So Watcha Been Doin'?

I mailed in the TT on Friday. After missing the front group on the Mt. Adams stage there was no chance I'd be anywhere near the GC lead so there wasn't really much point. The course had a lot of climbing, but there was also a lot of wide open descending and a crushing headwind, which favors a power rider such as myself. I hope I come back next year and come into that TT with a shot on GC because I'd love to see how I could roll it. I rode most of the course below tempo and got caught by 3 riders on the climb and passed two of them back on the descent. Hilarious.

Yesterday was the queen stage: the Wy'East RR. It was brutal. The race started and finished at the MT. Hood Meadows Ski Resort, which meant about 9,000 feet of climbing in 92 miles. The race starts with a 10 mile screaming descent where it hits a hard climb (where I nearly got popped) and then continues descending at breakneck speeds into a valley. You struggle (if you're me) over a couple more climbs and then begin a soul-crushing 30 mile trek back to the ski resort which is almost completely uphill. I did get dropped on an intermediate climb due to some poor riding. I expected another descent over the top where I could catch back on, but it turned out the climb was followed by a false flat crosswind section. That sucked. The Mooney express slayed himself to get me and Vinny back on. What an animal. We eventually caught right at the next feedzone where I promptly went to the front to ask Adam and the boys if they needed anything before dropping anchor and noodling in. Well, we noodled for the better part of two hours to get back to the ski resort. Phil gave me a turkey sando handup, which pretty much saved my life.

Up the road the boys were riding strong. Adam managed to hang with the big boys and finished 11th, which was good enough to keep his top 10 in GC. Our friend and YCT guest rider Patrick McCarty crushed souls and took the stage win, vaulting him into 6th overall, and local maniac Nate English, who had been attacking from the first climb, eventually got away with Patrick to finish 3rd and also move into 3rd on GC. Rad!

The weather was sunny and beautiful yesterday, and as soon as I could move again we rolled back to our awesome host housing and enjoyed one of the best BBQs I've had in forever. The guys from the Total Restoration Cycling Team joined us, and they're good people. We don't often get the chance to kick it with other teams, so it was a rare treat. Also they're Canadian so we got to laugh at their accents and they got to laugh at our healthcare. I think they have the good end of that deal. One of their riders, Marcel, crushed it yesterday and took 2nd on the stage behind Patrick.

Now its pissing rain again and I'm meditating on how to get my tires to grip the wet roads so I can have a shot at this crazy crit today. Last chance for a podium before we head back to sunny California, hopefully via the Full Sail Brewery.