The early racers dealt with a dew laden course, slick corners, and lots of encounters with the ground. This was apparent by all the grass and dirt stains on the kits as well as a few bloodied knees and elbows. As the day wore on and the course burned in, the temps climbed into the upper 80's, but felt like 100. The course wound its way through the Sar Ko Par park in Lenexa, KS and kept riders on their toes as they accelerated out of and braked into the numerous turns. Bike handling and riding smooth through the corners was key on this course. There were two sets of double barriers and a lengthy sandpit run forcing riders to dismount.
Being a glutton for punishment I've been planning on doubling up on the races during the beginning of the season. My first race of the day was the Masters and of course and I started from the back row. Not a great start as many peeps were faltering in their pedals but made a quick punch up the pavement and moved up 10 spots or so. Two laps pass by and I've moved up through the field. The next few guys were the usual Masters ringers... Hejduk, Songer, Winker, Dunsmuir, and Tige. I get up to the group and let Scott know I'm on and recover for a minute. Winkler has already rolled off the front and not gonna chase him. Songer went down in a corner, so it was time to go. I got on the front and Scott and I traded off until we popped the other two. We rolled in togther to take 2nd and 3rd. 40 minute race.
20 minutes later... 1/2/3's lining up. I lined up on the back row with Shadd and go! Much faster than the Masters and I was just trying to get up in good position and settle in. Not even halfway into the first lap Tom and Camerom got tangled up and went down right in front of me in a corner. I swung out and missed the pile up and started working my up. I'd really gotten the lines down in the first race so was able to capitalize on that and not work so hard out of all the corners. The pace was hot in that first lap and I hung in with the main group as we made our way around the course, making up a spot or two. The day had really heated up and was starting to take a toll. I was so thirsty and needed a drink bigtime. People were starting to fade back so had moved up into the top10. About 45 minutes in and my stomach was growling, crap that is not a good sign... the tank is going empty. 50 minutes and 3 laps to go and I started cracking. Then the passing started. Each time through the sand was tough and felt like 1000 degrees. Ended up in 17th place after 1 hour 12 minutes. Nearly two hours of racing and I can't wait for cooler weather. 
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