#8

So number eight went into the books last night with Jay Charles showing that he's a freaking hard, hard man. The race started calmly enough, with the group noodling past at about 14 mph on the first race lap. That pace got shot in the rear on lap 2. A small break jumped away and the race was on. The initial break of four lasted 15-20 minutes and was reeled back, only to be replace by a break that would be a launchpad for Jay to win. As the 50 minutes drained into the bottm of the hourglass, the 4 man break became 3 and then 2. RW and Jay stayed out together until 3 laps to go. As soon as I yelled three to go, RW sat up, leaving Jay to got it alone for 6km, with the whole group chasing. Jay, being the local stud that he is, kept the throttle on the mat and soloed for the win, even sitting up in the final straight and saluting the assembled crowd.

The entire field came into the final 400 meters together and, of course, started to sprint just after the corner. Guys, pros don't sprint from 400...you can't do it!!! Anyway, Beano jumped across the road with 200 to go and showed the group a clean set of wheels to win the bunch sprint.

I didn't ride, as this is A) a bit of a rest week, and B) I took Bambino #1 out to the crit to give the H.O. a break. #1 and I rode the course (well, I pulled the trailer while he sat in the back like Trump) for about 30 minutes. I wanted to ride for an hour, but a flat ended the fun. I didn't have a kit on the cross bike, so it went back on the roof. #1 and I sat on the tailgate of the truck and he ate dinner while watching the race. He did his usual post-dinner walk-about and we got back to the start/finish line with about 4 to go. It must be sensory overload out there for a 21 month old. Guys racing bikes, planes flying over, big trucks going by on the highway and acres of green grass...

All in all, a good time was had by all...

I'll be out Thursday night...