The race of Truth...

At least that is what the Time Trial is often refered to. I'm not sure what I would call it. We ended up having some heavy rain in the area on Saturday, although Sunday turned out to be perfect for riding. The trail was greasy in a few corners and somewhere around the 6 mile mark there was a stretch of standing water/mud that progressively worsened each lap. There was no way around it. My pre-race ritual was much better this week and I felt confident with the 2.25 Racing Ralph on the front.
I hadn't been on a bike since last Sunday and I felt very rested, possibly too rested. At the start I was paired with a nice guy, Ray Fulkerson, who smoked my age group at last weeks race. This dude looks more like he's 25 years old than 50+ (see podium photo). We started and like a rabbit, Mr. Fulkerson was gone within the first mile. I settled in and tried to keep from blowing up on the 2-mile hill. About half way around the 10 mile loop I saw Big Gary coming up fast behind me. We rode together for the remainder of the first lap and most of the second lap. In hindsight, I could see toward the mid-point of the 2nd lap, Gary was starting to slow down the pace and I should have gone around him right away. I eventually passed him and gassed it to the finish to try and wipe out the 2 minute deficit since he started after me. No go, he still beat me by 1:20 and we finished 2nd and 3rd. Very good.

I had over an hour to spin on the singlespeed before my next heat. The sun came out and the temperature soared. I drank and stayed in the shade of the team compound. The ride of the singlespeed is always a trip compared to my FS 26'er. What a blast. The trail was drying up well. I was passed by just about everyone in the SS Open Class but I still felt like I was turning a good time. I came across a struggling Daniel who was riding his 24" BMX rig after bonking at the 1 mile mark. He was in the hurt-locker. I also came across another rider who had sheared off his Race Face crank and was trying to finish his lap while riding with one leg. Another stellar day of racing in Michigan. Great job Racing Greyhounds!
RESULTS