Ouch, I woke up sore as a whore on a Sunday morning, not that I was working as one just that I was really sore.

Last night was my first race ever. As you should all know, I don’t like to ride to see who goes the fastest but last night was actually quite fun. It was the single most painful 20 minutes of my life.

The course consisted of two goal points and no restrictions on how to get there. Old Main and Lee’s Marketplace on 14th North. To get to Old Main from the shop is a significant increase in elevation and it’s steep as hell. I ride up this hill several times a week to get to school but I’m usually not pushing myself to see how fast I can do it, last night I was. And it hurt. Right off the bat I fell behind the leaders. Right off the bat means within the first block. By the time I had made it to the top of Old Main I couldn’t see there lights. Abby and Andy Yerka were at the top. You would think they would be there to cheer me on but all I got was, “You’re way behind.” I found out later they were cheering the leaders on with the simple challenge of beating me.

After Old Main I headed through campus and down 7th East I believe, not sure exactly the number of this road. It has a good downhill coming off of campus and by this time I was done pedaling. I was also only one of two riders who did the race fixed. I propped me feet up on the down tube and let’r rip. I’m sure the cars passing me were a little confused, judging by their looks. About half way down the hill I-dog caught up to me, he’s riding free and geared. I was able to keep him fairly close. We sprinted down 14th and through the parking lot at Lee’s. Now that I was with someone the race seemed a bit more interesting. We both headed down 14th to 4th where we jetted back towards the shop which is on 1st East.

I found that sprinting to corners and then propping my feet up allowed me to really cruise around the corners. I-dog and I split paths as we winded back towards the shop. We met back up at 4th and 1st for a 3 block sprint finish. Lucky for me he headed out a little too early and I was able to catch and make a 30 ft. attack right in front of the shop. But in true I-dog fashion, he beat me by a couple of inches.

Of course, by the time we made it to the finish, the three leaders were there and resting. We tried to catch our breath and watched the other riders trickle in. And then we were waiting for three. Mr. Keller, Bob Guthrie and Eugena were no where to be seen. After what seemed like a very long time Keller and Bob made it in, with a Snickers bar from Lee’s and the name of someone they had met at the top of Old Main as proof they actually did the entire course. Keller was the only other person to ride the race fixed.

We arrived in the following order: Ben, Robert, Speedy, I-dog, myself, the Golden Knuckle, KC, Keller and Bob. Eugena flatted and didn’t finish, her house sits just about perfectly in the middle of our little ride and she ended up there.

Ben signed the Mooseknuckler Cup and will defend his title as the biggest Knuckler next month when we have the 2nd Mooseknuckler Cup.

Peace.