"TSALI"

Tsali, the crown jewel of eastern moutain bike racing. What a great race! Diana and I headed over Sunday morning for a day picnicing and mtn bike racing, and socializing with some friends.

It was great to see Eric (cyclocross) and my old friend Martin Visser. I had not seen Martin in a "coons age" (thats a long time in southern terms). Martin told me he had injured his ankle and had been working on his house, hence the absence from cyclocross the previous fall. I thought hmmmmmmmm maybe he has not had time to train and this could be my chance to beat him. Needless to say Martin has kept his priorities in the proper perspective and has not let the injury or the house project get in the way of his training.

The race started with myself , Martin and some other guy off the front. Martin came around me closed the gap on the other guy and passed him. I closed the gap on the unknown rider and passed also. I stayed within sight of Martin for a while then Martin rode off and left me. Coming back around to the start line and with 5 miles to go I had a solid 2nd place, unfortunately I flatted . I had a heck of a time getting the tire off and by the time i was back on the bike I had lost 3 places. I pedaled hard hoping I could retake at least one place but to no avail. I finished in 5th place. Needless to say very disappointed, where's the cheetos?

After the race we all went down to the Lake to wash ourselves and our bikes. The Saturday rain made the course a bit tacky. The trails drain well but you have these huge mud holes you have to ride through. This tends to become very messy.

Nate had a similar race riding strong the first lap then having some mechanical issues but putting in a good finish. The Sycamore guys had a strong team putting 3-5 racers in the top ten in the pro/semi pro division. Sam rode away from everyone and won the overall.

All in all a great day!!!!