We came. We saw. We (well I) finished 50th.

So obviously the big news of the weekend was the race. The first in team history. The start to a season of...well, I hope better things...From the gun it was GO! Our first lap of 5.5 miles rolling in at 12 minutes. That roughly 27mph. It was tough but we were hanging on. Right after the start/finish line I hear someone yell "CRASH!" Glancing through the bodies I pick out where I need to be to avoid it. As I'm passing the wreck I see the familiar blue and white of the Allied Milk uniform in the fray. It was Chad. He was standing and appeared to be ok so I kept moving, figuring he would catch up. Meanwhile a gap had formed. Those in front of the wreck had pulled away ever so slightly. Five of us went into full chase mode to try and catch the group off the front knowing that if we didn't get them now we never would due to the high head wind on the back side of the course. We rotated through pretty nicely. I was doing 1-2 minute pulls at around 28mph. Doing everything I could to get to the back of the lead group. It wasn't to be. I saw the gap growing at every corner and realized that the five of us just were not as strong as the 30 (of so I thought)ahead of us. All of us eased off knowing our race was over and the season is a long one. I rolled in with an average speed of 22mph with and hour and 18 minutes as my time. Not too bad for the first race and not wanting to peak just yet. The winner finished in 1:11 though. That just shows you how important positioning is. Chad, I later found out was finished after the first lap. See someone decided to try and win the race on the first lap. They made a stupid move, brushed against someone. That person lost control, folded his front wheel in half, fell into Chad and destroyed his rear wheel in the process. One person cost two people their race and about $2000 worth of wheels. If you click on the right photo you can clearly see where the nipple pulled straight out of the carbon rim. To Ritchey's wheelbuilders credit, the wheel still spins straight. Chad is fine so he and I will be back on the 29th at Kirkwood.

In other news, our team photos are here. I will be giving out a copy to each of our $$$ponsors. The day is was taken it was about 12 degrees (well it felt like it) but you would never know by looking at Tom, Joel, Ben, and JW in their short sleeve jerseys. So those $$$ people can be on the look out for it soon.

Sammi was adopted today. Woo Woo! She went to a family that has no kids or other pets. Just what she needed. I'm sure that her new family turns the heat up past 64 degrees too. Hopefully, their bed is as comfy for her as ours was.

Out.