B rad and George/Jerry came up as well to the race. So we all hooked up at the staging area to get the pre ride on...good times! We also had a friend join us from Baton Rouge, Jason Betez, who also rode with us. Pre ride was fun, about an hour 5 ride time and 12 miles...great course...lots of rocks, some climbing, some blazing fast sections, and a little pavement.
Ate dinner with George/Jerry and B rad at the Cracker Barrel and them off to clean the bikes and get some sleep.
B rad had been battling a cold all week and decided not to race...as during the pre ride his HR was reaching 160 BPM while we were taking it easy...probably a good decision!
Jerry and I just before my race...
Race Day...I love/hate the few hours leading up to the race...filled with butterflies and anticipation...warmed up for about 25 min with Betz and then got the game face on...we had about 20 racers in my class, so it was one of the largest fields I had been in this year! Game plan was to start easy and roll into a rhythm...and it started off just like that...I think I was about 8th position going into the single track. I moved around a few guys ans tried to get in a grove...it worked like I wanted it to...1st lap rt was about 55 min, about a minute off the lead group of about 4...second lap went pretty good too...was able to stay steady through the woods and only dropped about 3 minutes...3rd lap...uh oh...was starting to feel the effects of the first 2 laps and was slowing...about the middle of the 3rd lap, where the big climb was, is where I got caught by the rider behind me...finished up in 7th.
Starting line jitters
GOOOOOOOOO!
Feeling good on 1st lap!
Overall I am pleased about the finish...I just have to find a way to not die on the last lap! I cramped so bad towards the end my left leg completely locked out...it fucking hurt!
