Gearing up

Well Like I said, my blogging game isn't at its best right now, but I'm still trying to fight through the blogging rut. Last weekend, I did the Sparta Road Race. Last year I had a great ride at this race. I was in a three man break til 5 miles to go. This year was much different! The race starts and it is very windy, very cold (compared to what it had been) and rainy. The race start and immediately it is hard. Attacks are flying and it is tough. After about the 5 mile mark, A good guy named Dave Hixon goes down in front of me. HOLY COW. I some how avoid the wreck. I split off and ride in the grass and don't hit the ground at all! I haven't talked to Dave since then, so I hope he is all right. I notice my teammate Kent Bostick is involved in the crash (I carpooled with him to the race) So we worked together to fight back on. The pace was so fast, it took us 10 miles to catch back on. Once we caught back on, the attacks were still flying. My legs were so pegged at this point. After this point in the race, my legs were extremely fatigued. (I have been building for Athens Twilight so when I got to this race, I knew I would have fatigued legs, VERY fatigued legs.) Race continues and my teammate, Jason Jeansonne is relentless with his attacks. After Jason attacks probably 20 times, the race is still together. As the race went on, I found myself able to respond to attacks a little bit easier. Towards the end of the race, strong man Chris Brown (super strong guy with an unbelievable acceleration) would attack, and I would hold his wheel perfectly, not moving off of it by less than inch. Most of the time, people have trouble holding his wheel when he accelerates. Being able to do that made me feel good, especially with fatigued legs. So the race is getting close to the end and Jason goes off the front with 3K to go. With 2k to go, local strongman Dirk Pohlman attacks. He brings Stephen Bassett with him. Being several wheels back, I decide to risk it and hope that other people chase him down. That is not the case. Jason gets caught with 200 meters to go, and settles for 3rd. I try leading out my other teammate, Jeff Mcrgrane. So I end up getting 15. Not quite what I wanted, but I was happy to survive that race. Especially chasing on after that crash.
So up next, I'm gearing up for Athens. At this moment, I am doing the Amateur races. I am on the waiting list for the PRO NRC race. So if someone backs out of that race, or doesn't register in time, I will get his spot and race the pro race. Last year, my bro Stefan and I had great rides here, Stefan even doubled up on wins in the amateur races. I have building for this race for about 5 weeks now, so hopefully the legs are good. If I do the pro race, my goal will be more about seeing how long I can hang in there. If I do the amateur race, my goal will be about winning. The day after that, is the Roswell NRC pro race. This race is a little less selective, so it will be very possible to finish the race. Stefan and I decided if it's coming down to 20 laps to go, pull the Hail Mary and try and get as close to the top 20 wheels as possible. I think it will be possible.
On another note. My favorite hockey team, The Nashville Predators, made it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time ever. Hopefully I can get a playoff ticket sometime soon and head over there. The crowds have been amazing and the city of Nashville is really rallying behind the team! I will keep you updated on how the weekend goes.
Til Next Time,
The Crow