02 August, 2013
Brighton. Wrecked.
I just came to the realization that I never posted a report for the Brighton race. It feels like it was a lifetime ago. I guess I will keep it brief, since at my age, my memory ain't what it used to be.
I had been riding Brighton a bit more frequently, as it is somewhat of a local trail for me now. I did not have aspirations of riding away, but I knew it was my last chance to keep B-Rad from walking away with a near sweep of the USAC series.
I arrived a bit before the race, and parked next to T-Payn, mostly because his sobbing calms my nerves. I checked out the start loop, and was somewhat relieved to see the grassy knoll was not included in the loop.
During my warm-up, I overheard that a technical rooty section was bypassed, making the lap a mile shorter, and pretty much an all out sprint for 4 laps.
Time to line up, and the mood was pretty jovial. Some of the usual folks were there, and others didn't make the trip.
Once the start approached, it was all business. When the gun went off, Brad took off like the finish line was 200 meters away. He practically blew through the first turn, which was the only reason I was able to catch back on. Not even onto the trail, and I was redlined.
It was easy to see Lako had 2 goals in mind. First was to wrap off this series with a tremendous showing off riding off the front for the entirety of the race. Second was to tear the legs off anybody that wanted to try to hang on.
After the first lap it remained Lako, Fedewa and myself in the lead group.
About a mile into the second lap, and Andy the Rhino washed out in a sandy corner, and I moved up to second directly behind Brad. I could tell he sensed my back there, and kept turning the screws. I thought my hart was going to explode, but I hung on.
Lap 3 and Brad was pulling away. Unfortunately, I washed out on the same corner the Andy went down in a lap before. At the point Brad was gone, and I never saw him again until the finish.
I tried to keep the onus, to hang on to second. But a bit later the Hooligan Neidlinger came by and I could not match his pace.
Lap 4 and I was struggling to keep third. I don't know how far Fedewa was behind me, but I wanted to hang on to one of the steps.
I faded badly and when the end came, I did manage third, around 1 minute ahead of the charging Rhino. But 3 minutes behind Brad and the winner Neidlinger.
So, with another 3rd place, I remained a solid second in the series. Brad was able to clinch his victor. Another dominating performance with 4 victories and this second place. My only hope is that I was able to make it a bit of a challenge for him, so it wasn't as easy as he made it seem.
I had been riding Brighton a bit more frequently, as it is somewhat of a local trail for me now. I did not have aspirations of riding away, but I knew it was my last chance to keep B-Rad from walking away with a near sweep of the USAC series.
I arrived a bit before the race, and parked next to T-Payn, mostly because his sobbing calms my nerves. I checked out the start loop, and was somewhat relieved to see the grassy knoll was not included in the loop.
During my warm-up, I overheard that a technical rooty section was bypassed, making the lap a mile shorter, and pretty much an all out sprint for 4 laps.
Time to line up, and the mood was pretty jovial. Some of the usual folks were there, and others didn't make the trip.
Once the start approached, it was all business. When the gun went off, Brad took off like the finish line was 200 meters away. He practically blew through the first turn, which was the only reason I was able to catch back on. Not even onto the trail, and I was redlined.
It was easy to see Lako had 2 goals in mind. First was to wrap off this series with a tremendous showing off riding off the front for the entirety of the race. Second was to tear the legs off anybody that wanted to try to hang on.
After the first lap it remained Lako, Fedewa and myself in the lead group.
About a mile into the second lap, and Andy the Rhino washed out in a sandy corner, and I moved up to second directly behind Brad. I could tell he sensed my back there, and kept turning the screws. I thought my hart was going to explode, but I hung on.
Lap 3 and Brad was pulling away. Unfortunately, I washed out on the same corner the Andy went down in a lap before. At the point Brad was gone, and I never saw him again until the finish.
I tried to keep the onus, to hang on to second. But a bit later the Hooligan Neidlinger came by and I could not match his pace.
Lap 4 and I was struggling to keep third. I don't know how far Fedewa was behind me, but I wanted to hang on to one of the steps.
I faded badly and when the end came, I did manage third, around 1 minute ahead of the charging Rhino. But 3 minutes behind Brad and the winner Neidlinger.
So, with another 3rd place, I remained a solid second in the series. Brad was able to clinch his victor. Another dominating performance with 4 victories and this second place. My only hope is that I was able to make it a bit of a challenge for him, so it wasn't as easy as he made it seem.
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