Brown County

     There was little time for rest after our weekend in Indiana. I started training for my new home health job on Monday. Training is supposed to be six weeks long. Pay during training is half of what I will make after so I was ready to get this thing going. They started me off riding along with other therapists to give me a feel for the job since I have never done home health in any form. I spent the first week with the Occupational Therapist, Pat, who is a good friend of ours and is the one that got me this job.

     My first few days were pretty awful. We had the rudest patients and went to some of the worst places I have ever been. At lunch on the first day I was trying to figure out how I was going to tell Pat I didn't want this job. I hated it. I was so uncomfortable being in someone else's home and I did not care for spending so much time in the parts of town I normally try to avoid. But Pat was sooooo excited for me to take this job. She kept telling me how this could be what I have been looking for. It has a flexible schedule and much more pay than what I am used to in outpatient.

     After a lot of thought, I decided to go through with the training for at least two weeks before making a decision. I never told Pat I was so close to ending it the first two days. The second morning we went into a house in a rough part of town. It was a house filled with all males who were constantly hitting on the female nurses. I can't believe any nurse would even go into a house like that alone. There were syringes lying on every level surface. Random cars kept pulling up outside and waiting at the road for a "package" from the guys inside the house. It was way more than sketchy. Thankfully, those first two days have been by far the worst days I have had on this job. By the end of the week, I was starting to see the potential for this job that Pat was seeing.

     It was a stressful week, but I was happy to have a job at this point. I got a little stress relief Wednesday night with the Music City Crits race in Nashville at the Fairgrounds Speedway. It was Race #4 of the series. The first three rounds took place while I was gone on trips earlier in May. There was the threat of incoming rain as we started our race on the kidney bean course. We had 35 riders for the Pro/1/2/3 race which ended up being shortened to 40 minutes after the rain arrived. I was able to dig deep in following the front of the race which was filled with attacks the first 20 minutes. I never tried to go with a break, just tried to stay in a good position in the group. My heart rate was pegged out at 187 more than once.

Cat. 4/5 group

     A break finally got away and ended up lapping the field, which upped the pace again at the end. John Carr was in the break so I tried to do some work for him in the final eight laps. I did a hard pull to discourage attacks, but the group let me go and I ended up off the front for a lap. I was sitting up and they still did not catch me. Nobody wanted to do anything until there was finally an attack from one of the guys that had been in the break. I helped John chase that down, then finally did the big pull I wanted to do. I dropped back at about four laps to go, then ended up off the back when the field blew up at three to go. I had nothing left to close all the gaps and found myself in a chase group of four the last three laps. The other three did not pull through so I led the chase for two laps before two of the guys attacked me on the final lap. It was a little irritating because they clearly had plenty of legs left to help me with the work and maybe we could have reached the back of the group again if we were working together. I ended up 20th on the night. I don't really care about the finish position, just the workout and it was a good one for sure.

Pro/1/2/3 race underway at MC Crits #4

Video: MC Crits #4 race action

     We had no race on Memorial Day weekend, so I went down to the CRAM ride in Clarksville. Shannon and I had hoped to ride the tandem there again this year, but we have had minimal time on the tandem this season. Most of it is our fault, but we have also had a lot of issues with breaking spokes on the rear wheel. I planned to do the century option for a full 100 miles. I was in the front group hammering along with Justin Lowe and Jimmy Blackmon for the first 25 miles until I flatted on the way into Trenton. Only Jimmy stopped as the others were set on doing a sub-four hour time so no time to wait for a flat change. My legs were super tight which is when I have noticed I tend to get injuries. That had me doubting whether 100 miles was a good idea today and then Jimmy decided to bail out and just do 50 miles. I ended up by myself for a while and realized if I did 100 miles it would be all alone the rest of the way. So I took the 62-mile metric option and rode up to a group that was rolling at 22-23 mph. I rode in with them which I really think was a good idea as my legs really didn't feel good when I got done. For once I can say I listened to my body and made a good decision. My gastrocs have not bothered me now in a couple of months, so I definitely don't to do something to aggravate them again.

