November 19th - USGP - Hillsboro CCX

Similar to Estacada, this course suited my style of racing - flat and fast. While I'm far from a Roadie, I'm a triathlete (albeit somewhat out of shape) and flatter, the better. I rode MAX out to the stadium with fellow teammates in Pink & Black for a pre-ride and registration. It was dry today, but the forecast was for lots of rain on Sunday. The whole course was rideable today with several big puddles with mystery holes. It took out on teammate and had me hitting my stem so hard with my knee, it still hurts to run...8 days later! I'm getting some physical therapy on it.

Back to the race, finally got a front row spot! A long straight start was good for me too. I pulled into the top 10 by the second corner. The knee is feeling fine today. My nemesis, Gant, isn't racing today, but he will be out for the Veloshop's race this Sunday. It rained on and off since 7am that morning, making the course sticky and slick. Perfect racing conditions. I felt good on the first lap, riding some, running some other hills that became faster to run than ride. I was still top ten with two laps to go and I was gaining ground on people, starting to pass several. I was getting good support from teammates, especially Erin who kept telling me I was the fastest one out there in a particularly tough muddy section. Whether or not I was doesn't matter, I felt that I was because she said i was, that's all I needed. Thanks Erin. As i pasted the finish line, I was pulled...one lap short and only 32 minutes into the race. WTF? They were behind on time, so we got screwed. I was just getting started! I ended up 4th! They dq'd the winner for cutting course, sucker! There a couple photos I'm going to buy and post, check back for those.