WFO. 134 riders showed up to dash through beautiful Findley State Park on a hot and very humid day. This was a 9.75 mile time trial and is part of the 2011 NEO Power Series put on by 331Racing. Findley has a nice mixture of tight technical single track, some fast flats, and a killer roller coaster area that tests your skills. A little rain the night before created some slick tree roots that added to the adventure. We started in 30 second intervals and I found myself passing riders as I bounced around the trees. At the halfway point I realized I was making good time. My 30 second man (Rudy Sroka) was no where in sight and I thought for sure he would have caught me by now. Through the roller coaster section and into the pines I pushed on. With about 1.5 miles to go Rudy was on my tail and navigated around me. By now, I was sweating so bad that my hand slipped off the bar and I nearly went down. I recovered and rode the rest of the course making sure I didn't blow up. I ended up on the podium with a 3rd place finish (Rudy won).
While a 3rd place finish is actually the second loser, I was happy given the level of competition and the fact I'm a danger to myself on a mountain bike. That was fun.
