If you followed the race online or if you follow me on twitter, you know that I didn't finish the race on Sunday. I was able to start the ride on Sunday, but I was having mechanical issues from the very beginning. It's crazy to think anything was wrong as I didn't have any problems in the pre-race rides on Friday and Saturday. I made it around 35-40 miles into the first loop before having to call it a day. I have never had to drop out of a race because of a mechanical, regardless of distance. I have had several flat tires over the years, but nothing else that wasn't fixable on the side of the road.

It's never fun to have to drop out of race, particularly because I don't race with high frequency. I like to focus on a few events and put in a lot of specific work for them. In July I spent a week in Lake Tahoe training on the course and really got excited about racing this event. I felt it would definitely be a race where the strongest athletes would prevail.

However, I will have to give it a shot another year.

I do hope the race continues to exist as it is, because it is a fantastic course and venue. I could see the race moving forward a week or two in hopes of slightly warmer weather, but I hope that everything else can remain the same. I'd like to be able to return to take on this challenge one more time.

-j