Ahhhh

Cruise the Blues is in the books for 2008. The turnout was on par, and the weather was cooperative, thankfully because after the flooding in the creek just a week before the trail was in no mood for rain. Apparently a small militia of volunteers had been out for several days before the race rebuilding bridges, rerouting sections that had been lost, and trying to get things in race shape. My dad and I pre-rode a lap to check it out and it did not have the normal feel that you are riding with an electric assist engine strapped aboard. It more felt like if you stopped pedaling you would be at a stand still in three feet. But we all could tell a few thousand tires over it and it would get fast again. They herded us into start pins in our seperate classes so we could tell who we were actually racing against . I kept a leary eye over my shoulder for Doug's farm hand Kip to start prodding folks with one of those electric zapper things that I imagine he is fond of using. We were off, as I tried to lift the pace a few miles into the race I found the opposite happening. I was slowing down and feeling poor, I could not get any oxygen into the lungs and was wheezing and feeling dizzy. I made due as best as I could and finally got around to my Dad. He went out and did a solid first lap and I sat in the shade and started to feel better. When he came around I had cleared out the pipes and was ready to redeem myself. My second lap was better, and we started to distance ourselves ahead. After my third lap it was evident no other racers would be following us out on a 6th lap, so my Dad got to chill and ride a fun lap with the trail getting the conveyer belt feel going on that makes it so addicting.

Post race chilling was a good time of catching up with the central Kansas crowd and watching the FOUR kids races! You cannot believe how many kids there were. After the award ceremony Amber and I had to hit the road. I was working Sunday and I didn't want to drive until 3:00 in the morning. Leaving the Blue Hills south bound to the interstate the sun was setting and the surreal colors of sunset were flooding the valleys. There was no more beautiful place on earth. If I could bottle up what I was feeling I would be a millionaire. It would be called Ahhhh.