For whatever reason it seems that I just can’t get away from the rain and cold weather! Training rides seem to go great and the sun is shining sort of…but when it comes to racing, the skies open up and the rain comes down. It does have it’s advantages though! I’ve learnt over the years, whether it was track or baseball that you have to wrap your mind around the fact that everyone else has to deal with it. I thought to myself as a young kid, that if I can embrace this horrible weather, that mentally I have everyone beat! Although it down poured the whole day and night before the race, the rain stayed away while we raced the 25km course. Being at the front of the pack when 35 handcycles are about to take off has its advantages! I was second off the line behind one of the fastest Americans in North America. I held on for as long as I could but he eventually dropped me leaving me to get swallowed up by the chase group. We worked together well for the remainder of the race. I wasn’t familiar with the riders around me so the whole race was spent gaging who I was going to out sprint for second place at the line. I tactically played it smart not doing too much work at the front of the pack but taking a few turns to be a “gentleman.” For those who don’t know how riding with a pack or group of guys works, here goes a quick explanation…the person at the front of the line is doing the most work, taking on all the wind and setting the pace. The second guy in line has less wind resistance and the third even less. Ideally you rotate and take your turns because you go faster working as a group to either catch the lead group or just to go faster and conserve a bit of energy. With about 3kms to go there was a technical error in course navigation (cops fault) but we were able to find our way back with only 1km to go. Thank God it wasn’t my first race there as I was able to quickly tell where I was. The pack broke up and the race for the line began. A couple years ago I lost about 2 positions sprinting for the line to early so I was sure not to mess it up again! And I didn’t!!! Bringing home 2nd place overall and 1st in the para category!!! This has been the best start to any season of anything I have ever competed in! With that being said my head is down as I still have a few more people to catch up to before I will be able to live the dream.
I want to thank my sponsors Bike Law Canada and Bike Law Ontario as well as Propel Physiotherapy for their help getting me ready for this race. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into the bike so Skiis and Bikes Toronto gets 2 thumbs up for getting Destiny rolling right. Dr, Michelle Liberty, thank you for reseting that rib and allowing me to get back to training for this Michigan race! The road is long and rough but I drive and F150 so Ill be alright! Thank you everyone for your continued support!