Treasure Valley Cycling Club

What a fantastic event. The ride was well organized. There were plenty of stops for water, etc. The weather was about perfect. The company was great. The accomodations at Case De Denning were wonderful. In fact, a big shout out and thanks for letting us crash at your place!! I have to say that the gear change was extremely helpful...I wasn't hurting nearly as bad on the big climb this weekend. I am looking forward to doing it again next year.

So, there I was. Due to the copious amounts of ice in my jersey pockets and the large frozen, ice filled sock down my back I was staying fairly cool. The body and legs are feeling great.

Kurt Holzer got off on the front which caused the pace to really slow down because we let him hang out there and no one really wanted to do the work to bring him back. After a while I decided to put in a hard effort to cut he cap and then force others to start working. It worked and before long we had Kurt back with us. Big props to him for getting away.

After finishing the Twilight Criterium for the first time as part of the field sprint (I crashed out last year), I expected to be hit with lots of questions. “How did it feel to finish 13th?", “How were you able to survive the heat?”, or even “ How were you able to cover those attacks?” would have been welcome. But, the question most asked was…

“Did you catch Rob's crash on camera?”

What a fun course. I enjoyed it almost as much as the Twilight Criterium...the course was way better, it just didn't have the atmoshere. Nate did awesome, finishing second by about 3 inches. I did much better than last night, staying with the field until the last few hundred meters. I think I finished about 7th and probably 30 yards back. Uh oh, I think I am starting to like racing the crits.

I am very glad you all talked me into my first criterium. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I had a blast taking the lead for a couple of laps before falling to the back of the field. Thankfully, the officials let me go for 40 minutes before pulling me from the race. A few times I was really hoping they would pull me sooner because I was really hurting from the 182 average heartrate, but I am glad they didn't. If I can learn to ride in the pack, I think I am strong enough to make it.

Wow, what a great turn out from Team Reel! I had a blast riding with my daughters Reagan and Kaitlynn as well as Kate and Kerry Elder. I was so proud of those girls! On a very hilly course the intense wind made for a very difficult ride, but they rode super tough. Jacqueline rode the 10 mile option with the Hamilton clan and big thanks to them for letting her ride with them, she is hooked for next year. J.J., like so many others (especially on the longer rides) was absolutely waisted by the wind. That was one windy day in the saddle!!

Well, this event was probably my hardest day on a bike. I figured the six stagesand 90 miles total I did included approx 35 miles of consistant steady climbing. As difficult, painful, and dlirium inducing as it was, I loved it! I must say that our set up, especially the way Jaimie takes care of us is top notch! Thanks to Ladd, Nate, Eric, and Jamie for and awesome day!!!

What a nice day for a ride. I was less tired after 100 miles today than after the 60 miles I rode of the Bob Lebow. I ran into Nate hiding in the shade of a tree at the Kuna rest stop, but didn't see any other Team Reel riders. Team Invent won first place in the team contest and Lactic Acid was second if anyone was curious.