8th Cable-Off Road Classic Win for Sara

80s and sun at the CORC? I'm a fan of snow and rain early on but it sure was nice to warm up, cool down, and finally sit around in shorts and short sleeves after a race in May. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't in Kansas. The folks in Cable continue to make improvements on the course each year and I'd have to say this was the best course yet. There was a little more singletrack to go along with the old stuff and it has just enough rocks and roots to make it interesting. It is always fun to see the race crowd again after a long off-season. Gary Crandall, Fat Tire Festival director, was on hand taking pictures and chatting it up. A healthy Duluth crowd attended along with the usual suspects. Sara was a little apprehensive about how it would go since she hasn't raced since realizing she had a nasty concussion in late August. To her surprise she felt good and was able to pick up where she left off last year. In fact, she rode strong enough to place 18th overall. Usually, she sees little "floaties" dancing around in her eyes but they have been diminishing as of late thanks to some new homoeopathy medicine. The Trek worked flawlessly and it seems we have it dialed in pretty nicely. She didn't ever ride over her head and stayed on her best behavior so she didn't fall. She certainly doesn't want to go down and bump her head (or stop quickly from hitting a tree with a shoulder and "rattling" her brain like the August injury). Congrats to our neighbor Diana McFadden for finishing in second and Rebecca Sauber in third to round out the podium. We are both glad to get the first race out of the way. I'm just happy I was able to draft off neighbor Todd McFadden and C.J. Faulkner once Tyler Gaunthier and Chad Sova rode us off their wheels around the 15 mile to go mark. I'm always bummed when I get dropped on this course because it suits me nicely even if I'm not on my A game. Congrats to Tyler on the win, Chad in second, and the sprint of the day had C.J. nipping Todd at the line for third. It sure would have been nice to be able contest the sprint but there was none of that on this day. A huge thanks to Kathy Raymond for watching Kiera so Sara and I could race. Usually my mom or dad watch her but since Kathy offered and Kiera adores Ron and Kathy's boys, Ben and Luke, it was an easy decision to bring her with. Furthermore, it enabled my dad to sign up for the short race. It was a highlight to ride by him during the race and see him having fun pedaling his bike at 72 years of age.