Well, just off a rest week and back from the race in Sewell, NJ. Man, did I have some cobwebs to contend with today. Had an OK start, then went backwards the whole race. Pitiful! Shouldn't be a problem for the next 3 weekends though, as I keep having this scenario repeat all season after a rest week. Let's recap now!
Started off the rest week with the CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal matches at the Linc. First match was Canada-vs-Honduras. This match was pretty sweet since there were a TON of Honduran fans there and they went apeshit when their team scored the only goal of the match on a penalty kick in the first half. Canada played a good match, but just couldn't finish it off at the net. After, the US played Panama in a great match where Panama rose to the occasion and played a great 2 halfs versus the US to put the match into OT with the score tied 1-1. Eventually, the fatigue of the match got to Panama and they had a costly penalty inside the box which led to a US penalty kick and subsequent goal in the 1st OT. The second OT was lively, with some great shots on goal by both squads, but the US took home the win in the end, 2-1. The picture below is all the US fans under the giant US flag after the US scored the first goal of the match. We all punched it from underneath and screamed our lungs out, must've looked pretty sweet from the other side!
SO.......next stop in our journey is down in Virginia on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah Park. The plan was to camp and relax for 4 days, which was accomplished for once. We got to the top of the park Sunday night around 12am to find we had a 51 mile jaunt south on Skyline Drive (at 35 mph) to our campsite. Sweet. During the drive we took note of the many critters roaming the night, such as: 35 raccoons, 10 deer, 10 bats (2 of which hit the windshield), 1 fox, and 3 sasquatch. Upon entering the campsite, we noticed that the cute raccoons, deer, etc. were replaced with skunks. Upon entering the restroom building we noticed signs which stated that our campground was frequented by many skunks and to be mindful of them. Great! After setting up our tents, we hit the sack with no alarm. Over the next few days, we got in some good hikes and ate some good food. The frequent rain did little to dampen our moods, and we only had our campsite flooded once. On the last night, as we sat around the campfire watching it dwindle, I noticed something moving near my tent. I directed my headlamp in the direction of the movement and out popped a skunk. Excellent! After chasing it away carefully, I sat back down and less than a minute later another skunk appeared. VAMOOSE! As I carefully chased skunk #2 away, skunk #1 reappeared and I vanquished him as well. Then along came skunk #3. This guy was a pain in my rear. He started his journey directly toward the campfire and the people sitting around it. I don't think so buddy! Upon chasing him away, he scurried to the rear of my tent and instead of coming around the other side, he remained out of sight. I aimed my light under the canopy of my rain-tarp and noticed he was at the front of my tent hiding out. Nuh-uh skunk! I got him out of there and he B-lined it to another tent where I was not to worry about him, but it made for some good laughs. Maybe he was just a lonely skunk? The last day we packed up and hit one last short hike at Bearfence Trail. This one is a rock scramble that is worth the climb up. Some great views and challenging terrain proved just the way to end the trip. On the car-ride back absolutely nothing happened so I'll end this portion there.
And now for the finale of our journey, the D & Q Summer Sizzler XC race in Sewell, NJ. This was a MASS race, and I haven't been to a MASS race since April. Not sure why, just sort of how it's worked out. I knew I'd have some cobwebs in the legs after not racing the weekend before and having a rest week prior. I got as good a warm-up in as I could in the 90+ degree heat and humidity and lined up with my fingers crossed. At the start I clipped right in and took off with the front. I knew I wasn't feeling amazing but was hoping to warm up more as the race wore on. This proved true for a bit, but then after making some aggressive accelerations to move up some spots I started to explode rather quickly and for the remaining 3 laps I went backwards and ended up 18th on the day. Blah! Next week is a slightly bigger target at Spring Mountain. A great warm-up race for Mt. Snow the weekend after. I'll be pre-riding Wednesday, as the course is supposedly S-I-C-K. Can't wait. Also, thinking of racing the Super-D's at Mt. Snow and Windham, that is if I can get my hands on a loaner bike.......
Until the next time gentle folk.........
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