Tedder's Adventure in Echo

Well Angela, Hugh, Jon and Bryan all met me at PACE at 6am and we loaded up and off we went. The trip over was good until we got popped for speeding around Biggs for going 82...oops....was not really trying to speed just got busy talking and once the big red machine gets rolling it's a nice smooth ride at 80 : )...oh well, my first ticket in atleast 15 years. So back on the road. We got to the race in plenty of time to get our packets and get dressed but I guess that I forgot or did not want to warm up, oops again.

We had a good group in the Cat 2 race at the head of the race, once they cut us loose on the gravel it was race on and my HR red lined almost immediately. I sat in and held on at the back of the lead bunch but was suffering horribly at this point. However, once we hit the trail I slowly started to recover and started passing a few people. About 10 or 15 minutes in I rolled up on the back of Ian and Jon that were leading a group of guys. This group ended up being second on the trail as a lead group had ridden off the front aways after we hit the single track. I sat in for a few minutes and really started feeling good. Then I made my move and went out around Jon and Ian and the group and attacked like hell. Maybe 5 minutes later I caught the front group and looked back, and Jon and Ian's group was nowhere in sight. It worked perfect for me because it was hard passing and I made the move at the right time.

I was feeling real good for about the next half of the race - legs and lungs were great and everyone was in close sight of me.

Time for some road kill : )

I passed about 5 or 6 guys and again attacked like hell to put a gap on them, then came to a part on the course that the trail was running along another trail up above us about 30 feel or so. I was alone at this point and I saw 2 guys on the upper trail. Then I started playing mind games - did I miss a turn??? WTF,...why are they up there, I turned around and did not see anyone on the lower trail where I was. A little uncertain, I started riding across through the bushes to the other trail, then stopped dead, thinking NO that can't be right and I stood there for maybe 15 seconds or so. THEN all the guys I just passed started coming on the lower trail where I was....oops.  I was on the right path after all - the upper path was the PRO/Cat 1 loop. So by the time I got back on the trail I was back behind all those guys again, CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So passed them all back again. But 10 minutes later, at the highest point on the course, I had a flat rear tire, I am sure from riding off trail to cross over to the other trail. So needless to say I was not happy and pulled over. The wind was blowing so hard trying to fit a tube into a tire was like stuffing a wet noodle up a rats ass. It was not working so well but finally, after screaming and cussing for 6 or 7 minutes, I got about 15 pounds of air into my tire and said good enough and off I went. By then I had been passed by god-knows how many people. Off I went on an adrenalinbe-fueled chase, mushy tire and all. I passed numerous people hoping to salvage a top 10 finish.

Most of the 2nd half of the race was spent out of the saddle fearing I was going to flat again in the rear with so little air. Once I hit the trail head and the gravel road the wind coming in our face going up the gravel climb was so fierce I was doing about 3 or 4 MPH I think. Even then I was passing a few people.

Once I hit the top of the climb one of the fast PRO guys rolled by me, I jumped on his wheel and off we went. It was maybe 4 or 5 hundred meters and then we turned kinda of away from the wind for the rest of the gravel section and we were flying. I was glued to him so tight there was no way I was getting dropped off his wheel. We were passing guys like there were going backwards it seemed, he pulled me all the way to the finish line and I said THANK YOU!!!!!!

I ended up 11th. Happy with the way I felt and my fitness for sure but was bummed with that after I was 3rd at this race last year and sitting in prime position this year. After seeing the results, I was about 6 minutes back from the winner and I stood on the side of the trail at least that long fiddling around with my tube and wheel in the 40 MPH winds.

Oh well, onward and upward. It was a fun day for sure. Great job to all that raced this weekend - it was a good weekend for Hammer Velo.