10/21 Bubba 3 @ Bella Fontaine, Masters, 2cd.

 

Good race. Warming up I couldn't help but think how much the course suited Devin, which turned out to be the case, but I was pleased with the the way I raced. 

I took the hole shot and Devin and I had almost instant separation. I hung with him for the first 2 laps and then couldn't keep up on the straight power sections and the gaps started to open up. I was able to push hard and had total focus. The lap cards ticked quickly. My Garmin never gets the first lap right but my last lap may have been the fastest. I had closed the gap towards the end and think I was closer than last week, tough to say. 

Lots or rain in the forecast for St Vincent. Gives me the tingles in the shorts.

10/15 Bubba 2 @ Creve Couer, Masters, 2cd.

 

What a difference a race in the legs makes. 

Course was still super challenging but far more interesting than Queeny with some single-track and slightly more technical, less pure power oriented track. 

I marked Vince right off the start and sat on his wheel getting for the first half of the lap. I figured we'd have a fast first lap and knew that Devin would definitely attack on the paved hill, I just expected it after the first lap and was caught on Vince's wheel when he bogged down on the climb a tad and heard Devin coming in hot. I was able to respond and off we went. Kukla had slowed up so he could link up with Devin and I think we grouped up sometime before the end of the first lap. The three of us had an almost immediate gap.

I hung on close to the end of the second lap and then little gaps began to grow and close until I cracked a bit. I knew we were going strong as the splits behind us were growing every lap. Unlike the week before the laps were ticking down and I was feeling like I could push more and had a little more explosiveness in my legs, which I was surprised by after the rest week. My lap times were super consistent and I was able to put in a few good laps and close slightly on Devin with 3 to go. He noticed it as well and opened it back up. I think I finished about 45 seconds back from him and  a good distance in front of 3rd. Good race.

10/8 Bubba 1 @ Queeny, Masters, 2cd.

 Almost bailed when the swelling from the bee sting I took  to the forehead on the Hamburg Wed  sunk from my forehead to both my eyes and vision was pretty impaired. It cleared up dramatically from Sat morning to  Sat night so I said fuck it and threw down some duckets and registered so I wouldn't back out Sunday morning.

Pulling into the lot at Queeny I was recalling how bad my last experience there was and hoping I didn't regret the decision and start the season off on the wrong foot. When Dan and Harre commented on how thick the grass was and that it was pretty much the same course as States last year, I was not feeling the stoke. As it turns out, I think the course was actually harder with less flow and thick grass that was slow, even going down hill. 

Was happy they decided to race the SS group and masters together but changed my mind when I realized Kukla and Devin were going to pace each other all race. Race was pretty uneventful other than one near full speed meeting with the tree at the bottom of the downhill (after the parking lot) before the 180. Came in super hot and narrowly avoided it. The race was super hard and I was watching the clock after a few laps, which is never good. Once the lap cards went up I was devastated to see 5 to go but kept pushing on. Most laps were consistent other than the tree lap, where I lost about 10 seconds. No man's all race but think I probably finished about a minute back from Devin and closer to 2 mins on Jon Bell in 3rd. 

Happy with the first race of the year and also pleased to see that my power was up compared to the State race last year. 254avg / 275 np vs 248avg/ vs 268.