This Saturday was the inagural running of the Leesburg Baker’s Dozen 13 Hour Race.  Despite this being the first year of the race, all of the fields were well filled, with the solo field including over thirty racers, many of whom I’ve done battle with in the past.  Plum Grove Cyclery did an excellent job with the race organization, and surpassed expectations.  The overall setup for the race was better than that of many races which have been run for year now. 

This race was to be my first mountain bike race of the season.  I was filled with excitement the whole week leading up to the race.  After a great night’s sleep on Friday, I arrived at the race site with one goal in mind – to kick off the mountain bike season with a win.  At 11 o’clock we lined up on the line and I placed myself dead center at the front.  At the sound of the gun, I slammed on the gas and surprisingly found myself with the hole shot into the singletrack.  I decided to see what I had, and kept the pedal to the metal 100%.  About ten minutes into the lap, I looked back and the only rider anywhere near me was NORBA Pro Aaron Snyder.  We rode the whole first lap with me in the lead opening up a sizable gap on the rest of the field.  I ended up finishing in first on the first lap, and made a quick transition into my second lap.  Aaron and I rode the second and part of the third lap together, continuing to hold the other riders, including team riders, at bay.  At some point in the third lap, Aaron asked me how I was feeling and said that he was going to slow it down a bit.  I kept the pace high now riding by myself, still way at the front of the whole race.  My strategy was to demoralize the solo field until they gave up and started racing amongst themselves.  My plan worked out flawlessly.  The rest of the race was pretty uneventful, with me holding consistently fast times, and lapping the next closest solo rider several times.  With 45 minutes to go in the race, I had my lead secured by 3 laps, and decided to call it a day, in order to keep some in the tank for upcoming enduros.  I ended up winning the solo field, winning the fastest lap award, and coming very close to taking the overall.  I felt excellent the entire race, and I am very confident about my endurance, speed, and overall form for this season.

The Lupines were absolutely amazing!  I ran an Edison 10 on the bars and a Wilma on the helmet.  The brightness of this combo was amazing, and my wife said she could spot me coming from nearly 1/4 mile away.  Making things even better, I never had to charge a battery in the 4+ hours of racing in darkness.  Finally, this is the first lighting system that provides the beam I need.  No longer do I have to fuss around trying to get the aim just right, these things could be pointed 45* to the left or right and still give enough light.  Yes, they just worked that well!  Thanks for the support.  I look forward to more solid results with these lights.