Justin Lowe doing a selfie ahead of me while pulling us along at 27 mph

Photo by Justin Lowe

Harvested our garlic after getting home from the CRAM. Our three varieties did well this year.

Sunset on a road ride with Shannon later in the week

     The following weekend saw us head to Nashville, IN for the second race of the DINO Series at Brown County State Park to kick off June. This was another place I have never been to. I have heard nothing but great things about the trails at Brown County, so it has been on my list of places to go for many years. Finally, I get to ride it!

     We went up on Saturday and were able to get in a pre-ride on a gorgeous sunny day. The trails were very fun. We would be starting with a steep paved climb up the road, then turning into the singletrack for some rolling trails through the hills. We then got a big descent to a dirt road where the road was split for two-way traffic. Once back in the singletrack, there was a big climb, taking a good five minutes of hard climbing to get to the top. Then came another big descent with lots of rocks and technical areas at the top. After going back through the two-way it was on to another long climb, this one being more gradual. At the top, you either went right to start another lap, or left to descend to the finish line. The paved climb and final descent would only be ridden one time during the race. The course was fun, but I didn't see that there was anything other than the one major climb to separate us out there. I was expecting a group to be together for most of the race if not for all of it.

Lookout tower on the north end of the park

Inside the tower

The view from the top is very nice for Indiana. Who knew southern Indiana had these kinds of hills and views?

     We wanted to camp at the park, but they required a two-night minimum stay and we could not go up on Friday so we ended up having to stay with cousin Sarah at her new place near Indianapolis. It was a little bit of a drive, but it was worth it to be able to stay with family.

Dina during the Brown County pre-ride

Shannon

Dina on the main climb of the race course

Some rocks to negotiate near the top of the climb

Little pond swamp along the loop

Shannon comes by the swamp on the trail

     It was a nice morning on race day with clear skies, but you could tell it was going to be a hot day. Summer was definitely here. This course was much different from round one in Winona Lake. The amount of turns really helped me there. My skills would be less relevant on this course. It would be more about climbing and power today. The climb on the start scared me as I still struggle with getting myself going on the starts and this was another place I didn't want to go into the woods too far back. We had nine riders in the Elite class today. I was the last rider to the start line even though I got there five minutes early and that put me alone on the second row. The start was in the grass with a 50-yard dash to a right turn onto the road to begin the steep climb. The road section was about a mile long, starting with a steep grade that I would say was about 20%. The grade then backed off slowly and crested before a flat to slightly uphill section. The gradient then picked up again to a 10-12% grade for the final 300 meters before we turned right into the singletrack.

     We shot across the grass and onto the pavement I picked up a few spots through the turn then got blocked in on the edge of the road. As we started the climb I expected someone to attack, but the pace was actually very slow. I dropped to the back and moved over to the left so I had room to move up. I set a decent tempo up the hill and found myself leading at the top of the first grade. I didn't necessarily want to lead everyone, but first is better than seventh at this point. I held a little something back on the flat section as everyone sat on my wheel as expected. As soon as we began the last grade the attacks started. Four riders got ahead of me before the top and I had to sprint another one all the way to the woods to get into the singletrack in fifth. The front four had a little gap and I had to push the first descent to get across. Nobody came across with me and we already had the first split of the race.

One of the classes coming up the steep starting climb

     The five of us stayed together in the same order through lap 1. They hurt me on the big climb, but I was able to hang within a few bike lengths at the top and easily closed that down starting the descent. The two-way section was insane. There were flags down the center of the doubletrack to split the two directions and on the start line we were told to stay to the left of the flags at all times. That did not stop everyone from running over the flags to find a more hardpack line. The second time through on the first lap we were meeting riders and it really looked like someone was going to get hit head-on. I was really surprised that guys were crossing the flags. I didn't do it as I felt like it was against the rules. Markings are markings whether they are flags or tape.

