Race: Racing Avalon 3
Location: Patapsco Park, MD
Date: 5/30/99

Written By: Justin Thompson

     Instead of driving all the way into the Catskills to do the AMBC up in NY Ryan DeWalt and Justin Thompson decided to race a little closer to home. It was a very hot and humid day at Patapsco Park in MD with temperatures in the low 90's. Being well hydrated was crucial on this day as it was one of the first very hot races of the year. The course was about 8 miles and Experts did 3 laps. Almost all of the 8 miles were singletrack with lots of creek crossings and tons of logs. There were a couple little rocky sections but for the most part the trails were hard and very fast. The course was fairly rolling but some of the hills hurt by the 3rd lap.
      For better competition and harder training Justin Thompson decided to race in the Senior Expert division for the second time this year. The race started in an open field with a Le Mans style start. After running to our bikes we went on a paved road for a little bit and then hit a tough water bar filled climb. TREK riders Ryan DeWalt and Justin Thompson along another racer slowly put distance on the field. After a couple of miles Ryan got out of sight and Justin continued to battle it out with the other Expert racer. By the end of the first lap DeWalt was in first and Thompson was in second.
      By the end of the race not much had changed and TREK riders took places 1 and 2 in the Senior Expert race. Justin Thompson finished 1min and 29sec behind the winner Ryan DeWalt.