Then, the neutral start for Tour de King was off... I fully blame myself for not knowing that it was only 400m of neutral start, before the race started on a sharp right hander onto a steep grassy hill that felt like being woken up by a bucket full of cold water. The next thing I know, I was busting out my well honed track standing skills waiting to get into the single track and then rode an easy pace behind what seemed like hundreds of cross bikes. Got to the road and watched the cross bikes speed away. I put my head down and kept going.
Got to the King Trails and cherished my solo time. Finally, a chance to reap the benefits of being on a mountain bike. Caught back up to the folks on cross bikes near the end of the trail. Knowing that was the last bit of single track, I tried to pick off a few of them before I got to the road in the hopes of ending on the road section amidst some sort of pack. Came through to the parking lot to see Jeremy who had pulled from his race due to some sort of fiasco with his contact lenses.
He was waiting for me to finish the race with. I was so happy to see him, I think I even promised that he doesn't have to cook dinner this Wednesday. I think I was also delirious at that point. Oh well, a promise is a promise (ahem, Watson). Good to have someone to draft off for the rest of the race and some motivation to keep the effort up - I convinced myself that he would leave me behind if he got cold from not having to work hard enough.
Crossed the line and put on every bit of clothing I had. Then, enjoyed a great afternoon catching up with friends and a great barbeque after another amazing Chico event.
photo courtesy Jacqueline Shaver
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