Yankee TT

And my 2010 race season begins. Today was perfect weather for me. It was a little cool but the sun was shining and NO RAIN. We loaded up and headed to YS Rec Area with only two bikes this year. Izzy and Megan decided not to race the kids race this year, but Zack decided to do the long race. His report first:

Zack did sweet. I was a little worried because this was his first race and he had a change of heart on racing after last Sunday, but we made him do it anyway. He finished 8th in his class which was last in his class...but he was far from the slowest person on the trail today. He raced in the 11-14 Beginner Men category and finished with a time of 1:50:10.7 I am super proud of him and his results.

Now for mine:

I stated earlier that my goal time was 1:15 for this years TT. I had a decent training ride that planted me with a goal of shaving 5 minutes off of my best time from this year. The funny thing is that I actually did it!!! I finished with a time of 1:15.15.5 for an 8th place finish. I managed to shave 9 minutes off of my time from last year....and drop 3 places in the standings. LOL. Anyway, I am very happy with my results. It was a fun day of racing and camaraderie. I had to help a guy get his foot out of his clipless pedals when he fell over after clipping a tree. I asked if he was okay, then made a derogatory comment about clipless pedals....and offered to help him. He took my offer and I went on my way. It was a ride full of getting passed and passing a few people myself. It was fun to go flying past the skinny beginners while I was still feeling good. I had a nice short ride with a guy from across the state too. He was suffering. Now I see he was a sport racer that was in for a little more than he bargained for. He had never ridden over here and was not feeling well. Unfortunately I didn't have anything to offer him. When I got about 1/2 mile from the end I saw Sarah.......then Megan.....then Chelle. After a short jaunt and a climb I saw all three of them again. This is the best part for me because when I am suffering I find strength from seeing them. After the gravel section towards the end of the trail there is a downhill next to the road and then the finish area. I hammered it as best as I could to the line. I could hear some friendly yelling and then saw Kim and Jessica. My finish felt awesome. I was hauling ass when I got to where the people were standing and I hope some of them were impressed....I know I was...

All in all....good day of racing. Now looking forward to Fort Custer Stampede in a few weeks.