You see, what had happened was...

So we ventured up to Clinton on Saturday morning for Flight of The Dove. Did I mention that getting up at 4:45am is GD early?
The Beast scooped up everyone, and their belongings, and we made it in plenty of time.
And as it usually happens at these things, I found myself on the wrong side of the assembly point for the start.
Out of the parking lot, we were already watching the lead group round the turn. Super.
Instead of just finding a group to ride with, I buried myself, 3 minutes into the ride, and chased for the next 20 minutes.
The bridge was made in the next little town, but the effort was too much, and I just couldn't get over the first climb with the group.
The next 40 minutes was spent riding stupidly, and entirely too hard.
Burning matches...
A nice group assembled at mile 30 or so, and rode together well until the mile 40 rest stop.
Once back on the bike, the day was over.
I might have made it another 3 miles until I went all Sonoran Desert...

And that was that...
Goodbye group...goodbye decent ride.
Survival mode kicked in, and the next hour and change was spent just keeping the pedals turning over.
I caught a guy who was doing the 50 mile route, and we limped back into town together.  Broken...
3:12:xx according to the clock on the stem. Not horrible, but a whopping 27 minutes slower than last year.
And to add insult to injury, I flatted about a mile from the finish. Not changing that one...ride it in...
Everyone finishing looked a bit smashed. Of course, it was 95 degrees...
No matter.
FotD is a great ride, and supports a great local cause. I'll be back next year for number 10.
Once back at Service Course, I drink 2.5 liters of water, another Coke, and ate two burritos.  After a lengthy nap, I ate a cupcake.  Only then did anything resembling life return...
Four of us met Sunday morning, and knocked down another 80-ish km out thru the flats. The first hour was a battle for all, but once rolling, we all started to feel a bit better, and a good ride was had by all.  It was needed...
It was a good weekend of riding, even if a bit of it was really terrible...

 Oh, isn't that nice. The folks in Colorado made a crown for the Princess.

Spain doesn't even PLAY when it comes to podium girls. Other races need to seriously up their game.

And I know it's a Trek, but Sven's new whip for this CX season is smooooth. Built for action.

And I thought my next bike would be made of metal...then this happened...

And a cool video from the Tour of Colorado USA Pro Challenge...


Railing on dirt. I know people who won't go around flat, dry, asphalt corners that hard.

Alright people, back to work...