first clock

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got to go up against the clock and other riders for the first time this year. 20th annual Decorah Time Trials. very cool event.

got out to pre-ride the trails the day before. i was just ahead of the guy marking the course so i was a little confused. there was one part of the course that had cross traffic...that's right, cross traffic. i was thinking, "am i smart enough to go through this correctly tomorrow". turns out you didn't need smarts. there just happened to be a big party including beer, tents and a huge fire at the cross traffic point. you actually went right through the party. race organizers placed about 20 beer drinking volunteers there shouting "this way!! and that way!!". that was fun.

first 1.6 miles or about 14 minutes of the race was pretty hellish. Decorah TT pretty much said, "here guys, go straight up this bluff here for about a mile and a half." i think they like doing that.

after the uphill things got a lot more enjoyable. picked up speed at the top of the bluffs, came down to the valley and went through the house party in the middle of "Death Valley" up Rocky Road to Little Big Horn, Dust Bowl, down Fred's Trail and back to the party that was now twice as big about 30 minutes after the first time through. pretty sure racers were coming back to the party as they finished their run and maybe some even just stopped there.

got back to the finish at about 70 minutes and some seconds. 13th overall! feels good. Kaleb Himli got 10th. Nice top ten for him.

the pics above are a Gryphon bike with drop bars similar to a setup that will be taking the MMBS expert class by storm this year (hi Josh), the party in early stages (i believe my brother-in-law is caught partaking on this one), and Pat Ryan kickin tail in his 29r SS.

also nice to have Lindsay and Connie at the race. don't think i'll ever forget the look on Lindsay's face as i tried to catch a little air across the finish line at the end of the River Trail at about 25 mph and coming a little close to him.

Sandwich 50 in 2 weeks. i must be crazy.

Comments

JoshRLC said…
Nice finish, Dan! 13th is very solid! I heard there were 108 riders, so that's very impressive. Kaleb too. How's team Maplelag treating you?

I can't believe you're doing the Sandwich. It sounded like such a good idea this winter, but now I think I'm a bit glad I didn't offer at it. Good luck to you though!
April 27, 2010 at 10:24 AM
Andrew Forsberg said…
Sandwich 50 in 2 weeks? Sounds like a solid start to the race season!
April 27, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Pierat said…
I didn't know Josh had a handlebar mustache. ;)
May 3, 2010 at 7:35 AM
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