Thursday, March 22, 2012

First Race of 2012... Gettn my feet wet

I found myself in Austin, TX and luckily Dave Wenger told me about a nice Thursday night race they have down there. I figured it was a training crit but when I showed up I saw a big blown up finish line and the music was pumpin! This was no small race.

The Driveway Series is totally badass. Better than some weekend races I attend. Great field, great course, venders set up and FREE beer... Yes I said free!

John Grant was also in town for some reason so atleast I knew a couple guys there. I was fresh off the plane with heavy legs and with being able to count the times I've ridden outside on all my fingers, I was just looking to get my feet wet.

Guys have been riding and racing a lot down there so I was looking for a good workout and to hopefully not embarrass myself.

The race started out quick and I was just trying to remember how to turn my bike at high speeds. Wenger got in a pretty dangerous 3 man move and I thought I shouldn't let that go. I followed a move with John Grant and 3 of us rolled away. We worked well together and caught the break in about a half a lap. We were 6 strong now... Well really 5. I was way in over my head but my mind is a lot stronger than my legs right now. We rolled along pretty good. They were killin me and it started showing with about 6 laps to go and one of the guys attacked hard on the hill and I was cashed. It split the move in half and I just went back to the field half cracked. I surfed a lil and still was 4th in the field sprint. I was pretty happy with my ride knowing my fitness is behind but glad I read the race right and got my feet wet. I definetly felt out of shape and like I traveled all day on a plane but it's good to see where I am. Dave ended up winning which was nice.

Austin is a blast and I met and hung out with some great people. Not to mention I got to attend SXSW finally and got to see one of my fav old school bands Candlebox.

Thanks Austin and I'll see ya again someday!

Oh yeah, and got to hang out with my man, the legend, Johnny Sundt.