On fire!

Ongers comes out of the frozen wine country & decisively wins season opener at Mason Lake on a solo flyer. Thus validating that his newly minted CAT 1 upgrade was not a fluke - with his new Gin Optics team (outfitted in the old Axley kit for now) riding support to perfection. Pressure will be on the next 2 weeks to help defend Shawn's #1 points position.

After arriving at the race sit with 22 minutes before the start - I got registered, numbered up (jersey & frame), kitted up, tires pumped, visited the washroom, and got to the start with 2 minutes to spare - with no gloves. Dropped the bike, sprinted up to the lot, retrieved gloves & back just as Dave started his "this is not the world championship race" speech.

So with no warm up I was just happy to not be dropped as soon as the 1/2 mile neutral roll out ended. After dropping 7 pounds in a few days due to the flu the week prior, and coming off a scare with popping something in my lower back - I didn't feel like I was in my finest form, but I didn't embarrass myself too badly either. Though if I would've had a broken spoke (Chad) or stopped to pee (Trevor) and tried to chase back on - I'd still be chasing.

After all the attacks were done (Mick must've been getting sick & tired of me chatting it up with Higgie), I did pull out after lap 5 (of 6) to go relieve my wife and spend some time in the remaining sunlight with the youngsters.