Finally, my third finish in the TransIowa

I've been craving my third finish since my second finish at the great TransIowa. My last finish was way way back in 2009 so it kinda seems like a while ago. Now at the moment it does not. I remember with great detail because I just went thru it. I had a riding partner for most of the fist day and gained another once night set in. So, it was Matt Jennings third attempt, and John Welsh's second attempt and it was all greatly satisfying. We kept a good pace in the daylight but I'm pretty sure we were crawling thru the night. There were a few scattered moments of panic during the final 100 in which I pondered the pain of crossing the line at 10 minutes after the final cut off. In the end we had about 40 minutes to spare in the 32 hour event time. The picture is of me getting ready to leave check point one. Thanks to Elisabeth Reinkordt for the pic. I had flatted about ten miles in to the event. I considered it good luck but I did lose my riding partners for the remaining 42 miles in to the checkpoint. The weather was perfect, the route was beautiful, the gravel was constantly changing and the skies were clear. Thanks to everyone who helped me complete the journey.