Iola

Race number 1 is in the books, went there not knowing how the fitness (lack of) would respond to the hills of Iola?  Don says GOOOO and we were off, not my normal style of starting, got boxed in and bumped into the start banner on the side of the course as the guy in front of me bobbled.....dammit, had to unclip and straighten out then get going.  Had to work pretty hard to to get back into the mix, made it fairly quick and back in the hunt.

Up the backside of the bowl and Schindel comes flying by, I know Steele is just up ahead, Lanser is just behind......after the hills things shook out.  We shook Schindel and then it was down to the 3 of us, the x factor was that we did not know how many got away at the start?  Normally I am the one who jets off and that way I know who is around the front.....not on this day.

The 3 of us Flyers just kept each other in sight and rode together at times, did that for most of the first two laps.  Lanser got a gap on Steele and I towards the end of lap 3 and I tried to go after him, Steele was not with me but I could see Lanser was just up ahead.  Fast forward......we all 3 bunched back up, Steele and I are ripping thru the pine singletrack and come up on a slower traffic, he got around and I was not able to right away.  Game over.....he gapped my right there and I could not pull it back.  Great move that I normally pull on others, especially at Iola.....nice job to the Clydes, made for a fun day of racing!

As for myself, felt a lot like I know I can feel on the bike.  I am a little (ok, a lot) heavier than I would like to be.  So when I lose some weight and get some real training in, should be all set.  Very happy with the performance on race 1, 3rd place in age class is just fine to get the year rolling.  My Specialized Epic was awesome, what a great ride.....the Brain shock was dialed and fast!  SunRingle Wheelset was also right on, Specialized Renegade tires were rolling fast and hooked up big time!  And of course I was powered by HoneyStinger!

And now for some training.....weather can cooperate any time!