For a while there I thought I was in Belgium this weekend. Eastern PA got about 6 inches of rain over the 2 days. Some parts were flooded bad. A cycler dude all decked out in 10/2 apparel stopped us at a gas station and said that down in DC, the tour of hope (lances ride) was cancelled because of the flooding, and he was heading home all bummed out. He was kind of shocked that we were racing.
Unrelenting rain, chilly weather, two-foot deep mud sections. One word: brutal. Friday night we stayed with my grandparents and my granddad made us pancakes in the morning, sweet! By the time our race went, the course was pure mud. I was miffed on the 3rd lap when I flatted out, but actually it was nice too because i got to stand out of the rain and watch the suffering without being there myself. On Sunday at the big race, lots of guys were using two bikes and switching them off every lap and having a helper wash them off. By the last lap, crossing the barrier I could barely lift my bike it felt like it had 30 pounds of mud and grass on it. I died at the end of the race and 5 guys passed me on the last lap. I think I still need lots of work on technique at riding these courses. Gunnar's words of advice were "it's not rocket science" but hey, what do I know. Pics from Sunday at
http://www.pbase.com/dens/a_men_evo
