Custer's Last Stand TT (my season finale)

 

The morning started with a relaxing bowl of cereal. I was up earlier than I planned, but not early by any means. I ate, and threw the bike on the car. I was out the door by 7:50 to make the drive over to Augusta. I rolled in to Fort Custer and made my way back to Eagle Lake. The sun was feeling warm and the sky was spotted with clouds. I picked up my number plate packet and chilled until my start.

I saw Chris pull in. He is the fast guy in my class. Honestly I was hoping he wasn't going to show. lol. He is a beast and my chances at first dropped dramatically. With only 5 people signed up my chances of podium were still pretty good. Charles rolled in a bit later. I chatted with some old friends and headed out for my warm up. 

After some easy spinning I rolled to the start area. I was starting right behind Charles, who at this point is 2nd in the series standings. Being my home course I joked that I was going to catch him. I figured I would because I am relatively quick on a course I know very well. Plus I was feeling pretty good overall. Legs were a bit heavy feeling, and had a chunky feel to them....but were feeling good after my spinning.

Then it was time to go. Dale sent me off and I was instantly in attack mode. I rolled across the road into the trail and was feeling confident. But my legs were not cooperating. The little rollers here were hurting and my legs were angry. Knowing this would get better I pressed on and kept going as hard as I could. With Charles 30 seconds ahead of me I had that carrot to chase. 

The miles ticked by pretty quick. Before I knew it I was on the long stretch of open trail heading to the Yellow connector to red. The problem was, Charles was out of sight. I should have been able to see him here and I just didn't. Not giving up, I pressed on and my legs were finally starting to feel better. 

I passed a few people here and there. And I was settled into my rhythm. As I got close to end of the Red loop (and end of 1st lap) I thought I spied Charles ahead of me. When I made the turn onto the open yellow trail I could see him. That was my incentive to push and close him down. Now I was feeling better and was comfortable. 

As we got back to the beach I had nearly closed him down. We crested the hill and cross the finish but I just couldn't reel him in. As we crossed the road I caught him. I had been chasing him for 9 miles. Because this is a time trial I knew I had him beat just by being on his wheel. Chris was LONG gone (more on that later) and I was confident we were sitting in 2nd and 3rd. 

He asked if I wanted around. Part of me did, but part of me was content to just stay there. Instead of pulling away I just pushed him into every corner and closed him back down after some of the climbs. My legs, which were doing alright, were feeling on the verge of cramping. I didn't want to push super hard and end up losing my finish spot. So I just stuck to his wheel like glue.

We passed a handful of riders on that lap. Felt like we were flying. My damn gopro quit halfway thru the first lap, or I would have had some great footage. Dangit. We pressed on and on and then we hit the green 2 track. I was feeling good enough to go.....but I didn't. Legs were still finnicky and I felt better just holding his wheel.

Into the red and then we reached the last sections. We burst onto the beach area and I was excited to see the finish. He put 2 seconds into me on the final climb, but I beat him by 29 seconds. Yes he crossed the line before me, but I got him in time. When we stopped he was super red faced and breathing heavy. He thanked me for pushing him that 2nd lap. 

While I figured it would take a major mechanical for Chris to lose 1st.....I was racing for 2nd place and win over Charles. In our four races together we split the results. He beat me twice, I got him twice. Good dude, a lot of fun to race against. And this race was fun to stick to him like glue and push him into the finish.

The unknown was where we actually finished. Well.....

Thankfully my strategy worked and we ended up in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Chris was way ahead, but I was super happy to end up my season on the podium. It was a great day in the woods for sure! 

Photo Courtesy of Brian Bartzen



The podium was a repeat of the Luton Park TT. 

Thanks to Dale and his team for a great time trial. It was a good day for me and I am thankful for the opportunity to ride bikes. This year was one to remember.