From Joaquin...

Hey folks- Here 'tis. Enjoy. -J With six racers at the starting line (moi; James R-P; Dave Carlson; JuanLang; Huy Tran; and Michael Spady), DBC had the largest faction in the Elite5 A group. Unfortunately, none of us took the time before hand to strategerize how to take advantage of our superior numbers during the race itself. I had given most of the guys their kits just a few days earlier, soI did know what type of chamois they preferred and which one of them has a Care Bears motif on his personal checks, but that was about it. In fact, we were still shouting introductions to each other during the roll out. The benign weather conditions plus lack of experience and organization amongst the cyclists kept most of the pack pretty much together for a majority of the race. DBC maintained a very strong presence at the front of the pack, with one of us either setting the pace or jumping onto anyhalfway-serious-looking moves for the entire race. Coming into the final 4km, we were all in great position, at or near the front, lined up on theleft most margin of the road and enjoying the shelter of the rest of the packon our right. I was in 2nd position, sucking wind and feeling bad for myself, just behind Dave C. at the 1km To Go sign. Just as I realized that Dave C was kicking my butt AND still had the hitch to a BOB trailer attached to his rear derailleur hanger (that guy is an ANIMAL!!!), he made the jump to warp speed and I wasn't able to respond quickly enough. The gap that formed was instantaneously filled with a bunch of non-DBC riders charging infrom the right and it was just mayhem through the last turn to thefinish. Daveheld on for 3rd place and James R-P and I managed to finish somewhere in the early teens or there abouts. Juan was taken out by another rider in the finishing sprint but was able to finish with only minor cosmetic damage to his bike and himself. I'm not exactly sure what happened to Mike but I'm pretty sure he was in the final sprint as well. Somewhere between his 2nd and third post-race beer, James R-P said he'dtaken the time to Google "Elite 5" and he discovered that the term isactually derived from an Olde English term that translates roughly as,"scared poopless, totally clueless, and riding sketchy while traveling at high speeds surrounded by 49 other cyclists in a similar state." And that couldn't have been more true on Saturday. Throughout the race I witnessed anumber of near misses, panic maneuvers, and wandering lines. And I'm sure Ihad my own sketchtastic moments as well. But whatever. Working hard to getsafer, fitter, smarter, and un-sketchy is what Cat 5 is for, isn't it? What I do know is that we were a very strong DBC group out there on Saturday andwith a little more experience and organization we'll be ready to contribute in any category we find for ourselves in the future.