It was a good opening weekend for the Bike Masters Team, 2 first place medals and 2 3rd place medals. Brian got kind of a late start on Saturday but redeemed himself on Sunday, earning a 3rd place medal. Dale had a good run in the time trial and a good run in the short track. From our vantage point for the short track we could only see a short section of the track, but each time the racers came out of the trees Andre on his geared bike was only a few bike lengths ahead of Dale on the fixed gear, not able to pull away, but Dale could not get around him in the end. His time in the time trial was enough to give him the overall 3rd place position.
For the time trial, the pre ride we did on Wednesday night before the race paid off. After that ride I changed to a more aggressive tire than the small block eights that I had been running all winter. The small blocks are great on hard pack but Jewell was not really muddy, just soft, so they felt very slippery on the trail. The pre ride also reminded us of where the climbs and descents were so we had some idea of what gear to be in and how hard to push.
Training for the Trek up the Tower, Panama Enduro and all the gravel rides over the winter paid off, I felt pretty good on the bike while others were saying they were out of shape because they hadn't ridden all winter. I could keep up with and even pass people who normally just disappear in front of me.
This is what the medals look like this year.
Daves on the podium
Dale on the podium.
Brian on the podium.
It was good to see a lot of old friends that I hadn't seen all winter, and felt great to get out on the singletrack again. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped put on this and all the races.
And no, I am not going to Cat Up (yet)
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