Koppenberg Circuit Race

This was my first race of the year. Jennifer and Cori were there to cheer us on.

The Koppenberg was a great race for the Swift Cycling Category 4 riders. The race started as expected with everyone hammering into the first corner, but unexpectedly we hit a 30+mph headwind that immediately smashed the front of the group. One guy beside of me said "What the F" and tried to make a quick move up the right side to quicken the pace.....I couldn't help but smile as the wind quickly blew him back into the pack. We worked well as a team and stuck to our game plan on the first lap. We had 4 or 5 guys still in the front group as we crested the climb and Casey, Geremy, and I (and maybe Shuka-although his riding was rather stealth like and I did not see him most of the race) were able to ride in the front pack until the very last lap. The 3rd time up the climb was tough, people were scattering with fatigue and we caught three riders that were going at a much slower pace and somewhat blocking the easier riding lanes on the climb. Casey got into great position on the front left, but in doing so burned a much needed match since immediately after making the right turn a guy attacked on the far left side and got about 100 yards ahead. The left part of the pack responded, but the guys on my side were slow to react, so a nice gap was opened. I caught up with Casey and was attempting to close the gap, but both of us were pretty gassed at that point. We caught the front pack at the turn by Costco, but it was single file and the pack quickly split into smaller groups as we hit the dirt and headwind for the last 2 miles. We attempted to catch the leaders, but couldn't really make any progress. They were so close, but no matter what we did they stayed the exact same distance ahead. I ended up finishing 16th on the sheet they posted after the race, but I guess they missed 2 people or someone protested, because I am 18th today on the ACA website. Either way, I was estactic with the race and finish. A much improvement from last year. Casey finished right behind me in 21st, and Shuka, Jeremy, Andrei, and Matt finished only a minute or two behind us. For full results and times click here. For another account of the Koppenberg race click here.

Fun times and a great confidence builder for the 4's. It was nice to actually see the first part of our plan actually work.....now we'll work on the rest of them.

P.S. Yes Dugan, secret Ninja training obviously does help with cycling training, but that strategy will quickly lose effectiveness as we hit the longer road races. Time to spend some more time on the bike :)

Casey, Cori, Ty, and Morgan. Morgan previously worked at the hospital with us. This is the first time I had seen him in about a year. He has been busy with his 2 babies.

Cori and Casey....isn't that sweet. How about the wives getting up at 7AM and coming to cheer us on. Props to them!
17% grade, loose dirt and gravel...does it look like I am having a good time? Actually it was a lot of fun....except for the shortage of oxygen and the feeling of my heart about to explode.
This was the 2nd time up the climb. If you look closely you can see 3 swift cycling riders in this picture. Jeremy is the rider on the right. I am in the middle right behind the guy in black and Casey is 4 guys back on the left.