With a big block of racing ahead, this weekend my roadie friends Curtis Windsor, Andrew McKeegan and I decided to go to the Morgantown road race.

Twenty miles into our drive, Erin called to inform us that we’re probably not going to make it in time - the race was actually four and a half hours away, not the three hours we’d allowed! “WHAT!” We’d all taken for granted that the race was in Morgantown, but it was outside the town in the opposite direction we were coming from.

While we drove to the race, it was pouring buckets of rain under a blue-grey velvet sky, we committed to going despite the likely prospect of having to do a wet three-man team time trial of shame to catch the race but somehow we managed to make it to the start 30 minutes early! In a miracle of geography, we must have snuck through a wormhole… or more likely West Virginia really has a half time zone that is 30 minutes late.

Now I am so glad I stuck it out. The race was awesome! I told Andy and Curtis that if they could slip off the front a little before the KOM. My plan was to attack the pack break away and then we would regroup on the backside. As they say, things rarely go as planned in bike racing.

Just two miles into the race, Andy and Kurtis slipped off one by one while the pack was just talking and warming up for the 50 miles of racing ahead. I blocked some and the duo was out of sight in ten minutes! They were off for like the whole 47 miles! Ouch.

Halfway through we hit a nice mile-long climb and the attacks started; a selection of six was made, we bombed at max speed down the three steep switchbacks of the decent and then we immediately hit the KOM heart rate still jacked from the first climb. I punched it all out, and pulled away from the chasers.

A course marshal informed me that Andy and Curtis were almost three minutes up and I started to wonder if I would be able to catch them by myself!

I had two hungry racers chasing hard just behind me. They were 20 seconds back for eight miles. As I started to tire into a long flat headwind the chasers closed in on me and got within 10 seconds. I knew I would be better to link up with the two tired guys in front of me than to have fresh riders sitting on my wheel for miles; I dug deeper. The course started a 1-mile climb and I got the gap to the leaders down to 35 seconds and the chasers as far behind but THEN...

I was flying down a mountain descent in full chase mode onto a false flat downhill past a group of mobile home trailers. A black dog ran out in the road and came straight at me!

I dodged left, the dog goes left too, but I saw it coming so I locked it up! Almost doing a nose wheelie I made impact on the dog’s left ribs and toppled to the left but I got my foot out. I got it down to 5 mph and didn’t totally crash.

So, I yelled at the stupid dog, I put my chain back on and looked behind me to see the chasing duo speeding my way. I was pumped with adrenaline, so I didn't wait I just took off and blasted off full tilt now just 15 seconds ahead of my chasers. I was fired up!

The last big 2-kilometer climb about ten miles from the finish was just what I needed. I could see my target ahead and jammed out of the saddle swinging side to side. I could tell I would catch them just at the top in time to latch on.

Now regrouped just as planned we all worked together like a well-oiled machine. Just 3 miles to go I could smell the finish line and our now solo chaser was out of site. I launched an all out attack at the transition of a 200-foot hill about two miles to go. Zoom! I won.

It was a super course, a lot like the roads in Leige, Belguim. The feeling of going that fast on a bike through the mountains is just awesome.

Next stop, Sea Otter!

Hope there are no dogs on the course.

-Jeremiah