At the finish line, I parked next to bike shop (Pro-Form) owner, Ken, from Indiana. He & his wife had everything that I'd forgotten to bring for the pre-ride! Ken was also a great navigator, he skis all these trails in the winter, so he pointed out landmarks along the way. Best of all, he had a great product that washes the embrocation off so your legs don't burn for hours after the ride!
My next stroke of luck was running into Chris M., top notch team owner and talented wrench. He checked all my bolts (since I rebuilt my bike and that's always suspect) and he smoothed out my shifting (which was fine when Chrispy was done with it, I just managed to change that with the packing and unpacking.)
Then it was time to warm up and fuel up. A few of the mid-western Kühl kids & I met at Ruby Tuesday for a late dinner.