It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Im back in ohio from nationals and needless to say, I have had better experiences... Points to highlight:
1. Driving to 7 Springs BLOWS from ohio.
2. Meeting two cocky Kodak Gallery Riders at Ruby Tuesdays is entertaining
3. Getting wrong directions from the host hotel and missing your national RR start SUCKS!
4. TT's on INTERSTATES with headwinds DONT suit me!
5. 30 mph average crits ROCK
6. Making a drive from PA to OHIO starting at 8:30 p.m. is nearly impossible.

Theres a lot to explain so im going to avoid a lot. Firstly, YES we DID miss the start of the RR, NO its NOT my fault, and YES I was REALLY pissed off. The TT the fallowing day in no way suited me, and I hope they find a different way to handle it next year, and yes, I will be in better shape thats for sure. As for the TT here is a picture of my buddy BEN GABARDI winning the 14 year old age group TT... this kid can fly. Tell me when you last saw a 14 year old guy look like this!


As for the crit, I have to say, this course was very nice, yet very hard at the same time. Simply put, 3 corners + 90 some riders x No one getting away means that this course was FAST. And considering I found my way off the front once at 30+ with 3 others and got pulled back in less than one lap is a perfect example. I was in great position for a top 25 finish coming into the final corner until a rock and republic rider found a way to force the field into chaos, allowing oh about half the field behind to move into a better position than myself with less that 500 meters to go... thanks bud! To make it even better. The guy whos wheel I was fallowing for the last 5 laps (Cody O'Reily) found his way onto the podium avoiding the insanity behind. AWSOME...

Overall, it was a learning experience and I look forward to next year, know how things work and being in much better form. Maybe some top 25's or even better.... after all i have only been on a bike for less than 2 years!

as for now, im running solely on coffee and pop-tarts from last night and this morning and am now off to the shop for an 8 hour day of dealing with bikes I really dont care about. We'll see how this plays out.

until later
-dee-

p.s. two fun local races coming this weekend. Everyone should come out and support!