Jackson Park Race Report

The 30 percent chance of rain turned into 100 percent by the time the 1, 2, 3 race took off. Heenan and I lined up together in a field of about 40 people, including Scott McLaughlin, Mike Scherer, Kevin Klug, and Mike Hemme. Needless to say, I didn't see those guys again except for when the course doubled back on itself.

The course set up at Jackson was different than previous years, and a lot of fun. Lots of curves and off-camber corners. And with the rain, those corners got greasy quickly.

I slid out twice to the ground. Once, of course, when I started chatting with the the xXx guy I was riding with. Duh, Paul. Ride your damn bike!

There were, though, three downsides to the race. 1. The organizers did not trim any tree branches and ran the course through low-hanging branches. Several times I was clonked on the head with a tree limb and another time scraped across the face by branches.

2. There were very few straight lines in the race and many sections that weren't "regulation" width. So it was very hard to pass and very challenging to get any kind of rhythm going.

3. The official pulled Mike and I on the last lap when the leader was about to win. We had perhaps a minute on him but we still got pulled. I wanted to keep riding, and since Mike was getting close to catching me, he definitely wanted to keep riding. Alas, I finished one place ahead... (no matter that he spent the last 36 hours putting our bikes together and gluing wheels!)

I felt great on the technical aspects of the race: cornering, barriers. The Orbea is an amazing bike. I am definitely lacking in punch power right now, more of a consistent diesel engine.

Some WFQ (Warloski Fun Quotient) points today awarded to myself. I was a little freaked out racing against cat. 1s and local pros. Once they left me behind, though, I just rode my bike. I was pleasantly surprised to feel so good technically.

Glad first race is done. Bring on USGP next weekend in Sun Prairie!! We're racing the 35 plus event, which is just stacked with national talent. It's going to be a slug fest, and I can't wait!!

And did I mention before that I finished one place in front of Mike today?