Well, I finally managed to drag myself out to PIR on Tuesday for the first time this season. I haven’t raced in a month and a half and this was to be the third time I’ve been on the bike since I got back from vacation. My game plan was to sit in the middle of the pack and just get in some fast training. This worked pretty well for half of the race. I just sat there and watch break after break go and then get reeled in. I eventually got kind of bored sitting in the middle of the pack, so I moved up a bit just to feel like I was doing something. On what I think was 4 laps to go, Stephen (Liberty Cycles) and two other guys broke away on the back straight going into the wind. I figured “what the heck” and bridged up. A guy from Yakima Bike Vigilantes went with me. Once we bridged, four of us started working pretty hard. The 1/2/3 pack was coming up on the 3/4’s behind us, so once we saw them neutralize, we pegged it hard to open up a gap before we had to neutralize. We lost one guy somewhere during the neutralization, so Stephen, Yakima guy, and myself just kept motoring along as hard as we could. We eventually crossed the start/finish line again and the counter said 3 laps to go. We all groaned at it, but after we passed it we heard the bell. So, was this the last lap? or a sprint point lap. At this stage, I was pretty much in a fog and my brain was on auto pilot so I just kept pedalling. We caught up with our 4th guy somewhere around here and he jumped on. Then on the back straight he came by as I was pulling and said something about “pack” and “getting closer”.  I couldn’t quite understand what he was saying, but I jumped on his wheel. He gave everything he had and then Yakima guy pulled up and I got on his wheel with Stephen behind me. Yakima guy gave a monster pull around the last two turns and then down the finish straight. Stephen started to come around me, so I got up and started “sprinting…” as best as I could. At the finish line, Stephen was a bike length ahead of me, Yakima guy was a half a bike ahead and the pack was flying up on the left of us. I ended up crossing the line 4th. Once the sprint points were worked into it, I was bumped down to 5th. It was a lot of fun and me,  Yakima guy,  and Liberty Cycles guy (Stephen) worked hard together to get the break to pretty much stick, sort of… I’ll certainly take it given my initial goal.  I really need to figure out how to sprint better though.

 Dean  aka  Mai Tai Tiki

 Here are Ronny and Allen getting their gold medals for winning the men’s tandem division and becoming the Men’s Tandem OBRA State Champions.  Great job guys! Looking at the results, it seems we had some other racers there as well. Jeff Boehlke took 15th in the Cat 5s. I also heard that Colby was there racing in the 4’s but broke a cleat and had to retire early.  Way to get out there and represent everyone! Here’s a few more pics of the Men’s tandem champs that Colby sent me…

I am the great Mai Tai Tiki…. I have returned from Maui empty, fat and slow.  I will replenish myself with trips to PIR on Tuesday’s and the gruelling Mt. Tabor series and report my grand results here to you haolies.  Quiver in your Sidi’s as I regain strength and power!