Guys Neshaminy Race 6/22

It's been awhile since I have posted about my races, and some of you might be missing it, and it gets harder as time goes by to remember the exciting details...Neshaminy is considered by most a technical race...primarily due to ALL THE LOG crosssings...there are tons of them...your upper body feels like it got more of a workout than your legs the next day...don't get me wrong it is a blast during the race. It lends to so many opportunities for mistakes to be made and either you can take advantage or someone else takes advantage of you if you "burp"....

They had a very different opening this year. As usual we started in the field, but this time they added a prolog that you only saw during the beginning and not the other laps...to me it screwed me up as to where we were when we laped....oh yeah and they dropped a lap on us this year, for most it was a good thing. Funny I ran into a guy that raced in Master one last year in Beginner with me and now he is racing Sport Open Single Speed...He was in front of me at during the first lap, so I ear marked him for my pace and goal...it sure took awhile but made it around him, then I stuck to the tire of a young man in my class that rode pretty darn strong...impressed with his hill climbing...one of my team mates from Bike Line was on my tire during the first lap and the start of the second lap decided to take over and brother did he...he blasted past at least 4 other riders and we were going up hill!!!!

The day was threatening rain/thunder and lightening, and it just held off for the race...GREAT...but whew was it hot and humid...which made it rough, I had gotten used to bottles out in Cali...but on the last couple races the terrain really does not lend itself easily to bottles....and I really had loved not wearing a pack...I'm going to have to pick my races as to pack or bottle...I got pretty thirsty during this one, and of course lost most of my bottles...if it wasn't a log climb, or rock it was a tree root that would knock it out of my hand...thirst aside...during the second lap I decided to hang as best I can with Ryan Gerlach another SS in my class...near the end there were moments on the climbs that he would pull away, but then I'd finally be on his tire again...then another hill and his pulling away...I recognized the ending so I really wanted to stay right with him and make it a fun sprint for the finish...there was a little DH with a sweep to the left, right around the corner was a big tree that was sawed in half for the trail to go through...Ryan shot around the corner probably 30-50 feet in front, when I dipped around my front tire washed out right before the tree split....I barely hit the ground and was back up running to get back on the bike...just as I did I could see I was now 50-75 feet back....righ at the top of the hill you went through the opening of a guard rail and made a hairpin turn to dash down the fence line (flat in the grass) sharp left then a short sprint to the finish....needless to say Ryan took the turn at the guard rail just seconds in front...when I made the hair pin I screwed up and went way to wide nearly running into a bystander...straightened out and by then Ryan was down near the end of the grass straight about to make the sharp left to the sprint...I pushed it as fast as I could peddle my 32x20 gear set up...(felt like a hammster in a wheel)...turn the left to see Ryan crossing the finish...close but no cigar...Ryan had me beat by 4 seconds...GREAT FINISH....made for a great race to pick fellow competitors out and then work to catch them...

This race placed me in 11th overall for the SPORT SS group...I say thats not to bad since I missed the seasons first 4 races...don't think I can gain to much more ground because of that though...