A rider heads out for another lap

     One rider came across to our group as we ended lap 1, making it a leading group of six. Two riders had mechanical issues early in lap 2 and I found myself up to third without expending any extra effort to pass. Both riders recovered from their issues to reform our group of six heading into the big climb again. Lee Hauber led us up the climb much faster than the previous lap. I felt better this time and was able to hold the wheel of Chris Bowman until the final turn on the climb. The front two gapped me a few bike lengths again over the top. I sprinted over the crest to be sure I didn't get passed going into the descent. Again, I easily close the gap on the descent. I was surprised at the bottom to see there was nobody behind us. It was now down to three up front.

Expert Women taking the split to start another lap

     The two ahead sat up just after the two-way section to drink so I went to the front. I didn't really attack, but I did up the pace on the final climb to make sure the guys chasing behind did not rejoin us. I started the third and final lap in the lead with Lee and Chris still with me. I wanted to set the pace on the climb this lap as I knew that was my only weak spot on this course. Lee also wanted to lead the climb. When we hit the two-way section he attacked on the other side of the flags. Riders were coming toward us and he didn't care. Several guys had to run off into the bushes to keep from hitting him. I had a feeling he was going to do that, but there wasn't much I could do about it as I was not going to cross the flags no matter what he did.

     The pace was fast into the climb and I had to back off as soon as the trail turned up. Chris came by and bridged right over to Lee. I kept them in sight up the first half of the climb, but then they really turned it up on the second half and I fell back to about 15 seconds behind at the top. Again though, I ripped the descent and closed the gap to them well before the bottom. I knew my legs were fading, but I was over the main obstacle and had another chance to go for the win.

     Just after the going through the two-way section again there was a wide section of fire road that was really that last opportunity for a clean pass. I was ready to attack as we came into it. I was expecting Chris to do the same, but both riders ahead of me sat up. I took advantage and attacked in the weeds on the right. Lee accelerated and pushed me hard for the spot. I had to jump a log in the weeds, but did make the pass and led into the final climb. As soon as I sat down my hip flexors began to cramp. I kept the pace as fast as I could up the climb as I knew Lee was all over me and I could feel I was slowing down. I got a little slow over a wad of roots and Lee was able to squeeze by on my right and put in a big attack. I had nothing to respond with. Chris then came by in a short wide spot and went right across to Lee. It looked like Chris was the strongest as he seemed to have no trouble closing the gap. The two pulled away from me, but then Lee began to fade and I started to gain on them. I was going as hard as I could without completely locking up my hips.

     I expected Chris to attack when Lee slowed, but he didn't. I dug deep and was able to get back to them as we neared the split for the trail to the finish. There was one spot I thought I could pass them right at the split. I knew if I could get on the descent first I could probably hold them off even with cramps. They both sprinted through the split. I tried my passing line, but couldn't even get up next to Chris as the pace was just too high. We flew down the descent. It was one of the fastest descents I have ever done. We were in heavy traffic. Lee was really pushing it to pass people and it made Chris and I take some risks as well. I had studied the finish on Saturday in case this situation came up. Upon exit of the woods, you had a sweeping left 180-degree turn on singletrack in a field. The singletrack angled across the field toward the parking lot while the course went behind the parking lot. Following the carved-out singletrack was not the shortest route across the grass into the final turns, but the trail was so much faster than the grass that it made you really have to think about what point you should move from the trail to the grass. Two right turns followed the grass straight with the finish line coming about 30 meters after the final turn.

