HUGO

80 Mile RR in gods country. Flat, to slightly down hill, with major wind.
The plan, get Chris on the podium. The players, myself, Chris, and Chris. This could get confusing but, after 18 miles it got real simple. Plans out the window, Chris flatted, and Chris dropped back in an attempt to tow him back on the back. The only problem, all shit hit the fan once the race turned west. At this point I was solo and planned to conserve as much energy as possible, while covering breaks. Things got fast in a hurry after an hour of soft peddling and pee breaks. I found myself at the front with a group of 10 trading pulls, apparently we had opened a gap on the field which only lasted about 15 mins. Our little break didnt last, there wasnt any real motivation to make the thing stick, and the remainder of the peleton was moving to keep us in check. We just eased back and break over. Turns out it was enough to shread 40-50 or so off the back. So the group was now about 35 guys, and we were moving at a descent clip. The accelerations were manageable, but the real test would be the mileage. Being Straight outa the FO's where we called 65 mi's a RR, 80 mi would be a test of my fitness level. We hit the north leg of the route, and had a sweet tailwind. Man we set sail, that sucker was strung out for the entire 20 miles. I held my position hovering around 5th wheel, working but not too much, faking pulls, as I had no team mates in the group for backup. Then at mile 14 it happened. One of the only uphill stretches on the whole course, I found myself starting to drift back a bit, I began to pick up pace to regain my position, and a dude from the right decided to drastically change lines. The result was the o'l buzz saw of his quick release on my wheel. I didnt go down, and quickly opened my front break to release the tension. The wheel was badly out of true, and in an attempt to stay with the group on a bum wheel I popped. I dropped back to get a wheel from the wheel truck, and the first wheel he gave me fell apart in my hand. The dude gave me a second, but at this point its Race over. I rolled back to the finish and finished 6 minutes of the pace of the group, and 10 mins off the winner. Thats racing. I'll tell you what though, I came away with some good indications of where my fitness is, and things are gonna get fun. This years goal has already been achieved, and the rest of the season is for next year. As for the Chris's, total bumber, but Dead Dog is in the Sights, and I have a feeling that's gonna be a different story. We gonna have a Full VC Team in the House.