You all are going to have to do better than that to beat the defending Fox Cup
Champ. Look, I'm an old man. I'm not just beatable. More like easy-pickings, but
I'm not just going to roll over for you guys. I had a good race, caught at least
one break, and finished 5th out of 18. Not great, but good enough to take the
high score, keep the sweet set of Maxxis tires, and start the season on top.

Nice weather we had for race day. A bit windy, but it was still winter after
all. Eleven racers from the TWW orbit - nice turnout for the early season. I
warmed-up by pre-riding the course. A bit more climbing than last time, but
still going to be a fast one. I'm expecting no breaks lasting more than 10
seconds, and on the gas the whole time.

After about 1/2 a mile of pavement at the start, we hit the dirt and I'm
surprisingly in third. The first lap is a scramble. A handful get by, but I take
a few back. I'm really thinking there's 3 or 4 of us that will be racing for 4th
and 5th. I've marked two guys that, if I beat them, I'll do OK. One of them is
the one that beat me by 3 seconds last time. He passes me at the beginning of
the 2nd lap. OK, just stay close. The other one is behind me somewhere.

"3 seconds" takes a funny line into a sandy descent and just about goes over the
bars, but saves it. A number of us get by him, but I don't think I'm done with
him. Later on, I'm clearly being held up by a guy on a CX bike. The trail widens
and I make a move while shouting "on your left". Jerk-a$s slams the door on me.
Whatever, I take him on the next climb, but the other marked guy has caught up
and gets by me at the top. Not only that, but he's pulling away. What the ?. Ok,
relax and keep him in sight. Towards the end of the lap, there's a section of
road, slighty downhill, followed by the same twisty slightly uphill singletrack
as last race. I seem to reel guys in on that section, and I pull up to the other
guy here. I stay on his wheel for a while. There's a little descent that dumps
out to a sharp, sandy right turn then climb. The other guy washes out a little
on the sand, and I get by.

I hit a short road section and see Mr. Green up ahead - a guy that beat me
pretty handily last race. Surprisingly, I get up to his wheel shortly after we
enter the dirt again. His posture suggests he's a bit tired, but he manages to
pull away a little by putting some slower racers between us. But by the end of
lap 3, I'm within 5 seconds. On the climb after the start-finish, I pass him.
OK, now look for another guy to chase. See a Roaring Mouse jersey way up there.
I have my rabbit for the final lap.

At one point, I was within 10 seconds. But I started to fade about half way
through the lap. OK, change focus to cramp-avoidance and hang on to my position.
That's how it ended.

So, the top of the Fox Cup standings starts out looking a lot like how it
ended-up last season. C'mon, it can't really be this easy, can it? Where's your
pride?

See you at the races.