CDA CX

This was my best race yet this season. I don't know how I placed -- but I'm thinking I may have broke the 20's! We'll see tomorrow.

I think I'm finding my pace. Since I'm not battling it out for the podium, I can let myself find a good sustainable pace instead of pushing 100% for the first 30 minutes, then blowing up for the last 15-20 minutes. I held up pretty good today and didn't get passed a bunch in the second half. That's improvement.



The course today was oddly technical in that there were big sections of deep sand. They were sucky killer awful energy suckers, but I could ride them out. Many guys were running through, which suits the runners. Running never suits me, so by weighting the rear wheel and hydro-planing the front wheel I was able to ride these lame-ass sections out.

Otherwise, the course was pretty straight up. It rained all night and then rained off and on today so it was pretty messy. Not deep-mud-messy, but slickery muddy alternating with sandy mud. The obligatory post-race bike pic tells all:

Sorry about the pics. I took them. Liza didn't come out today. Racers at the top were in Cat 1-3 race; I don't know them.

Maddie and her buddy, Kate, joined me today. They were rad. They cheered me on super enthusiastically during my race (with bells and everything... "GO DADDY!" -- that shit really helps). But before and after my race they worked on their "dam."

Good times.

I'm really trying to figure out a way to angle next Saturday's race in Walla Walla. Sunday is a no-wayer, but there's a sliver of hope for Saturday if a bunch of stuff lines up.