Wards Ferry Climbfest

I drove out well before the crack of dawn and headed for the hills of Sonora.  While standing in line to register this kid starts asking if he's supposed to race the 4's.  "I've only done a couple road races," he says.  The lady helps him out and it looks like he's due to upgrade.  I figure he must have done a handful of crits and has his 10 finishes.  I tell him good luck and figure I won't see much of him during the race.  This turns out to be true since he practically never leaves the front and ends up winning the race.  Afterward I heard the grumbling, "Dude, this pro mountain biker was in our race.  They should make any kind of pro cat up."  I even heard someone suggest this about a nordic skier.  I agree with the mountain biker sentiment but the nordic skier might be a step too far.  Just because Forest Gump becomes an international ping pong star doesn't mean he's pro enough to pack ride.

Of course, after watching this video I convinced myself I'm wrong.  First of all, I'm certain he could handle a bike, since he also handled football and Jenny's mood swings.  Secondly, have you seen him run?  Thirdly, did you notice when you go back and watch this movie how much time Forest spends talking about himself?!  He's totally a roadie.

Anyway the race was hard and the whole group lasted only 1 of 4 laps before the split.  I'd like to think I contributed to this, but who knows.

I was warned that the descent was tricky.  I thought this meant twisty, but what it means is bumpety.  I almost got bucked off a few times and this meant even the recovery on descents was anything but.

I got dropped at the start of the last lap and dangled within range for a little while.  Then I caught Josh from Rio Strada.  We chatted for a minute and then I asked if he wanted to try and catch anyone else.  He didn't want to so I tried by myself but I didn't succeed.  I managed to avoid getting caught and held on for 10th.  My goal was a top ten, so as you can see, I didn't get greedy.