Day two of the Ocala Stage Race started out as usual for me--running late and rushing to the event. LOL
Actually, it was a nice day for a race. The weather was kind of cool and windy out, so it was starting to feel like fall. When we all lined up for the start, there were more kids there than yesterday also, so I knew it would be a good race.
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| Robert and me |
The course was 15 miles of road through Ocala's horse country. We rode past all kinds of horse farms. Unlike the day before, the group did a better job working together on the pace-line and we spent the first half of the race all together.
Just like yesterday, though, a few of the older boys broke away from the pack and took off.
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| The break away group |
As the race went on, different groups started forming, with some falling back while others went on ahead. I managed to stay with the lead kids in my group until Sophie broke away from us and I wound up sprinting to the finish with two other guys. Actually, my sprint wasn't much of a sprint, because my legs were so tired by the end, but I managed to finish in third, just behind Charlie. In the overall, I earned second place behind Charlie, and Robert got third.
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| Sophie wins the 10-12 race |
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| Charlie for second |
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| Me finishing third |
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| Fourth place finisher |
After the race, it was kind of nice. I got to hang out and talk with a couple of the boys and also with Charlie's dad. He takes pictures of the races too, so I can't wait to see what he puts up.
I got to talk to them about mountain bike racing too, which is something I know more about. It was kind of funny. At school, when I talk to my friends about bikes and mountain biking, they have no idea what I'm talking about. Today, when we were talking about road bikes and racing, I had no idea what they were talking about. Somehow, mountain bike language is totally different from road bike language, even though we're basically just talking about bikes and racing.
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| Stage 3 podium |
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| Overall podium |
In the end, it was a great weekend of racing for me. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about road riding and racing. I also made a couple of new friends at the event. And who can complain about getting on the podium four times in one weekend? Even so, I am really looking forward to getting back to the trails and back on the mountain bike. Road racing is fun, and I will probably do more events when they are scheduled on non-FSC weekends, but mountain bike racing is what I really love to do. After all, this blog isn't called Mountain Bike Mike for nothing!
Next weekend is FSC #2 at Ft. Clinch State Park in Fernandina Beach and I can't wait!!
The course was 15 miles of road through Ocala's horse country. We rode past all kinds of horse farms. Unlike the day before, the group did a better job working together on the pace-line and we spent the first half of the race all together.
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