Triumphant at last!

Today was my second race, the "Bikes 4 Kids" charity mtn bike race. The race was to be held at Pine Log State Forest, just outside of Ebro, FL. It's about an hour's drive, and the race was scheduled to kick off at 8am. So that meant getting up early, we're talking 'sick' kind of early. All the way there I was wondering exactly who's idea it was to get up at 5am to go race.

Mornings should come later in the day.

A couple of folks who I ride with decided to give the race a go. We were the first ones there, and after checking in we went for a quick pre-ride of the course (or at least part of it). The Pine Log trails are relatively flat, and fast...fast with a capitol 'F'.

These trails were meant for speed!

The race started with a LeMans style start, which for those of you not in the "know"...basically, we run to our bikes. That was a joy, I have to tell you. I'll be blunt and say, that (LeMans starts) is a f&%ked up way to start a race. You should only run when chased.

After my feeble attempt at running, I get on my bike and get up to speed. Two of us break away from the rest of the group. I am content to let the other guy lead for a bit, as I'm staying within a wheel's length of him. I figure that every minute I can save some of my strength it'll be a good thing. I'm feeling really good, despite that run. The singletrack dumps us out onto a dirt road, and it is here that I decide to make my play for the lead. I get out in front and stay there as we reach the next batch of singletrack. The guy behind me is staying fairly close but I'm not too concerned as my legs are feeling really good, and if it comes down to a sprint I feel I have the power to beat him to the finish.

Part of the trail does some minor climbing. If you were just standing out there you'd probably never know that you were on an incline, but on your bike you start noticing that your rpm's are dropping. Through these elevation changes I kept my pace up, concentrating on keeping my rpm's high. That strategy paid off. My rival started slipping back (I wouldn't know how far back till I'd crossed the finish line.). Since I wasn't sure how close or far behind the guy behind me was, I kept up the pace till I crossed the finish line.
It resulted in my first ever 1st place finish!

How 'bout that for a totally cool plaque?

I finished about 1 minute ahead of my competition, completing the course in 27:35. Remember how I said the trail was fast? My avg speed for the course was 13.8mph. I've NEVER seen an avg speed figure for myself that high.

It was a great time. I had lots of fun, and did my small part for a good cause.

The fastest rider of the day, and he's doing it on a single speed bike!

My next race won't be till the end of the month, and that will be the 12Hrs of Pine Log.