My weekend started early with a trip to the Packer game on Thursday afternoon. A couple weeks ago my dad offered to take me and my brothers to the home opener. I knew this was going to be an awesome game to go to but it turned out to the best atmosphere/football game I've ever been to. The concert had shoulder to shoulder crowds in the parking lot to watch Maroon 5, Kid Rock, and Lady Antebelom. The stadium had defining screams from ready for football fans. And a last second win by the Packers and a banner unveiling to top off the experience. It is hard to explain in words the excitement and atmosphere that was in that stadium from start to finish. It was electric. Out of all my experiences the 4 jet fly over topped it all. I happened to catch most of it on video, which does not do it justice, but I had to cut it off early because I couldn't help but take part in the craziness around me. The jets rumbled the stadium and created a scream from the crowd no touchdown or play could ever duplicate.
This video is us impatiently waiting for the fly over. Turn your volume up for the end of the video to hear the jets.
After the Packer game, instead of driving back up North 3 hours and then coming back down Saturday I decided to stay in GB and continue onto Lake Geneva early to save 6 hours of driving.
We arrived fairly early on Thursday and my parents and I discovered downtown Lake Geneva. We had no idea such a beautiful place existed. Last year I went to the resort, raced, and drove home. I never got to experience all of Geneva. This year we stayed right on the water and we loved every minute of it.
On to the race. I was excited to race but I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I think I was excited because the course is quite enjoyable but I was more so because I had planned rest week that started immediately after the race. It has been quite awhile since I've taken an extended break and I was mentally ready but more physically overdue. So that left me doubt in the legs but I was still excited.
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| At the top of the first climb. |
The legs didn't feel all that bad up the first climb but they got to me a bit on the 2nd. On the 3rd climb, which comes in the first 3 min of the race, I didn't quite have what it took to match the attacks of Guerra and House. Knowing the difficulty of the day to come I quickly put it back to a pace I could handle which happened to be right behind big "D" in the 3rd group. After time to settle I noticed that the legs were responding fairly well and better yet they were climbing with power. The single track was a bit tough for me but I found myself bringing back any time on the climbs which this course offers it's fair share. On the start of the 2nd lap I was alone with Shriver. He was riding well and I stuck a wheel until he slowly pulled away and I decided to go back to my pace. I kept a small 10-15 gap on Darrin and by the end of the 2nd lap he had pulled me in on the more technical of the single track. This ended being the best thing that happened to me that day. Up to that point I was on my own and struggling to stay calm in the single track which was costing me time. He caught me and encouraged me to stay calm. On the start of the 3rd lap I rode my pace up the 3 climbs but slowed at the top of the "Cap" as I knew his presence in the single track would only help me stay smooth. I gave him the lead and he was my lead wheel for most of the 3rd lap. He gaped me several times on the more technical stuff but I was always able to bring in back on the incline. I owe him a huge thanks as he kept me smooth and calm through the 3rd lap allowing us to put a bit more time on the chasers. Thanks big "D". The final lap he gave me some confidence to keep climbing strong and I rode the last lap by myself. Following his wheel the prior lap allowed me to use a lot of the same lines and stay calm. I rode in solo for 8th place.
It's becoming a common theme to say this but again, the field was strong. N. Guerra won by 3 minutes! over 2nd place which happened to be Cole House who won the race before.
Full Results
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