Post em if you got em

Cliff notes version: Cat 5 race, beginning of last lap I jumped hard and soloed the last 1:30 to roll in about 10 seconds ahead of the pack.

"overly verbose" version: We managed to get there with plenty of time before out race (about 2h), so we watched the juniors for a while, before getting a good 45 min warm up in. Dave and I both managed to get spots on the line and neither of us really fell out of the top 15 or so. About half way through the first lap, the usual cat 5 tactics set in and no one will go to the front and work, so I attack and spent the next 3 laps about 7-12 seconds off the front but not really gaining any time. I was trying to coerce someone to bridge up so that I would have someone to work with, but no dice. Finally realized no one was coming so I sat up and drifted back into the pack. Not a horrible field handling wise but not great either (what can you expect from a 5's field). Had a few guys bumping into my bars who swung out to far coming around the 180 degree turn in the back, but no crashes thankfully. I attacked a few more times, trying to get someone to go with me but no one felt like it I guess. 4 laps to go sign goes up and a guy in a capo jersey goes to the front and starts picking up the pace for the next 3 laps, but when he pulls off no one wanted to come to the front on the last lap. We go through the first turn, and going into the second I take a hard line on the inside and open a little gap, and then jumped hard. One guy latched on and I thought he was going to come around me right at the line, but going through the back turn, I took and inside line again, and I guess he didn't like it because when I looked back after the turn he was about 10 yards behind me again and had swung out pretty far the the right. Jump again and soloed the last 200 meters.
Max speed of 32 with an average of 23.9.
That's 10 races for me, but I'm going to wait until after San Dimas to upgrade.
I had my hands up for the last 50 meters or so and the official came over to me afterward and warned me that if I do it again I will be DQ'ed, despite that fact that the rule was removed over 2 years ago.

Congrats!

Nice job Merckx. You deserve to have your hands up. I hope someone got a picture of it.

yes, congrats. again. now stop sandbagging and get up to the 4's!


i didn't think i was even going to finish today. i've been sick all week and only got one ride in.
i showed up an hour before what was supposed to be the start time, only to be told that there had been a pretty bad crash in an earlier race, so they had to wait for the ambulance to return before resuming the schedule an hour late.
rolled off and felt like hell, so i stayed at the back - as in DFL - for the first few laps. i did that until the guy in front of me would either move up and i'd follow, or blow up and i'd pass.
as the race went on, i started feeling better, but only to the point where i was confident i would finish. a couple of my teammates eventually settled in with me and we just sort of hung out back there for a while. we had planned to get up front and try to slow the field a little when another teammate took a scheduled flyer, but we couldn't get up there in time he went anyway, and earned a prime for his trouble, so it wasn't for nothing.
over the course of the race, i started playing with different lines and found something i thought was fast, so i remembered it in case i was in condition and/or position to use it at the end, and it turns out i felt great when we reached laps. with three left, one of my teammates comes out of nowhere and starts pulling through the field, so i went with, and by the time we hit the bell lap, we were in great position. to my good fortune, he followed the line i'd picked for myself, and led me around the outside of everyone in the backstretch turnaround. i was carrying a little more momentum than him, so i went around and got into the sprint, where i finished a pretty easy 9th. not bad considering how i've felt the entire week.
i need to work my way forward a little earlier in races so i'll know how to time my launch a little better. in all of the all-out sprints i've been in so far this year, i've only gained spots(except anger management where i finished 3rd and lost one spot in the sprint.) i don't have HUGE power or endurance, so timing is really important for me. i'll get there sooner or later.

oh, and i met "oc rider." good times!

I give up trying to get a picture of Jason racing.

thanks again for comin out, frank!

wow...confusing...there are two of these post that Merckx made...

apparently i am living in some sort of parallel universe or something?

OK...so here goes..

Got there at about 9ish...registered...felt good but thought the race was at 10 so i got off the trainer way too early as we didn't start till about 1015 or so?..so i rode around the inside circle with the brakes on trying to keep some blood in the legs.

Race started pretty good until the pack heard the 20 minutes to go call...everyone stopped...like ridiculously slow...anywho...i worked my way toward the front and then to the back...and then to the front...didn't take any pulls today as i was just kinda taking it easy cause i haven't got any riding in not having a bike and all.

3 laps to go i start moving up....pretty easily as nobody apparently wanted the lead and neither did I...going into 2 to go some guy locks up his rear wheel going into turn one and i loose about 6 spots...no biggie...plenty of time....so i work my way back up with some good hard work to 5th or so going into that start of the bell lap and watch Merckx walk off the front...don't know why i didn't go with him... my sprint was about 34 ish today so i would have gotten him

any who i get chopped pretty hard going into the last left by some dude cause i put myself in a bad spot...what can i say that's racing...then i just decided..hey...i am on a rental, i am moving this week and can't do that from the hospital and just kinda let like 6 guys go around me...then the sprint starts and i get pissed about the previous decision to let everyone by and "drope" the hammer to pull in 9th.

well 2 9th place finishes should be me oddly about 7th or 8th in the series right?

fun day today though...i really liked the course and if i had known it was merckx going off the front i would have jumped with him...

see you guys in a couple of weeks in the 4s!! i am going out of town for travel so next race is the cycle vets race...

ps...i'll be training at 4500' the week prior to the cycle-vets omniom suckas!!!!

Nice, pics! More, please.

slacker. you're supposed to go easy at the beginning, not the end.


i'll be sure to go camp at 5000' and do repeats on the observatory hill for a week.

Yea you would have. My "sprint" didn't even crack 30. I just held it for the whole last lap. If it comes down to a sprint I lose places.

Hiya Chucklehead!

It was nice to meet a face to a BF screen name.

As for my race report. This was the WORST race of the season so far!!!

I did all the wrong moves and I blew up and I got pulled so I didn't even get to finish!!! It seems like every lap, I was getting slower and slower around every corner. I wound up sprinting just to catch up to the back of the pack! I knew that I wouldn't last long so I fell off the back and the race official had pulled me and 2 others from the course. However, I did see quite a few riders from the 4's either got pulled or just gave up! Oh well, there's always next year!

Hopefully I will do better in Ontario tomorrow! Hope to see you guys there!!!

I left after Chucklehead's race. Did my weekly grocery shopping and went for a walk. This is the only other picture I took yesterday..