Why isn't racing season every season?

Ontario Cup the First is in the bag.  

While en route to Mansfield my co-driver got a call via wireless telephone from our on-site weather correspondent.  "I hope you brought warm clothes" was the gist of the message.  This call came right before we drove through a heavy fog with a steadily dropping outside temperature gauge.  It was looking like race day conditions were shaping up to be like recent training weather.  Not too shabby.  I'm not the biggest fan of heatstroke, so there were no weather worries in the car.

Managed to snag a prime parking spot which put us within a hop, skip, and a jump of the start area.  Caught a bit of the sport-class races while waiting for the optimum spandex donning moment.  A couple things were confirmed during this time:

- Trek Store DH'er Zach Tatem is plenty quick on an XC bike.  

- Sandals are not the ideal footwear for navigating the Devil's Drop section of the course.

I've found that wearing cycling clothing and warming up tends to work out well for me in races, so I decided to do that again this year.  After becoming sufficiently warm I cruised back to the start area and pretended to not be anxious about getting in the start box.  Since this was my first race of the year there was uncertainty about how hard I could go.  Decided to take it easy for the first half of the race.  After the gun went off I repeatedly found myself giving it the beans and then telling myself to back it down a bit.  I get excited and caught up in the moment.  It's a blessing and a curse....

The taking-it-easy worked out pretty well.  I was having a blast with the generally grippy trails and picked off a few guys every lap.  Wheels were shod with a pair of Bontrager Jones XRs that I've never raced on before but felt comfortable with right away.  Lap times were consistent with no debilitating cramping issues or hallucinations, so I'll be getting more adventurous with the pace next time.   Looking forward to another good chunk of riding in the coming weeks and a reserved spot on the line at the next Ontario Cup.

This past weekend there were so many good results at home and abroad for Trek Store athletes that calling out all the names might end up sounding like an episode of Romper Room.  Congrats to everyone including the rest of the senior elite guys for the near podium sweep and to Emily Batty on her World Cup win.