Cascade Classic - Stage one

Just finished the first stage of the Cascade Classic this morning, and it was a fast one.  With average speeds near 29mph, it was a tough first day, but a good leg opener for the coming mountain stages.  I finished safely in the peloton, and Colt was just infront of us in a 3 man chase group.  There was a 22 man break that stayed away and put about 2.5 mintues on us.  It will be interesting to see if anyone from the break will hold their advantage through all the mountain stages. There was one climb today that didn't pose too much trouble, and the fastest section for me was coming out the feed zone since I slowed down a lot to ensure I got 2 bottles.  The heat affected me a little bit, but I drank 5 bottles in only 2.5hrs so I made sure I kept the hydration up.  This whole week is forecasted at around 90 with no cloud cover.  I'm sure I'm gonna be feeling the heat a bit more on the uphills in the mountains, but if I keep up the hydration I should be ok.  Time to rest stretch eat and drink more water now.