A WHOLE NEW SEASON

I know I haven't been on this thing for a while, but it's hard to post anything when you forget the password.
A lot has happened since last year. Some old faces, some new faces, some faces we will not see again unfortunately. Old bikes (Cannondale), new bikes (Giant). Old friends who we have bonded with and new friends who we are always open to meet and welcome with open arms.
Training in the off season for me was less intense, but with more hours in the saddle. We will see if this pays off. The problem with me in the past was more on the mental side. Seeing that I am mental to begin with, this is somewhat of a challenge for me when it comes to bike racing. I always felt like the legs were there, but applying them was a different race in itself.
The new bikes I can say are better than the old. I don't see myself as a bike snob, but the one noticeable thing I can do on these new Giants is ride without my hands. Bike or skills? I don't know. I would lean to the bike side because my skills have always sucked.
Onto the first race of the season. Gapers Block. Thanks to Half Acre for hosting, especially on the south side! Preriding the course you felt as if the wind was in your face for about 75% of the course. Monday nights wind was even worse from what I was told. The race went off with me in the second row. After a couple of laps and some hard efforts in the front, I was told after the race that the field split with About 15-20 riders in the front pack. Needless to say, I did not look behind myself during the race. The race ran as smooth as a 4-5 race should until I heard in front of me a whole lot of "woa's!" What it turned out to be was a girl all of 12 riding her bike on the course. The best was, as we are passing her telling her to get off the course, she gave us the buisness right back! She didn't even skip a beat, expecting to get hollered at in the first place. Did I mention I love the south side? With the final lap there was some good speed on the front stretch leading in to the wind. On the lake side guys were just shutting down, waiting for the lead out. I saw two guys jump and thank goodness I wasn't pinched on the inside curb like I think a lot of guys were. I didn't grab a wheel, but was able to go to the ouside of the pack by myself. And that's the way we ended with myself coming in third.
Not a bad start for the season. Tony