Badger State Games

Jordan and I went down to Madison for the 4th weekend in a row to participate in the Bager State Games. There was as Time Trial at 8AM, then a road race at 1PM. The course was a rolling 6 mile loop, with 3 "noticeable" hills. The NW wind made for a cross-headwind on the finish leg.

The distance for Juniors Under 14 was 1 lap for both events. Adults did 2 laps for the TT, and 5 laps for the Road Race. They wouldn't let Jordan do the longer distances due to his age.

Jordan started the TT 1 minute in front of me, and it took me more the 3 miles to catch him. He said he felt much better after taking the last 2 days off. More rest is still in the plan for him next week.

I had an off day in the TT. My legs and motor were definitely fatigued from racing this past Tues, Wed, Thurs. My average HR was 10 beats less than normal, and I went as hard as I could. I guess now I need some rest.

No results to posted for the TT (yet), since they didn't use chip timing, and the camera they used missed most of the numbers on the riders. Riders doing 2 laps also made it confusing.

The road race was stacked with Brones Bike Shop guys. I knew they would amp up the pace right away, so I made sure I was up front at the start. Sure enough, Lance Niles and Jim Moore drilled the pace after the first turn. They went so hard, they shredded the entire field. Only Gordy Paulson, Myself, and Mike Bobusch were able to make the split. By the time we finished the 1st lap, the 5 of us had a sizable lead, with everyone taking strong pulls.

With 3 of the 5 being Brones riders, Gordy and I would have our hands full. On the backside of the 2nd lap, Lance attacked and took Gordy with him. Now it was me and 2 Brones guys. I tried an attack on one of the hills to try and split them, but it wasn't to be. We decided to cooperate (until the last lap) at a tempo which would keep us away from the chasing pack, without closing in on Lance and Gordy. Moore and I pulled regularly, with Bobusch sitting out once and a while.

On the final lap, Bobusch was able to get away, leaving just Moore and me. With plenty of time on the chase group, we engaged in a friendly chat the rest of the way in, as I sat on his wheel. He still made me work hard for the sprint. He jumped early from way out, but I was ready, and he backed it down. From there, he remained patient, and jumped hard from about 200m out. It was slightly downhill, and I was able to get his wheel, and come around him to take 4th. Lance was able to beat Gordy in the sprint, so Brones went 1,3,5,6(Mark Brone),7(Todd Kinart). A dominant performance. They are a great bunch of guys, and it was fun racing with them.

There were about 10 juniors to start the road race with Jordan. They started just behind the women, about 3 minutes after us. Jordan worked he way through the women, and attacked solo. He rode so fast, he ended up picking his way through our stragglers and just about caught our main field. He said his lap time was almost 1 minute faster than his TT. I guess he was pretty motivated to catch the group, given he wasn't allowed to race with them.