Almost ready

This weekend I got to race my first TTT ever which was a lot of fun. The Ride Against the Machine Cat 4 team did great for all of our first time. Number one lesson learned? On a TTT, a strong lead guy can go as hard as he wants on a downhill but it's much harder to keep everyone together on the uphill sections. I'm still kicking myself a little bit for not also racing the ITT but I felt really good during the TTT and will be pumped up for CCTT#3 when I return from Arizona.

Other than racing and a ride on Sunday I was preping for the big ride. Most of my gear, food and bike stuff is ready. A little more tinkering tonight and I should be ready to go. I'm definitely starting out lighter than I was at the Grand Loop last year including carrying my SPOT beacon. More importantly, I've got a very significant amount of weight off my back. It's going to be quite a bit warmer at times than it's been in Colorado so far this year but I've got plenty of electrolytes packed and plenty of water storage capacity so hopefully I will adapt okay. At least I have some solid experience to draw from after last season. It also appears I am the only singlespeeder (and rigid) in the race. That's probably a bad thing for me but I'm sticking with it this year and we'll see how it goes. I leave Wedneday night to pick up Jefe in Gunnison but I'm sure I'll post again before then.