The Masters Nationals yesterday went pretty well. Pretty much like I had planned. The start was on pavement for the first 300 meters and I didn’t really have to go full out to hit the grass in the lead. The next minute or so is a slippery loop of a soccer field, then a U-turn and up the main climb of the race. I rode pretty easy around the field and up the start of the hill. The hill gets much steeper at the top and was greasy. So greasy that it was faster to run up a 20 meter section than stay on your bike. Out of the 5 laps, I rode it 3 times and jogged it twice.

Anyway, Kevin Hines passed me on the steep section, but over the top I put in a good surge and got a separation for the next downhill, which is pretty straight forward. That leads up to the rail road tie run up. I had a few seconds by then and used the next descent to rest up some. After going over the barriers and then by the pit, there is a tight section with a bunch of U-turns before a sand pit. There isn’t any place there to go fast, since it is so slick. There is one more short loop that goes by up the climb once again. I felt alright and knew I had a okay gap descending back to the pavement finishing the first lap.

I never really went full on and had a descent gap starting the climb the 2nd lap. I knew I was going to be able to put more time into Kevin again here. I looked back and 3rd was pretty much out of the picture already by this time. I think I might have run the steep pitch here, but anyway, when I went up the stair run up, the gap was much bigger.

The course was getting worse every lap, slicker and less predictable. The only thing that was going to cause me to loose a bunch of time was a huge error, crashing, ect. So I started riding a little more within myself. I was getting a ton of different times around the course. The time at the start/finish line seemed to be the least, but I gave it the most credibility for some reason, other than Trudi’s time on the other side of the course. So I thought the gap was growing and then shrinking the whole race, but it was really staying around 20-30 seconds. Whenever I heard a time under 20 seconds, I’d put in a hard effort to get back up to closer to 30. That was the reward for having the lead I guess.

On the last lap, I looked over and was heading up to the pit when Kevin was still riding around the field, so I knew I could ride pretty easy and still win the race. And that is pretty much what I did. I didn’t make any big mistakes all day, a lot of little ones though, and had an okay day riding.

I’d have to say the conditions didn’t really suit my riding abilities. Not that any course is really bad, but I’ve never been big on frozen mud with a layer of melted mud on top. I’d rather just be riding on frozen ground/ice or mud. I don’t really like the mixture.

Kevin rode a pretty good race I think. I didn’t talk to him afterwards, but he kept riding hard all the way to the finish. Since the gap to 3rd place was close to 4 minutes, I’m glad that we got to entertain the crowd there.

I’m kind of surprised how tired I was yesterday after the race. All afternoon I felt out of sorts. I have no idea what that was all about. Probably just being on my feet for so many hours on Thursday and then getting up early and out the door at the crack of dawn. Whatever the case, I felt much better after eating dinner last night.

The Lees-Mcrae Cycling team were eating at the Italian restaurant we were at. It was fun listening to their anticipation and conversations of their thoughts about their upcoming races. Refreshing. The sun sets so early here, 4:30, that it seems really late when it is only 8 pm.

Bill is racing at 10 am this morning, then he and Catherine are driving back to Kansas. I’m going to ride today and then go back to Delavan and get my clothes and bikes clean and working. I’m going to wait to see how I feel before deciding about racing tomorrow. I can’t decide whether I’d be more wasted racing or watching the Elite race. It’s hard getting motivated for that race right now, but maybe that will change soon. I’m looking to be going fast next weekend in Louisville and have to make a good decision here on Sunday. Hopefully that answer will become apparent on it’s own.

At the start with Kevin Hines.

Riding through the sandpit on the first lap.

It was so greasy that you had to get way back over your rear wheel even on the slightest uphills.

With USAC's CEO Steve Johnson after the awards ceremony.

Watch more video of Steve Tilford on cyclingdirt.org

I’ve weighed in all the facts and have decided not to race today. I just don’t see enough upside to it. The way the course was changing up yesterday lap to lap, I can’t imagine having a good enough result to offset potential downside consequences. Actually, I can’t see having a good enough result to be happy about it at all. I was getting called up on the 6th row, which isn’t that bad really, but I have only 3 days to rest before the first race in Louisville. And during that 3 days I have a 7 hour drive day. It is going to kill me watching the race, but I can’t not watch.

I stood around for over 4 hours again yesterday morning watching the 45+ race, which my friend, Don Myrah won over Jon Cariveau, of Moots. Then Bill was next up racing the 40+ race, along with a ton of other friends. Bill started back in the smoking section in the 6th row, but got up to the top 15 in the first minute because he dismounted and ran as soon as the group hit the frozen ruts in the soccer field. He ended up finishing somewhere in the top 25, with a potential broken rib from a fall in training the day before. Mark Savery, local from Omaha, finished an awesome 5th behind Brandon Dwight, Peter Webber and Adam Myerson. Shadd Smith, from KC, was 12th, which was great too, considering his start and how many days he has been sick the past month. It was a very good race to watch.

I was pretty frozen by the time Bill was done racing, feeling pretty beat. We left Madison and drove the hour down to Delavan to Trudi’s mom’s condo. It was nice getting out of a cramped hotel room. We went for an hour and a half ride later in the afternoon with the temperatures in the lower 30’s. I felt horrible at the start, but pretty okay by the time I was done. I’m just going to rest up the next couple days. I’ve had a pretty busy last week and don’t see much upside to getting any more tired. I have good form right now, so I’m only going to ride hard only once before Thursday’s qualifying race in Louisville.

This race today is going to be pretty epic. It depends on what the course condition is at 2:15 for me to make a good pick. I’d be picking Todd Wells for the win if he was racing. Super fit plus, great bike handling is the key in these conditions. If it is super sunny and melts a bunch, then it’s Trebon by a smear. If not, then it’s probably going to be between Paige or Powers I’d guess. I can’t pick Tim Johnson to be in the mix because of his recent sickness and season in general. I hope I’m wrong in that. I’d love it if somebody else got into the mix. On big, one day events, that is the time that athletes do incredible things. This is one of those days. It’s going to be super interesting.

You can watch the events live here. The live coverage begins at 12 noon CST with the women’s race first at 12 and the men’s race starts at 2:15.

The course was pretty much frozen ruts most of the morning yesterday. Pretty treacherous.

Close up of the soccer field. It is not conducive for skinny tired cross bikes.

Brandon Dwight riding smoothly on his way to a National Title.

Bill had a great start, faded a little, but made the best of the situation.

This is my friend, Kelly Fisher-Goodwin, riding on Friday, getting cheered on by Mr. Ed.

Riding back yesterday afternoon, there were geese flying over for nearly 30 minutes straight. WIth the moon being nearly full, it was very impressive. A very good sign for the Indian side of my brain.