Slippery when wet in Buckwallow

A great days racing at Buckwallow today. No hills on the course which suits me just fine, but a technically challenging course in parts with plenty of mud after a lot of rain earlier in the weekend. I finished sixth.

I probably could have went harder the last lap but didn't see a single other rider to push me on and decided to just enjoy it ... and keep a lookout for the bear. There had been reports of a bear being seen on the course the day before and so I figured it was worth keeping a little energy in reserve, just in case!

I didn't get practicing the course before hand for they had cancelled the Saturday pre-ride due to the weather and not wanting several hundred mountain bikers ripping up the course a day before they needed to, which meant many of us rode it blind. I never like riding a course blind ... you have no idea what's coming up around the next corner and whether or not to conserve something for a hill that might suddenly appear. I was assuming this course might have at least one big climb to rip me apart, but it didn't. Had it been very dry it would have been a super fast lap, but was it was with the mud, most energy was spent making sure the bike stayed upright.



All lost calories were replenished at a McDonald's on the drive home. I haven't been to one for years but with the traffic heavy on Highway 400 south and with Olympic sponsorship fresh on my mind, i couldn't escape the lure of those golden arches!

I got home in time to get hungry again and head out to the Keg for some real meat and a cold beer ... the wind-down meal of champions ... or sixth place finishers in a men's master-sport race 30-34.