     I knew my sprint was good at Winona Lake so I had confidence I could win this or at least pick off one rider and take second. I was glued to Chris and Chris to Lee as we hit the final section of trail. We had one more lapped rider to pass before we hit the field. We were borderline out of control as we caught this guy. Lee and Chris got by clean, but I had to change up my line as the trail narrowed and the lapper gave me no room. I lost a few bike lengths just as we came to the field. Lee was flying around the 180. I smashed the pedals and focused on Chris's back wheel as we started across the grass straightaway. Lee and Chris stayed in the singletrack. We were going so fast that I lost track of how far across the straight we were and I missed the point at which I wanted to jump off the trail and into the grass. I realized it as I came up onto Chris's wheel, but so did the other two. We all three jumped into the grass at the same time. I tried to get underneath Chris into the nextturn, but couldn't make it work. Chris went wide into the last turn and tried to get outside of Lee. I was hoping Lee would block and I could slip by on the inside, but he stayed low. I hugged the barriers on the inside and got next to Chris as we came off the turn. Chris and I both gained on Lee, but nobody was able to make a pass before the line. Lee was about a wheel ahead of Chris on the line and I was about half a bike off of Chris. So all three of us finished within a bike length.

     I feel like I had a great sprint left and I should have won it. Had I pulled out into the grass where I had practiced I have no doubt I would have passed them both, but I had my head down and it caused me to miss my mark. You have to keep your head up and always be looking ahead. I was really surprised I could sprint that hard without cramping, but the hip flexors didn't even so much as twitch in that finish. Overall, I am very pleased. I didn't have the best day and got gapped every lap on the big climb, but I fought hard and was in with a chance to win at the end. I was there simply because I wanted it. That was all determination. I finished with Chris, who is already looking like he will be my main challenger for the series. I am not sure if Lee is doing the series or not, but he will be tough the rest of the season as well. There is one point between finish positions in the DINO Series, so I came in with a one point lead over Chris. He beat me by one spot today so we are now tied for the series lead. This series is going to be fun and I think it will go down to the wire!

     I went back out for another full lap after the race. I am still working on my endurance and this place was fun so another lap was a no-brainer. Dina's race in Sport Women was just one lap again today, but she said this course was tough for her with the big climb. She finished fourth in the overall and was second in the 19-39 group. She almost got hit head-on by a rider in the two-way section who was on the wrong side of the flags. She went down to race promoter Brian Holzhausen afterwards to let him know how crazy that section was. There were others down there complaining about the same thing, one even pointing out Lee. Brian said he was aware of the issues, but didn't do anything to actually enforce the rule. When you tell riders not to cross course markers you have to take action when people intentionally break your rule, especially in this situation when it put everyone in danger. Nothing was done to anyone though, so I am not sure if they just don't stand behind their rules in this series or if course markings are just a suggestion.

Dina was second in Sport Women 19-39

Elite Men and overall Expert podium

Video: Clips from DINO #2 at Brown County

     DINO is doing a cool thing with photos this year. You can upload your photos to FlashFrame, which is a website for all levels of photographers to share their photos and for the athletes to be able to purchase photos of themselves. Riders can buy photos for download or print-out. I will be adding my photos all season. I don't care if you buy them or not. I will continue to put them on this blog and on Facebook for free download because I want riders to be able to get photos of themselves. I am doing FlashFrame so you can have the option to buy a print should you feel the need. Just hop on the website and search out the event name to see what photos have been uploaded from photographers on hand that day. Anyone can add photos. You just need an account which is easy to set up. I've actually already sold a photo. It has the potential for someone to earn a little extra cash for just taking pictures while there at the race.

     After the race, we explored the park and tried to get our money out of the high park entrance fee you have to pay for each day you enter an Indiana State Park. The park is quite hilly and features several nice viewpoints and a few small lakes. Everybody hyped the views. They are nice for Indiana, but far from what I am used to in Tennessee. The park also has a lot of other mountain bike trails including several downhill flow trails. Brown County is definitely on my list to come back to on a long weekend.

View from Hesitation Point. Another great viewpoint for what you would expect from Indiana.

Ogle Lake

There's a covered bridge at the north entrance of the park. Covered bridges are a big thing in this part of Indiana.

