Finally...

With me coming of an injury from last wed. when i crashed during a training ride, i was not looking to do too well because i was still very sore. Dan and i decided to just wing it and chances are have to lead him out for the finish. The course for Brownstown was a 5. something loop with a little hill at the the finish. The race started at a nice speed and with in the first 2 laps there was a break away 7. With a kelly-benefit rider in the group the whole team moved to the front to slow down the peloton. Dan and i realized this and knew that if one of us did not get in the breakaway then we would have no chance of a top 10 finish. Since the yellow line rule is in affect except for the last 1km we decided to attack there so we could use the whole road. I went first with Dan right on my wheel, after going across the start/finish line i knew that i would catch them. After Dan realized that i was in the break he slowed down and drop back into the peloton knowing his job was done for the day.

With the break away 8 riders strong we knew we had a good chance of staying away since the course is very windy and it will slow the peloton down. We all made even pulls for the last 5 laps of the race. On lap 5 it started raining, an advantage for us because this would slow the peloton down even more. With only one lap to go i went across the start/finish line and realized that i was cramping up in my thighs, even for a climber like myself this will cause a problem on the climb at the finish. I tried to conserve energy but it was no use, at the finish i just sat up, knowing i had nothing left and knowing that i still got 8th place. After the race was over i realized that Dan flatted with only 2 laps to go, and the peloton came in around 1 min. behind us. I will survive to race another day, and so will Dan.

Chad.

The only thing that I think was wrong was that I led you to the break my friend. Otherwise I would have made it too.

Check out Marysville. It's a festival so even if the racing is boring there will still be some food, games, and/or bands. http://www.masuperseries.com/ for me details.