If anyone was to complain, it would be the roadies, this course had lots of technical, fast sections that I liked. It seemed the sunday course offered more for the power riders while saturdays course was more technical. Don't know how, since they were the same, just reversed.
On saturday, the ss field was stacked. I got to the start late, back row, and we started. I went good for a bit and was riding top 3 for a while. We were following a huge cat 3 field. After 3 laps there were 4 of us ss riders within 40 seconds of each other, probably around the 4th place cat 3 rider.
The course was technical, but also seemed wide open where there was plenty of room to pass.
Eventually Joe F. cycle city caught up to me and put in some moves, I was under pressure and he dropped his chain on the last lap and I cruised in to win.
I forgot that the ss race was 45 minutes. By the time I went to the car to get the blanket my wife requested(it was cold out) I heard the announcer saying they were 3 minutes from the start. I grabbed my geared bike and road over as fast as I could and felt no air in my front tire, I couldn't find a pump, didn't have time. I got there, and Andy Lucas helped fix my number and then the whistle blew. I was standing there flat footed, not clipped in, back in the 3rd row. We started going and I moved up as good as I could. After a lap I was 6th, 8 seconds behind 5th.
My tire was driving me crazy and it was hard riding the course with 11psi in the front. I finally grabbed my ss from the pit, and told my guy there to put 40 in the front. Figuring better safe than sorry.
I came around again, after pedaling the ss bike(which felt way over geared after 5 laps) and he had my bike out ready to take. I got it, started going again, and felt the tire was too low. Eventually I got my ss to try and chase down the spots I lost to get back to 6th, but I was tired and very hungry.
Sunday was worse. SS race got going and on the last lap I flatted. I was battling for first at the time and new I could still salvage a podium spot if I ran, so I did some running, finishing 3rd.
My legs were shattered from the running. I didn't waste no time getting to the start with air in my tires for the open race. We start, and I believe I am 5th-6th when we go by the announcer, we get to the super off camber 180 that everyone loved and the guy in front of me stops, so I try to stop and end up sliding off to the side, dropping my chain. I get my chain on and am in last. I try to go but my legs hurt, so I take my time to move up, eventually I catch a group who is with David, they are all going hard, and I drop my chain again on the big barriers by the hill around the trees. I fix the chain, hop on my bike, ride it straight into the bushes. I get out of the bushes and start going again, and try to go hard for another lap or two, but ended up stopping my race.
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