Hi Sponsors and fellow Schwalbe members.

I did a 70 Km road race today, which was hosted by the BC MASTERS CYCLING CLUB-they put races on for 30 years old and up-in Lake Cowichian.

There was 6 riders in my category (40-44) and we were all strategizing on how we would work together in an echelon (a pace line where we all ride in single file and each rider takes his turn in front and then moves over and the next rider moves up, and so on) because it was fairly windy.

As soon as we started, it was fast and I had a hard time staying on the wheel in front of me, and I just barely was able to do my first turn at the front and then I wasn't able to hang on. So, all I could do, was watch the pack get smaller on the horizon!

This race had a 3 Km long hill in it, and we had to do it twice. We had to do 2 long loops with that hill in it and then make a right hand turn and head back to the finish line. There were also a couple of smaller teaser hills, to get your heart pumping, but that was good, because it got you revved up for the big kahuna!!

It started sprinkling about half way through  the race, so I put on my rain slicker and then about 2 minutes later, the sky just opened up. It was raining so hard, the water was bouncing off the road and I was thinking, WHAT AM I DOING HERE?

But, it was funny, about half a km later, it stopped, and the road was dry, as if it didn't even rain! Just a funnily little sidebar, I guess I was the only one in the whole race to have been caught in that big deluge, because when I got back to the warm shelter(the Cowichian River Scouts opened their club house for us) and everybody was rehashing the race, I told them about the big cloud burst, they all said that they all missed it! MMMM? How come I was the only one? ha ha

Because I was on my own and the race route was pretty rural, I didn't see anybody for a long time, until I saw the race marshall's at the key areas, where they had to stop traffic. So, it was REAL NICE to see some humans and to hear GOOD WORK, KEEP IT UP  and to hear my name!!

Although, I was pretty sore, because of that long hill and the miles, I felt fairly good, and I enjoyed it!  I would have preferred to have finished with the pack, but, I just looked at it as a good training ride!!

Also, when you ride at a race tempo and in the rain, it makes you tougher and it makes you appreciate the sun, that much more!!

Well, that's my race report! I hope you enjoyed reading it! In conclusion, I would like to give a big THANK YOU to all the sponsors for our club!

I wouldn't be able to do what I love, if it wasn't for all of  the sponsors! You make it possible to have a great racing club and in return, I do my best to get your names out there and do it in a professional manner!!

Sincerely;

Vaughn Marshall