I was very pleasantly surprised by my performance at the race. I am used to being the weakest cyclist in pretty much every group I ride with. Going in I had a goal of holding off Lou until the turnaround. I was actually able to hold him off for the whole race. I knew that I had a good time when I realized that he hadn't passed me. I went out too hard and had to back off a little but after the turnaround I just went as hard as I could. I passed two people and got passed by three. Last year, on the way to a 33:05 finish, I got passed by seven people. This was the first time I had ridden my "new" bike and I'm sure that it made a significant difference. Training helped too.

Not be sick for 10 days before the race.

1.5 miles of easy riding on the SCT. A recovery meal at Steak & Shake.


Lack of fitness.


This is a great race and a lot of fun. It's neat to see all the juniors out there. This year I actually beat some of them.