What a great day for a race! The last time I was at Camp Ingawanis in Waverly it was 30 some degrees and snowing/raining off and on plus we had to run thru a river 4 times. This time was way more enjoyable. The bridges held up enough that you could walk across the river and the weather was perfect for racing. After last week I was looking forward to getting back on the bike and putting on a better performance.

At the start 40 of us were lined up and ready to roll. As usual I slid to the back of the pack right off the start. For some reason I just don't like going all out the first 2 - 3 miles. Coming up to the first bridge I had already decided to not be foolish and try to ride it. Unfortunately for the rider in front of me he chose differently. The bridge itself is rideable but the problem is it doesn't span the entire width of the river bed. So you get dropped off about halfway into some really loose sand that is about 20' to the bank and then you have a steep 6' climb up the bank. The rider in front of me decided to try and ride and made it across the bridge and about two pedal strokes in the sand before biffing it. I easily caught him and we scrambled up the bank together.

From here I stuck on his rear wheel for a while to get my flow going. I didn't want to make my move in the flat stuff. Once we hit an open grass area I told him I was passing and he remarked he didn't know if he could make two laps. I reassured him he was fine (I know him) and told him to keep going. From there I was off to chase down the next rider. I hammered by myself for a while until I caught one of the previous guy's teammates. I stuck on his wheel for a while and we chased down a couple young pups in front of us. At some point I passed Rick and started working on this new pair of riders. I noticed real quick that they didn't climb well. I closed the gap on every climb. I knew a tough steep climb was up ahead so I placed myself ready to take em there. Once we hit the first guy dismounted half way up and the other guy did the same. I hollered coming thru and went right by em. I kept the hammer down on the climb to build a little gap on them. The rest of the first lap I just worked to keep them farther behind me. It was shortly after them that I came across another pair of riders.

We were coming up on the start/finish area so I just hung back and held the pace for a bit. We were in some twisty tight singletrack that doesn't favor me so I just held on for a while. Thru the start/finish area they took off down the doubletrack so I quickly follow suit. I started paying attention to the rider in front of me and notied that he wasn't riding smart....he was on full suspension bike but was still not going smoothly over the terrain and was letting the bike throw him everywhere. The other guy kept reaching back and stretching so I knew his hands and arms must be sore. They also didn't climb well like the other pair I had passed earlier. Since they were riding hard and I was running maxed I decided to wait and see if they screwed up.

At the first bridge one of them did...he tried riding it and kerplunked in the sand (I know I should have passed him here). We went into the trail in the same positions again. I knew another tough rocky climb was upcoming so I jumped right on the one guy's rear wheel and waited. Before we got there he let me by and now I clung to the other guy. Knowing the climb was right around a corner I shifted down (they didn't) and was ready for the climb. I gave him a small gap and it payed off. About half way up he had slowed and actually stopped. What sucked is right when he stopped I was beside him and he fell into me. Luckily I stayed on my bike and just put a foot down and then kept going. Thru this section I hammered hard again trying to put a gap on them. It worked and I was off to chase down the next guy.

When I caught the next guy I realized who it was I was pumped. This is the same guy who I beat by a lot over a year ago at Boone. He's really ratcheted up his training (ahh...the life of no kids) and has been riding strong ever since. When I finally caught him I jumped on his wheel and he tried several times to gap me. I clung on fairly well but he was being tough. I made up my mind to hang close and try and take him on the last doubletrack climb to the finish. We went back and forth for a while with him attacking and me just hanging on his wheel. I know he wanted to lose me but I tried to stick with him. About this time I heard someone come flying up behind me (not the usual slow approach you're used to) and I thought for a moment the Experts were lapping us. I looked back and it was this young pup I had dropped earlier. Frick! He got some burst of energy and blew by both of us. Taylor took off to catch him and I was cooked. I tried to stay with them but I didn't have the juice for it. I looked back and so no one threatening me so I just put it in cruise and finished.

Talked to Taylor at the end and he said he used one downhill and that's where he went all out (no brakes) and got his last gap on me. He also was able to chase down the you pup (I saw he was 16 on the board) and pass him before the end. Either way I was happy with my race, I was back up with some riders I know I can race with. I also felt way better than last week and didn't have to fight cramps.

 

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