Photo Mike Clark.  I remembered this course from last year and I was really, really excited to get to race it when conditions were better than a lubed up kiddie pool in a KY wrestling match.  There were lots of swooping corners where you could lean the bike over for all it was worth.  The short kicker of a hill had a little lip at the base of it and would be fun both up and down.  The start straight and first corner would be dangerous and fun.  There were creek crossings and a short sand pit.  Plus, almost the entire course looped back on itself over and over, allowing for maximum spectator friendliness.

After the pervious days' bike issues and a fast drying course, we all decided the best idea for the day was to put my file tread wheel on the back of the "A" bike and hope nothing bad happened.  I had my second row starting position again and pulled up behind Powers.  The rules were read, go was said and away we fled.  Down that straight we hit that first turn blazing!  We all seemed to make it through safely and the swooping and carving began.  The first lap was super fast and I was racing well.  Top 15, maybe.

Lap after lap went by and I was loving every second of it.  The course ruled and I actually felt like I was in the race.  I was chasing guys down and guys were catching up to me.  I fell once and lost a few spots, so I pushed hard to make them back over the following 30 minutes.  Did I say I was having fun?

The race went fast and before I knew it there were three laps to go.  I was working to drop a couple of guys I was riding with as it looked like they were hurting.  And I managed to do it, and it put me in 17th place.  I was feeling great.  And then on one of the transitions from grass to pavement I washed out.  It wasn't bad, but just enough that one guy got around me.  I was up fast and in hot pursuit.  Two laps to go, alot of time to loose alot of ground. When the course doubled back on itself I could see a group of 5 closing in on me.

So the last two laps of the weekend got everything I had left in my legs.  Every corner was sprinted out of, every pedal stroke counted.  One of the guys behind me attacked his group and came blazing past me on a straight flat section.  I didn't have what I needed to hold his wheel.  With one lap to go the group behind me was still closing and I was still pushing.  All the way around that lap I held them off.  And then as I transitioned onto the crushed limestone finishing straight I took the turn just a hair too wide and bobbled just slightly.  That meant that I was only able to beat two of the four guys charging from behind.  One of the dudes got me with a chop on the line, a hard wobble but it wasn't anything I couldn't control.

So, I finished 21st, but I felt about a million times better about my race.  It would have been nice to out sprint those two dudes and take 19th, but it wasn't the end of the world.  It was a great weekend, and between the company of Kevin and the host housing from Wes, it could only have been better if Julie was there.  The drive home was easy, and now we are already ready to head down to Louisville.