On the inside

    Next up for me is the GSC Series race in Acworth, GA. We have a short track and an XC at this round so it will be my last chance to get back in the running for the series. More on that in the next blog.

DINO-saur

     It was a short week for us after arriving back from Utah on Monday evening. Dina had to be back to work Tuesday morning, while I had the week off. My outpatient job cut my hours just before we left for Utah, while my new job is still going through the background check process so I will not be cleared to work until next week. That gave me time to get things unpacked, cleaned and repacked for another weekend away. It also gave me time to finish planting the garden. The weather got us behind at the end of April and I did not get everything in the ground before leaving for Utah. Shannon planted some peppers for me while I was gone, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Thankfully, I got most of the important things planted by the end of Thursday.

     Our destination for the weekend was Winona Lake, IN, just outside the city of Warsaw. The Winona Lake Trails would be hosting the first of six rounds of the D.IN.O. Mountain Bike Series, one of my targets for the year. In case you are wondering, DINO stands for Doing INdiana Off-road. The mountain bike series usually runs alongside trail run races and off-road triathlons. Those events typically take place on Saturday and then the XC mountain bike race comes Sunday. But Winona Lake is different because the mountain bike race is part of the Fat & Skinny Tire Fest the town hosts. The festival includes road touring rides, a road time trial, road race, criterium, dual slalom and BMX stunt shows in addition to the XC mountain bike race. That's a packed schedule that is crammed into Friday afternoon through Sunday. The XC race lands on Saturday morning rather than our usual Sunday slot. That meant we had to head up a day early to get in our pre-ride. The race weekend conflicted with race #5 of the SERC Series which was going to be on Sunday in Chattanooga, TN. It might have been a harder decision on which race to do if I was still leading the GSC Series. This SERC round is a GSC make-up race, but I am so far out of contention now that a make-up race is not worth picking over the start of my other target series. I'm not focusing on SERC despite leading it. I want DINO this year.

     Our pre-ride plans were washed out by a rainy Friday. Instead of pre-riding, we just headed on up to Elkhart where we would be staying with Shannon's parents. One of the reasons I am doing the DINO Series this year is because we will get to see family for many of the events. We should be able to stay with Shannon's parents for two of the rounds and her cousin Sarah for at least one round. Shannon will really like being able to see them in the summer, which is usually a time when we are running all over the southeast chasing races.

     I went out for a drizzly road ride on Friday afternoon to get in some bike time and loosen up the legs from the eight-hour drive. I decided to swap to new pedals this week. I have ridden Crank Brothers Eggbeaters pedals for at least 10 years. It's probably more like 12-13 years. I had sponsorship from them for one year around 2006. I have always liked the four-sided design and the mud-shedding ability which is huge if you have to get off and run on a muddy day. They are excellent for cyclocross. But over the years I have broken way too many pairs. It seems I am lucky to make a full year before the bushings and bearings fail. I have used the rebuild kits to replace the worn parts and get another six months or so out of the pedals, but it gets annoying having to rebuild them so often. I have had pedals fail on me in races and on long rides several times. My pedals started to feel loose at Winder, which is the first sign of an upcoming failure. I won a set of Xpedo pedals for winning the SERC Series last year so I decided it was time to try something new rather than buy another set of Eggbeaters. I wanted to change them before Utah, but I decided not to change something that critical right before a huge race. Most of my road ride on Friday was working on getting in and out of the new pedals. They feel way different than the Eggbeaters. You have two sides instead of four to clip into so you have to be aware of how the pedal is flipped on the start line. The clipping action is also a bit different and requires putting weight on a different part of the foot/shoe than the Eggbeater. I had some trouble with consistency at first and it worried me about the start on Saturday.

     We had a cloudy, cool morning for the race. The course was slick from the rain the day before, but not really muddy. There was also the threat of thunderstorms this morning, but it looked like the first wave of riders would be able to finish their race before the rain arrived. The course was a 10-mile loop. With it being so big we could not pre-ride it all before the start. Dina and I went in and rode the first half. We probably would have ended up riding the second half and missing the start if it wasn't for a course volunteer pointing us out to the parking lot.

