Hey Rod and the DBC Masters, First of all, my sincere thanks to Rod for his very kind words written on the DBC Masters Blog. It really means a lot and motivates me tremendously hearing these words. It really does... As Fred would say, it got me all 'misty'... :-} After my crashes last year, I basically threw in the towel for bike racing...I mean...damn...who wants to go through that again...why? At the ripe old racing age of 40, why would I think this is a good way of spending my free time? Why not just join the UCD intramural "C league' soccer team? Or take up something innocuous like the chess club? HTFU'n is one thing (you know...SSA! I'm all for it), but breaking bones in crashes is another thing....surgery, rehab, wearing that freakin arm sling for what seemed like eternity, nervousness on the bike after that.......count me out! That's not fun?! Is it? BUT.... sitting on the sidelines, reading the race reports, viewing the race pics, and hearing all the chatter.... I REALLY started to miss it all....but most importantly, I missed being an active part of the DBC RT 'gang'... the camaraderie of the TEAM... the best circle of friends you could have...I know it sounds cliche, but, damn, the DBC RT is the best group of people I have ever encountered! Good friends, awesome athletes, and just a swell group of folks that has your back covered whether it be in racing or life. As Rod stated, this was my debut back onto the racing scene.... Warnerville RR....what was I thinking!? Gravel section ripe for crashes?! Well, arriving in the parking lot of the reg area to meet my teammates put me at ease...there were my friends and teammates FRED...ROD...STEGGALL...DEREK...NELSON...and the fantastic new guys on the team...PETER, DOUG, and MIKE. It all started to feel normal once again! Was I nervous...hell ya! But I did feel OK. Everything was going fine, but we hit the gravel section, and my 'pucker' meter went to redline... :-} Decided to drift to the back of the pack and stay out of the way of the potential craziness...passed a few guys...saw Mike B stop due to handlebars/stem going south...and towards the end of the gravel section a guy in front of me swerved almost directly into me, he unclipped and came to a stop, and I unclipped and came to a full stop... remounted the bike and started the chase. The pack dangled in front of me for several miles, and I chased as hard as I could....but the wind took its toll. I just couldn't latch back on. You know what came next....a seriously long solo TT....I was not going to quit! Tried to work with a few racers in our group that also got dropped, but they were not able. So, I went it alone....Fred passed me (the 45+ group started 5 min after us) and gave encouraging words even though he was hammering at the front of a small chase group. Thanks Freddie for the motivation! When I passed the finish line on each lap, I saw SO MANY riders calling it quits (even after the first lap)....WTF?! ya, the wind was absolutely howling, but geez....you came all this way...why not just make the best of it and finish the darn race! At the very least it made for a great training ride...and it was. My legs sure felt it, but that is just what I needed...to whet my appetite for racing once again and get my bod back in shape! But, the best part of my race came at the end...not just because I was done (which was a relief!), but because my entire DBC Masters TEAM was there cheering me on! It doesn't get any better than that! Thanks guys! Congrats to everyone out there racing in the tornado of wind! Special congrats go to Nelson for throwing down all the way during the race and getting 6th place, and Doug for capturing the 7th place in only his second race ever! Way to go guys! Looking forward to doing it again soon! jas
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