Friday’s race prep ride. These never feel great but they’re only supposed to get you loose for the main event the following day. Also did some practice grabbing the bag (Mom sewed a homemade musette) with my Dad. The bigger event of the day, however, was going up to Cambridge, signing in, and then driving the course, which proved to be invaluable reconnaissance (excuse me for a second, I can’t believe I spelled reconnaissance right on the first try. I did, really, just trust me…) for the race on Saturday. During the car ride, I had the cue sheet in my lap and jotted down notes as we drove. I identified what I believed to be 5 key areas of the race, the two most important being the left hand turn to the road leading to the narrow covered bridge, which eventually shot you out onto the narrow first dirt section, and the final climb. I was amazed at how vividly I recalled the course during the actual race, which will be detailed in a report coming right up…