Leg 1 is IN THE BOOKS!

The race started right on time this morning at 9:00 AM sharp!  We all rode out together for about the first mile and then Mike was off to the races.  Mike had estimated his time to complete this leg at 4:03 (read 4 hours and 3 minutes).  So, the pressure was on and the climbing had started.  Mike is our ringer in the group - if anyone is going to keep us in this race it was him.

Back in town, we loaded up our bikes, did a little bit of last minute shopping (I had to buy some more food - the pizza from last night was completely gone).  We started up the road and caught Mike several miles into his leg.  We had passed many riders before we finally saw him and he was riding alone.  There were a few solo riders ahead of Mike and a couple of riders behind him.

We pulled off a few miles ahead of him and by the time Mike came up to us he was in a group of 3.  And they were moving!  Mike's leg is a total of 54.9 miles with 4100 feet of climbing - that is very significant climbing and usually results in a low average speed.  We were wondering how fast he would wind up finishing his leg.

As Mike progressed we could see that him and the other two riders he was with were starting to close the gap with the solo riders in front of them.  Eventually, they all hooked up together and it was the five of them working through the hills.  Each time we saw Mike, he would give us the thumbs up.  He looked strong the whole way.

We left Mike with about 6 miles left to go so we could get Jeff Bray into Monticello so he could get ready for the handoff.  Mike was traveling so fast, though, that Jeff had barely just enough time to get his gear together and get to the handoff line before Mike came roaring in with flames shooting off his tires.

Mike and Jeff made the transistion and Jeff was on his leg!  During the leap frogging that we had done, we had made friends with the group that Mike was riding with.  They suggested we keep together to help each other out.  Jeff made sure that he was waiting for his new buddy and they were off!

Mike had completed his leg in 2:56 - that is an average of 18.5 MPH - and that is ascending 4100 feet!  By any measure, that is a phenomenal ride.