Paris to Ancaster Race - Part I

Restless sleep last night as I couldn't get today's race out of my mind.  I was pretty excited.  It's been a long time since I've done something like this.
AND since I've been waiting to BLOG about this for about two months I will draw it out in sections.
My first entry is the pre-race.
I spent all day Saturday adjusting my gears and brakes.  With the expectation of at least a little precipitation (hasn't rained in a month but of course it did on race day) I was nervous about my Power Grip "cleat" system.  I've always liked them but it has proven somewhat unreliable in the wet.  I finally decided not to switch it out with another system and that proved a very good decision for a variety of reasons.

I did switch to a racing saddle from my usual gel-filled commuting one.  I dropped the seat height and changed the handlebar angle to that things were altogether more aggressive.

We arrived in good time and had to wait about 1.5 hours.  Normally this would be fun but with the cold and wet, it was not.  We stood under a tree and shivered the whole time.  My fingers were frozen before the race even began.

UNEXPECTED Category:

Over 2000 racers.  I thought there was a cap at 1500.
Most people were very snobby pre-race.  They were acting like Lance, and I was just "puhleeeeezzze."


A couple more shots ...


My friend did very well.  He's in the black, below.  He hasn't ridden a bike in 20 years but over the winter I got him hyped about the Tour Divide and he's been training like a crazy man.  He'll be in it this year.

 And finally, me at the starting chute.  Bring on the pain!