KWMRR

The short version: Ray: 4th, Jim 6th, Charlie 12th, me 17th of 34 in the Masters 35+ field.

In the Pro/1/2 elite field, surprise, surprise, Doug Swanson crossed first. Last week it was crushing the field in the final sprint; today he roared across a gap that Daniel Casper had opened on a solo break, then won the breakaway sprint handily.

The long version: sorry, I'm too blame tired for any play-by-play. Kudos to Chad Macy (NOT Fat Chad this year) who showed a clean pair of wheels to the rest of the 35+ field, though Mark Mliner wasn't far behind. The two of them snuck in behind Ray who wasn't able to anticpate their sprint, but still did very well for the team.

I felt great all race, knowing that I wouldn't be likely to contest the sprint a mile after the big hill. I was right, but I surprised myself by chasing down attacks, spent a fair amount of time at the front trading pulls with Mark from GS and Goblirsh from LSC, and even went on a flyer with Goblirsh and 2 others that stayed away for half a lap before Mliner and GS finally pulled us back.

Big Jim proved that he can stay off the bike all winter and still put us all in the hurt locker. He went away on a solo attack that stuck for half a lap or so. Charlie worked like a dog throughout the race to chase erstwhile breakaways.

Next week is the "Sprinters' Classic" right here in my back yard. It has one good hill that's several miles from the finish, and a looooong straight slightly downhill finish. I have a fair chance for a good finish there. Big Jim and I (and maybe Charlie) will ride it Tuesday night to figure out the timing for a good ending.