The feeling out process continues. This time at one of my favorite trails in the state. Pontiac Lake Rec Area. Lots of new faces, so I was not sure what to expect from my legs. I was rested, and feeling good, and ready to see what I was able to do, and what many of the others were able to do as well.
Like all the other races this year, the 40-49 expert field was the biggest and probably the strongest overall beside the elites. And so it begins.
We all take off and jockey for position before the single track. A huge conga line forms and we push the pace. I settle in around 6th. a good spot, but know I need to be attentive if any thing happens. We stick together for the first half of the lap. then in some traffic, Ed Seratt and a Felt racer get off the front. The guy on third wheel cant get around the traffic and the rest of us are stacked up as well. By the time we made it through we could no longer see the 2 leaders. I worked my way up to the 3rd spot in the chase group. And sit in for the rest of the lap.
On the 2nd and last lap, the chase group is still at least 8 strong. I decided to test some legs, try and chase down the leaders. I make an attack in the grass, and hold it until we hit the single track again. By the time we hit 2 mile hill, all that is left is Greg Giles and myself. This is good I thought, and figured the leaders can't be too much farther ahead. I pushed the pace about as hard as I could. At the half way point Greg said he would take a turn pulling. I must say, this is the strongest I have ever seen Greg ride. It was awesome. And I did everything I could to hang on.
The pace was still good and I was with Greg until the last few climbs. He opened up a small gap, and got just a hand full of seconds before the finish line. It was enough. Greg got a solid 3rd place, and I was really happy to come home in 4th. This is going be a tough year! But it may actually turn out to be one of the best...
Great Job to Bill Sloney on another W!
And to B-rad for sneaking out another W. this time with gears.
Finally, great job to the rest of the KLM crew. We had guys on the podium in almost every class! It great to see so many team mates sharing the same passion of having a good time, and challenging themselves to do better week after week at the races!
Fort Custer next...
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