Rain Rain go away...

And it did. Thursday at Devils Head was almost washed out but the last storm stayed to the south and we got almost 2 hours of riding in. Chasity is riding out there twice a week and getting faster every week. It was a small turnout due to the weather but I got to ride with a World Champ and a Texan. Thanks to Terry, Cody, and Kurt for the work they have been doing on the trails, they would be un-ridable without you.
Sunday was another fine Brefixt ride. We had 12 riders this time which seems to be about average. The route took us into Loganville to the Upfront Cafe. Everything seemed fine until after 1:45 we started to wonder where our food was. I tried to cancel my order and just grab something from the Cenex but they "just put it on the grill, and they could make it to go". WTF, at least the company was good and it was a beautiful day to be on the bike

Goundhogs Day

A grassy ski hill? I never have liked Sunburst and I never will. Since I will miss race number 7 I felt compelled to go to Westbend and race on a freshly mowed hill. Niki said it best, "it feels like that movie Groundhogs Day when you are out in the fields". I had a terrible start ( fell to fifth overall so no call-up) after Don said gooooooo a guy flatted at the front and as he was trying to get out of the way the rider behind him into him and then I hit him, 12-15 people go by us and the chase is on. I only managed to pass 4-5 people before the single track climb and got stuck in the traffic. Oh well I did what I could from there and worked my way forward as best I could. The top 30 still remains elusive to me, it seems like 3 minutes is not that long but when you stand in one spot and wait for another person for three minutes it is an eternity. I will keep driving and striving and going for speed. The main goal this year is Ore to Shore, hoping to get close to the three hour mark. Last time I did the race (2005) my time was 3:23.

Call Up

This race course is AWESOME. I finally have enough points to get a call up to the starting line. So I am sitting there wondering what I should do, go all out and try to win the race to the single track or sit third wheel and let someone else do the work. Well the adrenaline was pumping and I took off for the lead. That was dumb, I made it to the grassy field still at the front but by the time we hit the first section of twisty stuff I was in fourth. I tried to recover for a bit and lost some ground. By this time I was maybe in tenth. I felt really good and kept hammering every time we hit the double track. Thanks to Chasity,Brian, Niki, Terry, Mark, John, and various other people on the course it seemed like I had a fan at every section of the trail yelling "GO MEAT". It was awesome. Then mile number 21 of 24 hit me like a ton of bricks, the legs started to lock up and then I dropped my chain. I think maybe 10-12 people passed me, there went my hopes of my first top 40 overall in Comp. I did manage to get back four of those spots including one in my age group in the finishing sprint. Ended up 8th in age group and 41st overall. I guess I just need to get faster. Oh yeah the citizen racers were piled up like cord wood.

They are stacked up like cord wood

The Firecracker is in three days now. I remember watching the Citizen race a few years ago as they started the single-track. They kept falling of the edge of an off-camber downhill turn and piling up on each other. Ryan said "they look like they are stacked up like cord wood". I fell pretty good after my rest week, but I am sure I will be disappointed with my results Sunday. You just never know how the legs will react. Devils Head was awesome tonight no dust, tacky, nice and cool outside, sure am glad the trails are open again.