This past weekend was pretty busy, but things went really well. I put on some good mileage (on the car) heading to see Heather back home from Ireland, to Green Bay on Saturday to get the fork on my bike for the race, to Rhinelander for the actual race, and then to Prairie du Sac for a surprise 50th birthday party for Heather's mom.
I was happy enough to just get my rebuilt fork back on the bike and still arrive in Rhinelander with enough time to get a ride in on Saturday. Ryan, Scott, and I headed out for a quick lap on the course though I ended up taking a solo lap as Scott's chain was not playing nice with his cassette. I felt really good for the first half of my lap, though as the miles passed, my legs just did not seem to have the power they had on Monday at the camp. I decided to finish the lap and focus on recovering for Sunday's race. Sunday morning came quickly and I felt good (both mentally and physically). I packed up some of my gear and then set out for a warm up. I was amazed at how many flyers jerseys I saw during my warm up and as I entered the staging area. Seeing that many people at the race really got me excited for this season!
19-24 was the first group to set out on the course, and in it were myself, Ryan, Scott, and Ethan. I felt great on the lead out, sitting in the top 10-15. As we headed out, I narrowly escaped a crash that took out Ryan and was able to stay with the lead group. As the race went on, I could really feel my training in effect and I was feeling great! I just kept on the pedals and did not lose sight of the guys in front of me. Things were going really well. I must say that over the years I have seen some strange things in mountain biking, but never before have I seen or heard of this... As I am riding along I feel a strange sensation in my right eye. Suddenly, my eye tears up and as I blink, my contact falls right out! Thankfully, my glasses kept hold of the lens and I was able to pull off the trail and get the contact back in. The disappointing part was watching as five or six riders shoot on by as I realize that I am going to need to make up some ground. Again, my training paid off, as I was able to get back in the race and keep going. Going into lap two, I was still feeling good and moving quickly through the course. That is, until my eye got that funny feeling again. Once again, my contact popped out and I needed to pull off the trail and get it back in again. After this second time, I really did not have any more problems-other than the fact that the guys I had worked to pass were just in front of me. As I neared the last part of the lap I heard noises behind me and began to panic as I feared more guys from my age group were nearing. I was partially right. Among the riders back, I faintly saw a Flyers jersey with a bright helmet. I knew it was Ryan. Immediately I panicked and tried my best to put riders between me and him in the single track. Soon enough, Ryan was on my wheel and passed by. I swallowed my pride, and took his wheel as we both were now fighting to get to the front of the race. I pushed harder on the last few miles of this race than I have ever done before working to get back with Ryan and finish the race strong. I knew that not more than 30 seconds in front of me sat the top 5 in my age class and I just could not catch them. The race finish was bittersweet. I was mad that something as simple as a contact could hold me back in the race and that Ryan caught me, but at the same time, I saw that Ryan got his legs back and that I was able to push so hard in a race an still feel so good afterwards.
The results show the whole story with Ryan in 6th, me 20 seconds back in 7th and only about a minute spread between 3rd and 7th place! With WORS #2 in the books, it is time for me to rest up and little and then gear up for another great race in Wausau this weekend!
-Andy
