st. joe state park mtb race

everyone knows that i'm not a fan of cold weather. i think today was really a case of 'be careful what you wish for'. heat is always an issue when you race bikes; road, mountain, bmx, etc. but off-roading can be pretty tough on a really hot day because sometimes a rider moves along at, say, 5 mph. that doesn't generate a lot of air flow. and being in the woods, there tends to be more humidity. so it can get pretty miserable. i don't know how hot it was today. let's just say hot and be done with it.

again i got the chauffeur's treatment in the twist dakota. john drives the speed limit....always. everywhere. and i just sat back and let him. it's so nice to absolve myself of responsibility sometimes. i was very pleased to see dust today. i had my sunscreen on, my bug repellent on, my water bottles filled and more waiting at the start finish. a pretty good set up, i think. and the course, while very crude, was a total mountain bikers course. not a smooth section of dirt for 7 miles. the last mile of the race was on st. joe's perfect asphalt path toward the finish.

start went well, i was following the murderous john matthews again. we distanced ourselves from the rest of the field and chewed our way through the younger experts as well as other riders on the trail. eventually, i lost sight of john. i figured that it was inevitable, as he is a demon on courses like this. i was pretty happy to stay with him as long as i did. the heat and the long course (we eventually did 3 laps) played havoc with riders all over the course. lo and behold, with only 2-3 miles to go, i caught sight of john again. ah! maybe i could catch him?? nope. he turned on the afterburners and fled the scene like a criminal. two hours and three minutes of fun, yes sir.

i was happy to have stayed upright the entire day, worked my way up to 4th place overall and 2nd in the age group, and not cramp. john and john (twist and pieffer) battled it out in the sport class, with jfp winning another round, just like rhett's. i think we're all looking forward to sac river in good ol' springfield, missouri.