This past weekend was a double header out at Fort Flagler State Park.  Saturdays' course was like the two course we raced last year.  They made small changes which I really enjoyed.  Sunday we got to race on a whole new course which took us around, on top and through WWII gun placements.  It made for some great racing.

The weekend started with a late start on Friday night.  James picked me up some time after seven pm and we packed his borrowed BMW 325i to the hilt.  We got to the Edmonds ferry dock at 8:39 for the 8:40 boat.  We were one of the last cars on.  While James was attempting to lock the doors the key broke off in the passenger door.  Lucky for us James had a small set of needle nose pliers in his tool box which we were able to use to remove the broken section.  The big problem was that the key we broke was the ignition key as well.  We made a call and Aaron, who owns the car said to just put the broken section of key in the ignition.  The reality was we had no other choice since we were sitting on the middle of the ferry.  It all worked out but gave us a good scare.

The next scare was the black ice that we hit multiple times once on the island.  We got to the barracks about 9 something.  We didn't get to sleep until past 11 since everyone was very chatty. 

Saturday started at 8:30.  It was nice to not have to get up and drive to the race, we were already there.  It was cold and I didn't feel well for most of the morning.  By race time I had forgot about my upset stomach.  The race started fast and I did my best to keep up with the pace but in my head I was keeping up.  I did slip back to about 10th place but about half way through the race I slowly picked one rider off at a time.  I was about to finish 7th.  I should have been happy but at the time I was disappointed since I wasn't up front.  Later I realized that I never gave up and I raced my own race, finishing a respectful 7th.  I felt better after I had time to reflect.  I still wish I was up front with the leader since earlier in the season I was.

Saturday night there was a pasta dinner in the mess hall.  The dinner was just what we all needed.  It was too noisy for me in the mesh hall so I didn't hang out long.  I lost a game of cribbage to my teammate and then read.

Sunday was a little warmer but I had a headache since I finished my race on Saturday.  My legs felt better than they did on Saturday so I was looking forward to racing.  I took the start once again and held it about half way through the first lap.  While practicing my start I think my rear derailleur cable slipped because for the first three laps my gears jumped all over.  I switched bikes for a lap and got my A bike back, good as new.  I basically spent almost the whole race by myself sitting in 5th place.  With one lap to go I was caught by the 6th place rider and he went by.  I finished alone in 6th.

As I expected I dropped out of third place overall to fourth.  I'm hoping I can do well next Sunday and get back into the top three.  The weekend was great and both courses were awesome.  I really enjoyed myself and the pain was good.