WORS#1 Iola Bump N Jump - Andy

Iola, WI
Sunday May 01, 2011
by: Andrew Schirpke

First race of the year and haven’t been clipped in since Jingle Cross. Did get in some Ray’s. Put all the gear together and we only forget the pump. Not bad for the first race.
Left Saturday morning and went straight to the Norseman. Did some grocery shopping and got some subs. Got dressed in the room and put on a couple extra layers. It was in the 40’s and we knew it would be close to race conditions.
Got to the course and grabbed our numbers right away. Cool looking number plates this year. Warmed up a little and hit the course before we changed our mind about the preride. It looked like rain but luckily it held off. First thing I noticed was my bike had gears. Didn’t have to shift my BMX all winter. 4 hills in the first 1/2 mile and a few more shortly after. What a way to start the season. My dad was out of shape and I had to drag him along the course. Second lap went a little better…not much.
Chatted after the ride with all our friends. It was seeing everybody again, Senkeriks, Jensens, Don, Chris, Nathan, Paul, Matt, Claire, Kapauns, Colemans, Muddy cup and a bunch of others. Headed to the room to clean up and get some grub.
Went to the Crystal cafe and had a pile of shrimp. Topped it off with pie. Recovery meal. Back to the room for some WiFi and a marathon of myth busters. Early to bed.
Up around 7 and ate breakfast. Got our gear packed and tried to figure out the layers. Ended up going with arm warmers and pants. We pulled in around 9. Saw Jon, Lou and Travis, the Reich’s, Flisrams, Bubba, Russell, Liz and tons more that I haven’t seen in a while. Warmed up and got to the line.
Shane, Andrew and Riley were all on the line. The wave held 18 and under. When Don yelled go the 15-18 group pulled out fast and I wasn’t sure what place I was holding. Did good on the first hill and the field started to spread out. Conditions were fast and the first few people were easy passes. Early blowups. After the first 3 miles I didn’t pass or get passed. There were a lot of older age groups that passed me throughout the race. Even though it was the first race most passes were smooth on everyones part. Time around 1 hour. 4th age and 33rd overall. Should have gotten my METAL but the computer was messed up and they didn’t figure it all out for a while. Cooled down and handed up for my dad. Had my free spaghetti and a burger. Headed out and had all the gear put away by 6pm. Homework done.
Training light with VBall going on right now. 7-0 with 3 games left. Go Raiders!!!!!

God Bless,

Andy