Excellent Evanston

Evanston, the last race of the series, was last weekend, and a blast. It is a great race course with substantial climbs, long, fast downhills that take some skill, and plenty chances to pass people (or get passed), both climbing and descending.

We arrived five minutes late for Scott's race:( He was upset, but jumped in and rode hard for 3 laps and managed to catch and pass one kid in the process.

Bp rode up to me in the warmup and remarked how good he felt. I rode a couple warm-up intervals and was surprised how easy they felt.

Kim took this picture in the flats before the climbing got going - Bob up front, Sam in 2nd, Bp 3rd, me 4th, Chad H 5th. Bob lead the pace for a few minutes up the first climb. Sam was the first to fall off. Brad moved to the front and never looked back. We passed all the 19-29ers, who started 1 minute ahead of us, including Reed who had some front derailleur issues.

Bob and Chad both climbed ahead on the second climb of the first lap, and Tim almost caught me, but the descent brought them back and it stuck for a solid 2nd place finish. I saw Brad a few times on the 2nd lap, but he was well within himself. It was a good race for me, but I wasn't catching him. Bob chased Chad in, with Chad just a few seconds faster. Tim tired at the very end, but rode a great race.

This also secured 2nd place in the series. In June I really figured my series days were over for this year, so it was satisfying to have some good finishes these last three races.

It has been a fun season with some fun memories, especially of battling Chad at Soldier Hollow, Sundance, Wendover, and Evanston. We have different styles of racing and it makes for fun competition.

My favorite memory of the season will probably be watching Scott go for a gutsy pass on the outside of a downhill turn at Thanksgiving point. He has improved dramatically this season, moving from barely able to ride his 12" bike around the course to really charging on his 20". Personally, I think he turned a corner at Soldier Hollow. While Brad and I raced, he hung out with Cale, Joe, Zack, and Hyrum. Sometimes a kid just needs some other kids to show him what being a guy is all about, I guess.

Not sure what races I'll do for the rest of the summer/fall. Work responsiblities have made this a stressful week and kind of a downer for training, but I might hit the Sundance Super-D on Saturday. Still considering a 60 or 100 mile race at the E-100 next week.