First time in Madison and it was a blast. Dale and I headed up to meet the rest of the MWI crew for USGP #1 and #2 on an awesome fun course that offered a little bit of everything. Pre-ride Friday afternoon went well and catching up with the Wisco boys was great.
As usual the MWI compound setup/support was A+. Everyone pitches in and makes sure everyone has support and is race ready; then afterwards is the constant heckling and jokes that make it super fun. Pretty cool watching Mike wrenching and supporting the Rapha Focus squad; living the life!
Saturday morning woke to a little shock to the system as it was 32* and damp (rained pretty hard over night). By the time of my 45+ race the course was pretty dry and ripping fast. Lined up 4th row start against a crazy fast group of old(ish) folks and had a sorry start (missed a pedal and then mentally checked out on the opening stretch settling in). Never really felt sharp during the race and had a hard time catching a deep breath; finished 17th.
Dale raced well in the 55+ and finished 10th - solid.
Kicked back the rest of the day watching various races. Nutty how easy the pro's make the course look.
Sunday morning was a tad warmer and the course was pretty similar with a couple slight changes (making it a bit faster I thought). 3rd row start and much quicker off the line with a little aggression. Moving thru the field pretty good and feeling great I was nearing top 10 when I wiped out twice in one lap in some loose dirt corners immediately dropping tons of spots. Fought the rest of the race and continued to feel sharp, but only netting 18th. Disappointing with the placing but encouraged by the sensations.
Dale had another solid day and nabbed another 10th.
Skipping the race viewing we jumped in the car heading south for home. Great weekend and really looking forward to L'ville.
Couple days rest then it was off to Gateway Cross in STL on Wednesday morning, but... everything changed in a blink of an eye (or crack of the back). Woke up unable to stand straight as there was a sharp catch pain in my lower back. I have a history of this hitting me a couple times a year and typically I go straight to my chiro and later that day I am 100% good to go. The problem that morning was we had to leave early (before he was open) and I went up anyway hoping it was loosen up and I'd be able to race. So off I go with Nate, Ira, and Dale to STL.
Got to a sloppy wet course and after a couple laps warming up and unable to move dismounted I called it a day and became a spectator. Super bummed as I was feeling sharp leading into this and hated to watch my rivals duking it out and not participating.
Not a huge deal, get back to Bolivar, see my chiro and get ready for Boss Cross on the weekend; good plan... Thursday session with Dr. Tweedy loosened things up (but it was the worst he had seen me and wasn't positive about the weekend), but by evening time I was locked back up. Friday he wasn't available so I decided to rest/relax for the weekend staying home and regroup. That was a hard thing to do as Boss Cross is such a great series and I love the EH Young park courses. Oh well, what can you do?
Monday morning session with the chiro has me feeling pretty decent (not great) and was actually able to take a decent spin yesterday and snag a run this AM getting in some stadium/bleacher work. By the time I got back home the back as seizing up again so another chiro session this afternoon is in order. My hopes, fingers crossed, is to keep making progress and be able to participate in the 360 Cup races this weekend in Lawrence, KS; that is my hopes, but reality may say otherwise.
This is jacking with me more mentally than probably physcially as I started the season as fit as I've ever been early on and now it seems so far away. I know I'm not a joy to be around at home and am trying hard to keep it together, but I not doing a good job at that right now (and that frustrates me more than the racing aspect of it). Got to get a grip on myself soon
Couple days rest then it was off to Gateway Cross in STL on Wednesday morning, but... everything changed in a blink of an eye (or crack of the back). Woke up unable to stand straight as there was a sharp catch pain in my lower back. I have a history of this hitting me a couple times a year and typically I go straight to my chiro and later that day I am 100% good to go. The problem that morning was we had to leave early (before he was open) and I went up anyway hoping it was loosen up and I'd be able to race. So off I go with Nate, Ira, and Dale to STL.
Got to a sloppy wet course and after a couple laps warming up and unable to move dismounted I called it a day and became a spectator. Super bummed as I was feeling sharp leading into this and hated to watch my rivals duking it out and not participating.
Not a huge deal, get back to Bolivar, see my chiro and get ready for Boss Cross on the weekend; good plan... Thursday session with Dr. Tweedy loosened things up (but it was the worst he had seen me and wasn't positive about the weekend), but by evening time I was locked back up. Friday he wasn't available so I decided to rest/relax for the weekend staying home and regroup. That was a hard thing to do as Boss Cross is such a great series and I love the EH Young park courses. Oh well, what can you do?
Monday morning session with the chiro has me feeling pretty decent (not great) and was actually able to take a decent spin yesterday and snag a run this AM getting in some stadium/bleacher work. By the time I got back home the back as seizing up again so another chiro session this afternoon is in order. My hopes, fingers crossed, is to keep making progress and be able to participate in the 360 Cup races this weekend in Lawrence, KS; that is my hopes, but reality may say otherwise.
This is jacking with me more mentally than probably physcially as I started the season as fit as I've ever been early on and now it seems so far away. I know I'm not a joy to be around at home and am trying hard to keep it together, but I not doing a good job at that right now (and that frustrates me more than the racing aspect of it). Got to get a grip on myself soon
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