Marysville Relay Race ….. It has some long ass name that I am going to refrain from using because it will hog up all of the space on my blog in this h

I'll make this one nice and simple for the season's first racing update.

The Good

The fun factor is always high.... along with my eyeballs in this picture as they're trying to shed mud

It’s a great workout without a lot of pressure

Burning legs and lungs

The rest of the racing season is right around the corner

The Bad

Burning legs and lungs – lets me know I’m still out of shape no matter how stupid my winter training regime has been.

Poison Ivy

Sitting in a dirty chamois until the whole shebang is over

The Ugly

…… let’s pretend this didn’t happen.

Fawn Grove Roubaix

The first race of the MTB season wore me out pretty good, but my Bike Reg receipt said I had to go to Fawn Grove for a sweet road race the next day complete with dirt roads and lots of climbing. So instead of staying out at the bar all night with Kyle, we made an early return so I could get my beauty sleep. The next morning my legs felt fine, but the lungs still felt like they were reamed out and doused with gasoline…. Damn that first hard effort of the year. After breakfast I drove down to the race with Zack, Jake, and Gunnar who were also going to pull off back to back races. Warming up I rode to the first dirt road section which began with a 90 degree right hand turn on a steep D scent. I saw this and smiled, knowing that a significant portion of the peloton would flat out within the first 2 miles. When it came time to race, this section of dirt road made the start more like a mtb race as the peloton rushed to the dirt road like it was the first and only section of singletrack. I refrained from this first effort and relied on my handling skills to weave in and out of the roadies who were having trouble with this portion. Moving back up to the front of the peloton, I found a spot close to the front where I would stay for the rest of the race. For once, I didn’t waste a whole lot of energy early on and only responded to attacks that made sense to respond to. This lead me to be a participant instead of a chaser in a 5 man breakaway on lap 3 of 4 laps. We got a fairly decent gap on everyone else, which made me to believe it would be smooth sailing from there on out. However there was another attack on a steep dirt road climb that split our group of five into 3 and 2. I, unfortunately was a part of the two that trailed the rest. At the top of the climb I regained my composure and along with the other racer, we time trialed for the next 15 minutes to catch back on. My legs were really starting to burn and I was hoping that the attacks would die down until the end of the last lap. Unfortunately nobody else was thinking that way as another attack was thrown down on the first climb of the last lap. I went to respond, but my legs were numb. They simply told me no and I knew I would be riding it in solo for my last lap. Note to self: bring GU even if its just a road race. Your body will thank you. This was one of the worst bonks I’ve ever had as I literally spun the small ring the entire lap just to keep moving forward. About ¾ of the way through this last lap I began to get passed by other racers most came by solo or with one or two others. I felt like I deserved a DFL finish, but instead managed a 12 spot and at least got my entry fee and gas money back for the event. A lesson lived is a lesson learned. One more road race this weekend and its mountain biking from there on out with Fair Hill coming up the following weekend. I can’t wait.