the Tour of Somerville on Memorial Day Monday. But first, we got to get to know the amazing community in Easton, PA. Work with the incredible artist Lisa Congdon on a mural in honor of our friend and supporter Ade Hogue and take a visit to Bicycling Magazine.

By Matt Cannon

Easton Twilight was a savage race from the start with the CWA team throwing out attacks from the gun. Mix in rain and fading light and it made for an epic race - including some photos with a double rainbow. Sunday saw CWA assert their dominance again, but this time we were ready, and our pack ninja extraordinaire, Mariana, was able to outsmart the CWA train for the win! 

For me, the Tour of Somerville is one of the more important races on the calendar – not for the usual reasons you think of, but because of Ellen Watters. Ellen was my best friend, teammate, roommate, and soul sister, and in 2016 she won the Tour of Somerville in an extraordinary fashion. I remember celebrating that team win and just being so excited – the team had an amazing year that year. With this win, Ellen’s cycling world blew open with possibility. Tragically she was hit and killed while out on a training ride in her home province of New Brunswick in December 2016. She was slated to start the next year with a professional contract from Colavita.

I  told my LA Sweat teammates that I wanted to win the Tour of Somerville this year. This is not something I say out loud often for fear of failure, fear I will cave under the pressure, fear I will disappoint my team. But I said it because I wanted it and I wanted to honor Ellen in doing so. It ended up being a bit of a struggle with the team tired from two hard days of racing. I was caught behind a crash with five laps to go and had to chase back on and ended the day in 9th. I may not have won, but I gave it my all – just like Ellen would. Thank you to my team for supporting me <3 We will be back next year!