Today was the Mt Ogden 50k Mountain Bike race. It had been three weeks since I lined up to race the Mountain Bike. After about a one hour drive to Snowbasin resort I arrived one prior to race start. Got registered and ready and lined up. The pro's went first and then the relay teams (bad call) then all the rest of us. After 300 yds we hit all the slow relay folks then it turns to bumby singletrack and it is a cluster. after about 2 miles of cluster passing it spreads out and I am ready for a drink, reach down and nothing, Poop! lost my bottle, I have seen alot of bottles on courses but this is the first time I have ever lost a bottle. where am I going to get hydrated? Luckly there was a bunch of water stations, istop and ask if they have bottles of something I can take with me, they look around then one pulls out a case of Powerade (race sponser) its wrapped in plastic and he can't rip it and pull a bottle, I was like "are you kidding me" 4-5 people ride by and he finally gets it out and throws it to me, I put in my jersey pocket and ride on. (I was glad to have it, but it had a screw on lid so I had limited areas where I could open it and drink without crashing). I caught all the people that passed me and pass a few more I was starting to feel really good, then I start hearing a rattling noise and my rear derailer is not shifting right, Crap again, I stop and find out my rear cassette is loose (what the heck, I have never had that happen either) I tighten it with my fingers then pull out my mini tool and crank it with the flat screw driver. Jump back on the trail after 4-5 people pass me again. I finish my first lap passing 4-5 people back but I am worried about my cassette so I pull of at the start area where a guy is sitting will all these tools, he quickly grabs a cassette tool and I tighten proper (thanks dude) Jump back on, only 2-3 pass me this time, This guy in the autoliv who re-passed for the (4th) time, no joke was propably thinking what the hell is this guy doing. I am ready to kick some but on this last lap. I was so suprised I rode the entire first 2/3 rds all by myself. It is weird when no one is around, racing for that long, anyways I finally start catching peeps passed two before the final pavement climb, then passed KC Holley and Bob S on the final climb (I was stoked on that because I think they started 2 min before me and they are both fast). I think I was 4th in the NonPro and not sure about age group, Sweet compliment by Chris Holley (Super Fast, won the race today) he said I was starting to get fast. The kids wanted to go to the pool, so I left after I finished.
Now the proud father post. Gavin has been getting so good on his bike the last few weeks. He could not even bike around the block (we have some hills here) but now he stands up and hammers down and can go around the block three or four times in a row. He is going to do the Haloween cyclecross race and he is starting to train. He said to me on this ride around the block the other night "hey dad you want to see me attack this hill" as he stands up on the peddles. :) So, last night he want to build a jump, so I help him build a sweet jump. He jumps on his bike and jumps it first thing.