This guy has already had enough waiting for the races to start.

Riders lining up for the start

Expert Women getting ready to go

     I was feeling good and looking for the hole shot on the start. We were scheduled for three laps on the 10-mile loop. Everything we rode was very tight singletrack with nowhere to pass. The start would be critical. I also have learned about the Feed Zone over the last two years. Sometimes the Feed Zone can be used as a race tactic. Mose Howard has taught me that. At times you are better off feeding in another place than the others just so you can make up positions. I decided to take a bottle at the very end of the zone. I also planned for Shannon to give me my EFS gel flask in the woods instead of in the open field.

     I got my foot straight into the pedal on the start and was first to the first turn. We sprinted across a grassy field, then took a 180-degree left in the mud before shooting back across the field and then into the woods. I came into the 180 a bit hot and had to unclip my left foot and dab to stay upright. I still had the lead coming out of the turn, but I couldn't get my foot back into the pedal and I dropped to fourth by the time we reached the woods.

This little tabletop just after the start was fun to ride, as well as fun for the spectators to watch.

     The pace was fast at first, then settled down about halfway through the lap. There was really just one spot to pass on the entire course and it was a short, double-track climb with really only one good line up it, so even passing there would be difficult. The initial few miles were rolling with some really small ups and downs, and lots of turns. There was more flat pedaling in the middle portion of the loop, but still a lot of corners. Then came a section out in a field of wildflowers that was wider, but still not a lot of room to pass unless you really pushed it. It was a really nice section with the flowers, but there was little time for looking during the race. There were no significant climbs on the course, but there were about four short climbs that took about 15 seconds to sprint over. The last section was quite tight and really no room to pass before you shot down a hill into the open field for about a 100 meter sprint to the finish line. Being first out of the woods would be crucial in the case of a sprint.

     I stayed in line the first lap and held onto fourth. Everyone behind us fell off the pace so we had a lead group of four reaching the end of the first lap together. We clocked a 40:11 first lap. I wanted to move to the lead through the Feed Zone so I went left as everyone went for their bottles and I nabbed the lead. Shannon's Mom was feeding me bottles and she missed me. I don't think she was expecting me to be in the lead group. To be honest, I didn't expect to be there either. She also couldn't see me coming because of me passing the riders on the opposite side of where she was standing. I saw she wasn't looking and I tried to take the bottle from her hand, but I just missed it.

Riders on a damp course

Starting another lap

     I didn't get a bottle, but I had the lead. I grabbed my gel from Shannon and sucked down a bit more than usual since I knew I would be missing calories without a bottle this lap. Then I threw down into the first section. I knew I could go faster through the turns than what we had gone the first lap. After the first section I had a gap. I really pushed hard then. One rider, Chris Bowman, came across to me. I did everything I could to drop him. I pushed every difficult turn a little bit harder than normal and sprinted every little rise. He was able to match me for the first few miles so I tried to go a little harder and it bit me. When there are this many corners you have to be smooth. I got a gap on him in a few places, but every time I got that gap I made a mistake from pushing too hard and he was right back on me. And every time I made a mistake and had to unclip I had trouble getting my foot back into the pedals. I felt like a beginner out there fumbling with my pedal. I realized near the end of lap 2 that he was going to hang with me unless he made a mistake. So, I began to think about controlling the race. I had the lead on a course that was difficult to pass on so I had the advantage. We picked up the lap time nearly two minutes on lap 2, coming through with a 38:22 and were now well ahead of third place. I was already happy with my day. I never really expected to get a podium out of today, let alone have a shot at the win on the final lap. There are some really strong riders in Indiana, as I found out last year, and I knew I would have to work really hard if I wanted to compete for the series in Elite.

