Saturday night, I got all decked out in a full Santa Claus suit and made myself fat again (this time not with all-you-can-eat buffets), but with 2 pillows stuffed into an older pair of bibs.
It was actually a perfect get up considering it was in the 20's when the race started and I decided since I was goofing around, I jumped into the C race, so as to not mess up that many serious racers. I started with a reverse hole shot and waved to the crowd as we tore it up the paved start. I think I passed 20-25 racers throughout the evening while working hard to not work that hard. Each time I crossed the start finish line I would work the fans into a little pre-Christmas frenzy!
Aaro Froese looking quite the playa in the leopard print robe was a big help on the PA announcing me several times. The only real problem I had was that I couldn't see my feet or the bike on the remounts thanks to the pillows. However, since I really wasn't racing hard, it wasn't too much of an issue. In the end, I brought it home to 42nd place. Afterwards, I hooked up with the Team Seagal gang for a rowdy evening of cheering, jeering, and beering. Fun times. Casey Ryback was looking splendid as ever....
Sunday meant some serious racing and I had a 2nd row starting position (why I'm not sure) and promptly turned it into something towards midpack as the race unfurled in a fairly brisk tempo. I grabbed a small chase group and yo-yo'd with them for a good part of the race.
However, in the end they lit it up and dropped me when I really wasn't paying much attention. As many of you know, it's much easier to keep a wheel than it is to bridge back up to a lost wheel. I need to get that through my thick head, quickly. Ralph and I had our early battle, but he had gone out a little too hard too soon and while he was trying to recover, I bolted around him and kept increasing the gap. He's fun to race with and I really look forward to our races. However, today my race became a race of trying to stay ahead of Craig Farrell. Craig is uber strong and usually starts slower and winds it up as the race goes on. He's that rider you keep seeing out of the corner of your eye and before too long, bang. He's passed you and put a sizeable gap on you within the blink of an eye. Today I was able to hold him off even though my bike started misshifting again on the last lap. He certainly pushed me to my limit. In the end, I think I eaked out a 23rd place finish and while I could have pushed a little harder for a top 20 finish, I'm happy with how I ran the race.
Next weekend, is my 'home' course in Queeny Park. I say 'home' because it's directly across the street from my house and I look forward to racing there. I can't say that I'll have a great result because of that, but looking forward to it nevertheless.
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