In mid May, my friend Mike and I drove to Hayward, WI to ride in the Cable Bike Classic. The conditions were pretty tough--35 degrees, 30 mile per hour winds, rain and thick mud. It was the first off rode race I'd ever done. My goal was to finish, not be the last person to finish and not get injured. I accomplished all three. I set up a video camera on the front fork of my bike and shot this video. It is almost two hours of video condensed into five minutes. Unfortunately the battery died before I finished the race. There is no sound...I'll describe the audio--the gun starts the race, gears shifting, people talking, people stop talking, heavy breathing as we climb the first of many hills, bikes passing me, cursing under my breath, rain and wind, sand and mud spraying, cursing out loud, really heavy breathing (am I the only one breathing like this?), encouragement from the spectators, tires moving faster, more rain, wind, sticky mud, gears shifting, more encouragement from the spectators, cheering as I finish the race. My friend Mike said it was awesome and excruciating all at once. He was right.