MTB Race postponed...got my ass kicked on gravel instead

Well, this was suppose to be the 2nd MTB race in the Iowa series Waverly to be exact, but due to rainy weather, it had to be postponed. Two years ago, Kyle and I raced this race in the rain and mud and I swear to God we will never do that again. We came way with broken bikes and broken souls. So we appreciate the promoters postponing.

We decided instead to ride/race to the Amana's with some local folks. It was the first time Kyle and I had attempted this ride and it was as cutthroat as it had been touted to be. There were 4 B road sections mixed in with the gravel sections on the way out. The first had been eaten up and was a total mess. You would be riding along in a rut and suddenly it would end. When I hit one of these I took a header into the ground. Of course things heated up whenever we hit these sections, so staying up with the big dogs was impossible for me. But Kyle and I kept pushing ourselves even when we were off the back and finally getting to the Amana's was a wonderful break.

The Amana's were having Maifest, so there was much drinking and partying going on. This would have been a good time for Kyle and I to get something to eat, but we chose to drink instead. This would come back to bite me especially hard on the way back.

Back on the road, things did not take long to heat up. They got so crazy that Nenninger ended up into the backside of Nick Martin which promptly tacoed Nick's wheel. After all the hub-bub of that, we were off at light speed once again. I held on for a few more miles before the lack of nutrition finally hit me and I just imploded. I spent the rest of the ride home by myself, feeling worthless. I used to feel like this on the bike all the time, but this was a low I had not felt in months if not years. I limped home where Kyle was waiting for me, pretty haggard himself.

Lessons learned: 1) eat! 60-miles on 2 poptarts and 3 beers = disaster, 2) just because someone is on a singlespeed does not mean they will be slower than they usually are :(

The plan for now is to do Finchford on Saturday with finals the week after that.

Countdown to the first WORS race is on: 13 days!