We Love Lethbridge

There is more to life than the 2009 FGBC Tour de France Pool. After a one year hiatus, Reach the Beach came back to life yesterday. Among other things, it featured a ferocious battle between the FGBC and RRR. RRR confidently strutted up to the startline with 6 riders: KK, Mike, Brad, Gilles, Chris, and KK's brother-in-law, Dennis who is visiting from Toronto. Fortunately for the FGBC, the Lethbridge chapter has also rolled into town for a visit. Otherwise, our fate would have been left in the hands of me and Cousin Adam.

The race istelf is pretty predictable. But that's not to say it's any less exciting. Everyone goes out hard and it all stays pretty much together until you hit the cursed sand. Then it all blows up, and little groups form which are themselves eventually shredded by the sand. By the finish, riders come trickling in one at a time, separated by big time gaps.

It was the same old storyline yesterday. But the story had a happy ending. Paddy picked up a big win for the FGBC. He finished ahead of Olli and Dave D in his first race back in the motherland (two ss'ers on the podium). Well done Paddy! And now you have a nice reward to show for your efforts. Naomi had a fine race as well. She finished 16th overall. Too bad Lethbridge isn't a little closer.

As for the local chapter, I managed to stay close to the front despite a minor setback in the Mars Hill sand. I was able to catch up with Don before the first checkpoint. We had Daniel in our sites about 40 km in, and things were looking good. But then I could feel my rear tire swishing around. Flat. As I was changing, I had a good vantage point from which to watch RRR'ers KK, Mike, Gilles and a bunch of others go flying by. I managed to catch Gilles and a handful of others. But Mike and KK would not be seen again. They finished 7th and 8th, respectively. Good job boys. I crossed the line in 11th place. Cousin Adam performed admirably in his first-ever race on a mountain bike. He finished 34th out of 55. But more importantly, he wasn't beaten by any twelve year olds this time around. Gilles was 20th, Duester 25th, Brad 27th, and Dennis 30th. Full results coming soon from Olympia.

After applying the special MUERTO formula and tabulating all the points, it all adds up to a 129-112 win for RRR. More significantly, they have retaken the overall lead in the FGBC - RRR FGD Challenge. But only by the tiniest of margins. Check this out:



It should make Wednesday night at Bur Oak all the more exciting. You won't want to miss it.

Thanks to Lindsay, Colin, and the rest of the Olympia gang for a great race!