Tour De Tick (make that Ick)

Yesterday (Sunday) was the Midwest Fat Tire series Tour De Tick race in Neosho, MO. I raced this as a sport rider two years ago in a downpour of rain with made the course a bit of a swamp and with the forecast all week calling for rain on Sunday I figured it would be the same for '11.

Ira (my Bolivar training partner) and I loaded up the SS's and drove the 1:45hr (close for us) to the event and sure enough it was raining on the way and the temps never got out of the lower 50's (chilly dampness). The turnout was a bit low which is interesting as why do mtb'ers skip on nasty weather, it's a mountain bike after all and isn't it supposed to get nasty and dirty!?!?!? Must be the 'cross part of me speaking out here. Anyways, the course was a 6.8 mile loop with a mix of rocky, rooty, flowy, climbing, fire roads, and slippery corners (about everything you expect). SS class did three laps and on this wet and chilly day that was just about enough.

Race got going and Ira and I set off on a solid pace and gaped everyone else. Somewhere early on he decided to endo his bike without letting me know first so when I turned around 1/2 way through the opener lap he was gone. I set out then to see how many experts (Cat 1's) I could pull in over the next couple laps. That didn't end up being too long as I caught and passed the Cat 1 leaders 1/2 thru the second lap. The rain kept coming down making the course a mudfest so I shut down the last lap a bit and made sure to keep upright with no mistakes. Mission accomplished and ended up snagging my third SS win of the year with Ira taking a solid 2nd.

Another great venue for the 29'er SS as mud and bad conditions are not an issue when you aren't shifting. Talked with teammate GLove's wife after the race and we both decided it was a great 'cross muddy course training.

Legs and fitness are solid right now even though I haven't started a serious regime of intensity; that is starting this month as June and July has a nice set of crits for which I want to prime (Tusla Tough, Tour of KC, and Tour of Lawrence).

Not sure how much racing I'll do this month as the gas prices and lack of driving partners is making me a bit more selective (notice a race 1:45 hrs is considered a 'local' close one).