7/24/09- Cascade Classic Stage Race-Cascade Lakes Road Race- Stage #1

Pre Race- I have spent the entire week preparing for this race… wait that doesn’t sound right. I have been tapering this whole week for this race. My legs feel like they haven’t felt in a long time and for the first time I will go into a race without they feeling of pain when I step out of the car or up on a to the side walk. I don’t know if I like this feeling. A person gets used to a certain amount of stiffness and soreness. I don’t have that right now. The race today will be punishing with out a doubt. A nasty little climb that starts at mile 50 and stops at mile 71 with roughly 1900’ of climbing. Our field is about 100 guys. I am guessing we will be smaller than that today and I hope to side step the attrition today. 95 degrees and exposed. This should be good.

So Bend Bike n Sport approached us this afternoon wanting to hold the group together by keeping the pace high on the first climb. We, meaning me I guess, agreed. So bend and I road the front while the rest of my team road in the back, nice job guys. I proceeded to head into a break from that front position. Went out for about 20 minutes with a group of four guys but the bunch wasn’t having any of that. I spent the rest of time in the pack with the rest of the bunch. It was a relatively easy day for about 65 miles. I worked my way to the front for the waiting for the break to happen. I was ready and the road went up hill and we started shelling people. On the final pitch up I went out a little too hard trying to stay with the top ten and blew up. I was able to finally settle in and finish the climb at a good clip. The finish is goofy because it is on rough pavement in the main parking lot of the Bachelor ski resort almost like a combo Paris Roubaix. I ended up 19th out of 69 starters and everyone finished the race no DNF’s. I am down 2 min 17 sec.