Bumpin' and Jumpin'

2008 is going to be a good year for racing. I think we learned quite a bit from last year and this weekend of racing was much more fun and relaxing than our 07' experiences. Not being committed to set-up and break down the races helps quite a bit, but I think it was mostly the preparation. Preparation of not only the family camping stuff, but having the miles in to know you should have your best race.

Managing my race. I ended up racing Comp SS again and it was a very full class, going off with perhaps the biggest comp age group as well. It was clear from the start that to try and stay with Jerry would be a mistake, he was just silly fast. So I played it conservative (probably too much), and felt good the whole race. I may have been able to squeeze out a few more minutes by allowing myself to hurt more, since I felt ready for another lap at the finish. 4th place felt at home as 2007 had me there quite often, but I was further up in the Comp field than I ever was last year. Even though I dropped a hand up and my tire choice felt too big and slow, I'm generally happy with how I managed my effort. This was the first time in any of my Comp races that I felt like I was in the race, and that makes it twice as fun as suffering in no man's land. I feel better about moving to Expert now so will probably maybe perhaps upgrade for Geneva. I have no delusions of winning anything, that isn't why I show up. I just want to push harder, for longer, and find that next race to be able to hang with.

Sheri was pumped with her race and took 2nd in her age group. I think she was the only single speed in Citizen, and was in the middle of her overall. I have her hooked for sure. Rowan though the doggies were much cooler than the bikes but he had a good race and was only girl'd once. Saturday evening Rowan and I went for a hike and found a "coonasaurus" bone, but we figured only Mom was qualified to identify the species. We drank probably twice as much beer than was prudent on Saturday night and stayed up too late listening to colorful banter from the much loved muddy cuppers. But hey, it was fun.

More images here from the new family photog.