Headwater 08

Racing the Tour: As Madonna put it. What a great weekend for a 100 mile ride/race. For those who raced the race and those who raced the tour: What a tremendous ride. The weather was ideal for the ride and social fire. This event is one of my favorite events...right close with RAGBRAI.

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I felt great on the ride and get pumped for headwaters. Once again the wild rice soup was the best (I had to have two cups). The first cup: Splendid!! The second cup: Even Better!! I sorely missed this last year in the race, so had to race the tour to make the soup a priority this year. I really like all my biking friends. We were there for each other with encouragement and strong pulls. We tour racers specifically got an early early start so we could be back in time to celebrate as the "Racers" came across the finish line.

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What I like about this event is that our group comes together as a family. We are there for each other and that was very evident this weekend. We cheered for each other and cared for each other...(Hemi took a spill caused by another rider infront of the finish line). For me this is the grand finale before the winter season kicks in. Yes there will still be some more miles for the DBR but this event is the last event where a vast majority of us are all together in one place (26 I believe this year), doing what we all enjoy. Hydrating...I mean biking...and socializing.

The banter around the fire was very entertaining again and went into the wee hours of the morning. It all comes down to having fun and as a group we do this very well, on the bike and off. This is why our Trailhead, Team Strong Heart group is special. We come from all walks of life, with varying biking abilities and we gel.

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Thanks for a great year my friends.