Me leading Chris Bowman starting lap 3

     I got my bottle starting lap 3 and began to hammer every section where it was even close to wide enough to pass. I started to feel some twinges in both quads about a mile into the lap, so I stopped putting in out-of-the-saddle attacks to keep the cramps at bay. I'm still not sure exactly what is causing the cramps this year, but missing my bottle definitely didn't help today.

     Chris made a mistake about four miles into the lap and I tried to take advantage. I didn't worry about cramping one bit at that point. It was only a 7-8 second gap, but I tried to use that to wear him down. I made him earn every second of that gap back. He caught me just before we hit the wildflowers where I thought he might try to pass me. I gave all I had for that one mile section and it nearly finished off my legs, but I kept him behind me going into the final two miles. I slowed to a tolerable pace once in the tight stuff, trying to save something to be able to sprint every time the trail opened up any at all. A lapped rider held me up on the final climb and almost caused me to give up the lead, but I just held on thanks to Chris not being a jerk. He could have easily ran me right into the lapper, but he is not that kind of rider. I sprinted into the final descent and took us into the field at high speed. I wasn't sure how much sprinting my cramping legs could handle, but they were fine when it mattered. I knew this course suited me well and I was not about to give it up this close to the end. Chris had a good sprint left, but the line came too quick and I was able to hang on by a bike length to get the win! I was so happy to get a win. It was my first DINO Series win ever and an awesome way to start the series. It also felt good to have some success when the last two months have been a bit rough racing the SERC and GSC Series. We only dropped about 20 seconds on our last lap time as compared to lap 2, which is really good on a course that long.

A rider hits the finish line

Video: Sprint finish for the Elite win

    Dina raced Sport Women and ended up third. Their distance was just one lap, which is way shorter than the races she has been doing in the SERC Series. Up to this point, all of her races have been survival for her because the distance has been much more than she has ever ridden. DINO has some shorter rounds where she can start to work on her speed. I thought third out of eight was a good start for her.

Video: DINO #1 race footage

     The thunderstorm arrived shortly after the race ended. Dina and I were out trying to get in some more riding. We had to just hop in the car with our wet bike clothes on and go down the street to a park bathroom to find shelter enough to change our clothes. It was a monsoon for about two hours. Lots of lightning came which delayed the start of the Base and Intro classes. Scoring and results were further complicated by the rain and the fact that awards were to be in town at the bike fest tent. We had to wait about five hours to actually get our awards because of all the delays. It did give us time to walk through the tourist town of Winona Lake. They had some very interesting shops including one for ground spices, one full of nothing but soap and one selling just candy and sodas. The skies parted during awards and we did get to see one of the BMX stunt shows before starting the drive back to Elkhart. I had contemplated doing the dual slalom, but it was canceled due to the rain. Most of the course was submerged by the afternoon.

Sport Women 19-39 podium

Elite podium with Craig Baker

     We went out to Goshen later in the evening to see Shannon's brother, Jake, sing in a band. More thunderstorms came in while we were there. It was still pouring when we got back to the house and in the hurry to get out of the rain, Shannon's Mom accidentally back the car into our bikes. I almost had a heart attack and so did she. Luckily, the bikes were lined up parallel to the car and they began to roll as soon as the car touched them. We squeaked by with no damage. Shannon's Mom felt so bad. She was already bummed about missing my feed in the race and now she hit our bikes. She was convinced they were broken and that I just wasn't telling her what was damaged, but all was fine. We dodged one there.

     So the DINO Series has started well! Leaving the first round as the points leader is always good, but I want to be sure I don't let this one get away like the GSC Series did when I left round one in Macon as the leader. I guess all the riding at elevation in Utah did pay off upon return. There are six rounds in the DINO Series and your best four scores count for the overall. The next round is in two weeks at Brown County State Park in Nashville, IN. The race conflicts with the BUMP N' Grind SERC race in Birmingham, but it's an easy decision to go DINO after how this race went!