Leadout Racing

Three years ago the Yankee Springs TT was my first bike race ever.   The last 2 years I have raced in the sport clydesdale catagory and have done pretty well. This year I stepped up to expert and was sad to see no clydesdale offering. So I had to race against all the skinnies. Leading up to the race I had some worries that I was going to be a little out of my league in the expert class, especially since the experts were doing 2 laps this year. I would soon find out that I worry too much. At the start of the race there was overcast skies, but thankfully, no rain. I talked to Geoff before the race and was glad to see that he was as nervous as I was. As the race got started I quickly began to pass people (even though we started in 15 second increments).  I passed 3 guys in the first mile and started to think I was going too fast and was going to bonk on the second lap. I continually reminded myself to slow down and conserve energy because it is a looong race.  I finished my first lap in a personal best of 49:30 and felt pretty good starting the 2nd. As the race continued I made the effort to try to go faster up every hill in the hopes I could come close to my first lap time. I was pretty much all alone on the second lap and had to pass very few people. I ended up going even faster the second lap, 49:07, for a 1:38:37! I placed 2nd in the Expert 30-39 catagory and was 3rd expert overall. I can’t believe how well the race went and how well I felt after the race. All the good fortune that happened to me was the opposite for Geoff. He ended up breaking his frame on the first lap and never finished the race.   Looking back on the race, I wish I would have pushed harder on the first lap.  There were many places where I could have gone faster and made up the 8 seconds I lost by.

Dan K.