Races about to start

So the first race of the year, the Redwater Roubaix, is Saturday. I know I did the HPV races, but they don't really count since you're in a weird position and racing really strange distances. I feel pretty good, and while this should be a 'C' race for me, I'm taking it really seriously. Maybe its just because its the first race and I'm really freakin excited to compete, or maybe its because J.R. and Mr. Bushing left town and I actually have a slight chance to win. Either way, I've been talking this race up for weeks and I can't wait to start on Saturday.

The race is 29 pretty flat miles, about 3/4 of the time is spent on gravel. The winning times last year were just under two hours, so its not a high speed affair. Since this is the first real race and Minnesota races start in 2 weeks, this will be the race that tells me what kind of shape I'm in. I feel pretty good, but it might just be that I feel a lot better than last fall. The idea is to make the lead break and sit in for the first 3 or 4 laps. After that, hopefully I'll be feeling good enough to do something and if not? I'll just try to finish. ....