OMBC #2 - Mohican State Park #1

1st place at Mohican State Park. Good way to start the season.

Race started off well, second through most of the road/gravel 1/2 mile to start the race. The leader ran wide on a gravel turn, one turn before the entrance to the trail, and I got up the inside to lead into the woods. I made it up the first very steep climb and then tried to pull a gap. One guy caught me a couple miles in, but I was able to finally drop him and then settled into a good pace. A different rider caught up to me around mile 22 of 27, and we battled for a couple miles until he finally passed me on a climb. He was able to pull out a gap after that, but I can't feel too bad as I left it all out there. Good showing from the team, with Tom, Cato, and Rob all there rocking the flyest kits in OMBC!

3rd place Sport Clydesdale. Great day for a race cool temps with sun. FINALLY! Small Clydesdale field went off in one of the last groups. Everyone bottleneckecked on the first climb. Came out third where I stayed the rest of the race. Tried to keep a consistent speed and work my way up the ranks. Lots of early season mechanicals around, thankful that Matt and Jared from the Trek Westerville store have kept my ride in great shape. Ended up with my fastest ever Mohican SP loop. Good to see Tom, Rob and Cato representing for the Roasters as well.

Wasn't sure if I would be ready for this ride, but was surprisingly pleased with the result. Finished the 26 miles in 2:53 (personal best). Trail was in great shape and couldn't believe how many riders there were. I always seem to forget just how much climbing there is at Mohican! I was feeling really good up to the mile 18 marker and then it felt like I was riding in sand with flat tires! The last 7-8 miles were the toughest I've done in a long time... Looking forward to doing it again!