Sunday, July 09, 2006

Back in MN and a Win!

It feels good to be back in Minnesota where the air is just a little bit thicker than Frisco CO (~9000 feet). We certainly didn’t sit on our butts out in Frisco, but the things we did were at low intensity because 1 week wasn’t enough time for our bodies to adjust to the altitude. The highlights for the rest of the trip included a 30 mile hill climb up the 14250 foot Mt. Evans (highest paved road in N America)- our time was an hour slower than the record set by Tom Danielson, and a hike up another 14’er called Mt Quandary.
On to today’s race:
After 2 days of sitting in a car to get back here, I wasn’t sure how my legs would react. It was a typical Mt Kato race with hot temps and plenty of climbing…the rider attrition by the end of the race was high.
I followed Chris through the prologue (of course I can’t fail to mention that Hollywood gave a smokin’ lead out=). After the prologue, Chris lost his chain so I took the lead. I was going as hard as I could which didn’t feel very fast, but apparently it was fast enough because Jay Richards and I were alone half way through the lap. At that point, I was tire and hot and mentally trying to find my groove. Jay took the lead by the end of the lap, and I settled in behind him for a couple of laps. Jay is riding well right now and he set a pace that added to our lead each lap. While following Jay, I was taking gu and staying as hydrated as possible. I started to feel better.
At the top of the Mt. Kato on the fourth lap, I attacked and quickly was on my own. By the end of the lap I had about a minute gap. I wasn’t sure who was chasing besides Jay so I kept on the gas until I could see that, well, …I couldn’t see anyone on the last climb. I was excited to roll it home for the win. I really wanted a MNSCS win and have been close a couple of times this year.
Results on www.mnscs.com as usual.
I don’t have any racing pics but I have much better ones from Col.
Ben embarrassing himself:
Ben and I on at 14000+ feet (Mt Evans)
The spine we climbed to find the top of Mt Quandary

The crew who climbed it. My dad had to work hard but he conquered it! I am proud of him.


Next Up will be Buck Hill Thurs and my favorite MNSCS race, Red Wing, on Sunday.

No comments: