Really not much to say. Hard day up there. Didn’t sleep well, didn’t eat enough the day before, really wasn’t well hydrated going in. I knew by mile 2, even before the weather turned foolish, that it wasn’t going to happen today. I’m actually kind of glad I knew that early, because if I had hit treeline with a head of steam, I would have been seriously upset when I found the weather. It was relentless. I spent so much time steering directly into the wind just to stay on the road. I had plenty of flashbacks of being blown off the road in ’07. Hopefully the race is a better day.
Here comes the weather. Once you were done heating up below treeline, you froze the rest of the way. The wind was a constant 30-45mph, putting the wind chill into the 20s.
Somewhere between miles 1 and 2, I knew this wasn’t the day. I had terrible energy today and the legs didn’t have it. It was a long plod through the wind to the finish.
I really wasn’t too excited about the 22% grade today. This line might look aggressive, but it’s the steepest way up and for someone with almost no energy it’s a bad gamble. I was lucky to make it. Probably half of the riders I watched afterward gave up about halfway or didn’t even attempt it.
chasing 1:20 
I didn't think the weather was that bad. No rain, no snow, no hail, the perfect temperature, and only a moderate headwind – I'll take it. Beats race day in 2007 for sure.
Yeah, my time was slow, but that was all about racing Ascutney the day before…..
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