Since 4th of July weekend was kind of a bust for me we made up for it this last weekend with a mini family vaction/race weekend. That's usually how they go for us I guess with limited vacation time so we have to make the most of it. Next year I'll be up to two weeks so then it will be a little better. Still, it's fun to make a race weekend a family weekend too and I guess that I am starting to fit right in with the WORS heads since that is what makes that series so popular.

We headed up to Eau Claire to preride saturday and I am glad I did. Since Subaru Cup I had taken the most time off my bike since last winter so I was a little stiff and stale from climbing up and down the ladder painting, but feeling fresh and ready to go. I was also excited to finally get to test out the new Felt Edict on some trails that would be perfect for it. I am really happy with it and how it rides, after being on a hardtail for almost 3 years it's completely different to be on a full suspension where I can just pedal hard and not bounce off the saddle. Two laps on the course and I could tell it was going to make a big difference over the hardtail. I made a few adjustments and ran a 2.2 tire up front for better cornering and that made a big difference too. I guess it pays a little to show up early and preride, I don't do it often but it's nice to have the ability when you do to change tires/wheels and feel the difference.

The race itself went good. I was flat at the start, but not too bad. I was able to kind of dangle off Phillips for maybe 1/2 a lap, but I just didnt' have the top end to get back to him when he would gap me. The temperature was a bit of a shock, 2nd lap I could feel my body overheating so with Philips pretty much gone I backed it down and listened to my body. After the time off I wasn't as confident in my fitness, but after lap 2 I was still feeling relatively good and recovered from lap 1 so I went pretty hard again. I rode a good lap with Eppen who was riding a hardtail pretty well, but I knew after being on one for a long time where I could make it hurt on him and that seemed to work well as I dropped him in the uphill bumpy section and never saw him again. 4th lap I put it in cruise control and just enjoyed the course and the full suspension making things smooth. Finished in 2:17 which is probably the longest WORS race in the last 5 years. I ate a lot of GUs out there and drank a fair amount, I actually felt quite good at the finish and well within myself so I am pleased that my small break seemed to refresh me and still not loose any amount of fitness.

After the race we headed over to the Metropolis water resort and had a really fun time at the water park. I wasn't sure how Ellie would do, it was a little sensory overload for her at first but once she got going she was hard to slow down. I went down a couple waterslides with her and then somehow got her to go down by herself. That was the end of doing anything else as she proceded to do about 2000 laps up and down for the next 2 hours and refused to do anything else. She seemed to forget about not liking water in her face after a while and just blasted down the slide lap after lap. Monday we went back to the park in the morning and then stayed until early afternoon. She pretty much did about 3000 more laps on the slide and I did about 1000. Mom did 1.

I picked up a waterproof Sony HD camera on ebay for $29 and it was awesome at the waterpark. I couldn't believe how clear it was and even underwater. Hey Jamie, toss me the camera - sploosh!