Cascade Chainbreaker - Two years is enough time to forget.

Photo: lasala images

Two years is enough time to forget.

To forget the dust, and the heat, and the fact that the course has no place to rest.

The downhills aren't steep enough to stop pedaling, the uphills aren't long enough to get into a rhythm.
Full gas, all the time.  

I had not done Cascade Chainbreaker, aka Cascade Soul Crusher, in two years.
Two years is also long enough to forget how much fun it is.

Photo: lasala images

Held on Saturday, in the Skyline Forest just west of town, the course is on private land, so I never ride there, except for this race. The course is dry and dusty, and not super interesting, but is a lot of fun because it is different, and because there is a little in-field play area where hecklers heckle and if you are lucky, spray water on you as you ride by. And because it is at home and because there is Coke and salty snacks awaiting you at the finish.

I knew this was going to be a tough race, and I wanted to take the win.  I raced hard, battled for the lead for the first quarter of the race, and then, just couldn't hang with Evelyn any longer.  She made a couple of really good passes, around the Cat 1 Men we were catching, and I got stuck. I couldn't regain the ground.  Over the rest of the race, Evelyn put in some good time in on me and I crossed the line in second, a couple minutes back.

Racing a home is the best.  Cheers came from so many friends, there were hugs and smiles and high-fives at the finish line.  I went to my favorite swimming hole, with Piper Pup in tow, and jumped in, before hitting the showers.

I wanted to take the win, but I also wanted to test myself and race as a hard as I could.  Big thanks to Evelyn to kicking my butt and pushing my limits.

Next up: Sunday May 19th, Sagebrush Safari in Lake Morena, California.