Pontiac Lake "Classic" TT

The races are rolling now. Seems like I have been racing every week, and will be for a few more. And I love it! Done some new stuff, some old stuff, some dry stuff, cold stuff and some rainy stuff! Almost like I have done an entire season already. But when it comes to Pontiac Lake, I know that my racing season is on. Today was a beautiful April day for racing. And the trail was in mid August shape. Dry and bumpy as hell. Leading up to the race, I had been struggling with a few issues that I was not sure would slow my progress down. I seem to have gotten a handle on them, so I am back on the wagon with my plan (thanks to all who have helped thus far, you know who you are).

Going into the race, I had a really hard week of training but the legs felt good. It's amazing how you learn what your body tells you over the years through racing and training experience. And today I kind of knew this would be a good day. I got to see all the old cycling friends from over the years and spent a considerable amount of time chatting before warming up. But we finally were called to the line and soon as you knew it, we were off. I had a really good jump off the line and buried it as much as I could for as long as I could. My single track skills felt razor sharp, and all the hills did not seem to bad. Thanks in part to the 15+ lbs I recently lost. As I cruised through lap 1 I knew I was feeling good and just wanted to push harder and harder. I was happy to know that as I went AC, it was short and I could recover from it within seconds. I climbed the last hill, and big ringed it through the long straight and grass section. Looked down at my clock and saw I went sub 41 mins! I was having a good day and felt just as strong starting my 2nd lap. I pushed as hard as I could and tried to keep pedaling as much as possible. then the Don Cameron train came by at the 1/2 way point of the lap, so I latched on for about 5 mins. This helped pull me a long, and re-establish a harder pace. Up the final climb, and I buried myself into the red zone in the final straight. My 2nd lap was a 42 min lap and only about 20 seconds different from my first! This was good enough for a solid 3rd place in Expert Men 30-39. My first ever expert podium at Pontiac Lake. My last one was in sport in 2008. So I was extremely happy.

I also did the single speed race and knocked out another 42 min lap. I just missed the podium for 5th by 7 seconds. But this is by far the fastest lap I have done on a SS to date. So again, very happy.

Lots of good results today. Brad Lako nailed a solid 2nd. Kim Luks beat half the men's expert classes with a win in elite women. Mark P. took an awesome win in elite men, and then the win in the single speed class. Tom Payne had a stellar lap on the single speed taking 2nd. Dan K. cracked the elite podium with 5th! DC was a diesel engine as usual with a 1st in his class. The list could go on and on... but I do want to give credit to all the TSB folks that showed up and raced today! There were some great rides, and a lot of podiums that went home with us.

Finally, a few of you may know that my Dad had a serious home accident in mid January that resulted in a severe traumatic brain injury. He is doing really well now, and getting better each day. I know he really wants to go and be apart of the races again so look for him soon. But back in January, there was a lot of uncertainty of what was going to happen to him, and how long it would be before we got him home, or if he was ever going to come home. I set a goal for him to be healthy enough to be able to go to Pontiac Lake and watch the race, and I made a goal for myself to try like hell to get on the podium for him this day. Although he did not make it out to the race today, he is health enough to make out again and move around on his own with just a little help. But my trip to the podium today was for my dad. Because he lived up to his goal, I feel much better knowing I lived up to mine. I Love you both Mom and Dad, and am very fortunate I have you both!


Next stop Cone-Azailia Road Race...