05.22.05 - victory at the highland hex 6 hour

hey all -

quick update on the race this weekend - final results are not posted on their web sight.

race started at 10am saturday. rain in the weeks before the race left the oranizers to make the single track/double track course consist probably of 20% fire roads, 30% single track, and 50% climbing. oh darn....

gun went off, and i was in the top 4 going into the first single track section after the first immediate climb. the plan was to watch the locals on the single track to pick the good lines on the first lap and then slowly up the pace and drop them. about half way through the course on the first lap in the middle a decent climb, i turned around and saw nobody. i was with two others and i thought that they were going too slow - so i didn't really attack them, but i just went at the tempo i wanted.

i immediately opened a gap. the next section was a flat/fast fire road into a semi-decently long technichal section. i flew on the flat and then ripped up the technical (the asylum handled like a dream). the next section was some grassy single track that rolled - but mostly climbed. by this time, they were about 100 feet behind me. since i could see the trail climbing up in three stepped sections ahead of me, i locked out the reba, shifted to my big ring up front, and attacked.

at the top of the third step, i looked back and couldn't see them. and that was the last i saw them.

in fact - nobody caught me the entire race.

so here is the short version of the end race results:
1. i finished the race putting in over 17 minutes on the second place overall solo rider.
2. i finished the race 1rst overall - i beat EVERBODY INCLUDING THE DUO TEAMS. i had over 12 minutes on the best placed team. yep - i was passed by NOBODY!
3. and as an added bonus - i also had the fastest lap

that's the short version - off to sleep and maybe some other race specifics tomorrow, time permitting. overall very happy with the results, just good to see the training is right on and my hammer gel/e-cap nutrition is 150% pinned down. now all i have to do now the rest of the year is pedal.

pedal like a man possessed with hammer gel.

gotta sleep -
sologoat out