Estabrook and a Farewell...

I regret to inform all of my friends and family that I will be switching teams for the 2009 season. Team Pegasus has be more than great to me and are everything I have ever wanted in a team, but our views have grown apart. I have found that HCC appeals more to my needs as a cyclist. I 100% recommend Team Pegasus for anyone who likes to ride or race their bike. I hope there wil be no bad blood between us and I will complete my 2008 under the Pegasus uniform.

Woke up around 8 am and was too excited to fall back asleep. I was going to work the p.m. and take down the course, but teammate and friend Jason had called and was troubled by a lack of my presence. I called back and asked if they needed any extra help which he responded, "not really". I headed over to Estabrook Park because I was tired of sitting at home. When I arrived the final touches of the course were being done. I taped off a couple of sections and carried around some tape and stakes until completion.

The family came out once again with a couple of additions, which was a nice surprise. The starting line consisted of 22 riders and was about that wide across. A race was going on in ILL so our field was thin. At the start of the race I took it easy a bit and worked my way up. Lucky for me a single barrier was put up and I was able to hop over it. I saved some energy doing this, but a couple of times I was unable to get past the person in front of me because they were all over the place(a.k.a. avoiding a crash). Thomson Remo from Baraboo Sharks was killing it in the flat sections leaving me more than a couple of bike lengths behind. I usually caught up to him on the barriers or the shacains. Second last lap Jason and Cale had caught up to me. We rode together from there with Remo. On the final lap Remo made his move and turned on the heat in a flat section with pavement. I was dead by this point and assumed he would blow up and we could catch him on the shacain or barriers. Unfortunately, He knows himself better then I thought and he left our sights. On the last set of barriers I could see Matt Kamphius from Brazen Dropouts ahead of me. I should have put on the heat after the second set of barriers. It was pavement, flat and down hill in that part not to mention it meant the race was almost over. Next time I will have to think more about strategy such as good times to attack and bridge. The Pegasus Trio rolled through the finish together with Jason laid down a sprint that came from behind me trying to pass in the final straight. I can't remember how I knew he was coming or if I saw him when he was beside me, but was forced to get out of the saddle and give it my all. I beat him by less than a foot I imagine and was totally dead afterwards. It was a good race I rolled in at 8th which is what a got in Washington Park. Next race is in Northbrook, but I may sit that one out due to how I feel now. I think I might be getting sick again, but who knows.