The Race Report Thread 2009-2012
04-25-10, 08:21 PM
#3751
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Chuck Pontius Crit.
This has been my third crit and I finally got over my anxieties about racing, which stem from self-esteem issues. Except, I was nervous about having not trained or getting a good warm up. With all that I still felt good. One thing different this time around was that one on my team was racing with me, usually there are 4 or 5.
From the start I followed one of my riding buddies and stayed mid pack. The group started off casually, not really going more than 20mph, but a first timer shot off on his own (the guy with the red skate helmet and Shimano 600, if any of you were there) and was eventually dropped, I believe . Soon the pace picked up, we were speeding down the first straight and first turn, then hammering up the slope of the second turn and "hill" on the third turn. Just as I was getting in the groove there was a crash, just two riders up, and I dropped to the back of the pack. It seemed like a bad crash, bits of metal (his pedals?) flew around and the fallen one was hit by the guy behind him, at least it looked like it from my perspective.
I was a little upset about losing my position and I just tried to catch up and sit in the back. There was another guy my size, I'm 6'5", so I jumped to draft him, which was such a relief compared to sitting on the wheel of most riders there. I spent half of the race on his wheel and then started to look for ways to move up. The pack usually dispersed a bit after the turns and I took advantage of that to move through gaps or go around the pack while everyone was trying to get back on a wheel. I still had some difficulty advancing because of the way people spread and quickly prepared for the next turn. I managed to get ahead on the straightaway after the fourth turn.
With six laps to go I placed myself near the front and moved into the paceline. Unfortunately this paceline didn't hold together very well after turns and it was a scramble to get back together every time. The paceline was lost on the last lap after the first or second turn and the pack took us back in. I didn't feel very motivated to sprint at that point and finished as 35th.
I'm happy about how this race went for me. I felt strong and capable, nothing like how I felt in the previous races. The pace was 25mph average, same as the last race but I didn't feel like death this time.
This has been my third crit and I finally got over my anxieties about racing, which stem from self-esteem issues. Except, I was nervous about having not trained or getting a good warm up. With all that I still felt good. One thing different this time around was that one on my team was racing with me, usually there are 4 or 5.
From the start I followed one of my riding buddies and stayed mid pack. The group started off casually, not really going more than 20mph, but a first timer shot off on his own (the guy with the red skate helmet and Shimano 600, if any of you were there) and was eventually dropped, I believe . Soon the pace picked up, we were speeding down the first straight and first turn, then hammering up the slope of the second turn and "hill" on the third turn. Just as I was getting in the groove there was a crash, just two riders up, and I dropped to the back of the pack. It seemed like a bad crash, bits of metal (his pedals?) flew around and the fallen one was hit by the guy behind him, at least it looked like it from my perspective.
I was a little upset about losing my position and I just tried to catch up and sit in the back. There was another guy my size, I'm 6'5", so I jumped to draft him, which was such a relief compared to sitting on the wheel of most riders there. I spent half of the race on his wheel and then started to look for ways to move up. The pack usually dispersed a bit after the turns and I took advantage of that to move through gaps or go around the pack while everyone was trying to get back on a wheel. I still had some difficulty advancing because of the way people spread and quickly prepared for the next turn. I managed to get ahead on the straightaway after the fourth turn.
With six laps to go I placed myself near the front and moved into the paceline. Unfortunately this paceline didn't hold together very well after turns and it was a scramble to get back together every time. The paceline was lost on the last lap after the first or second turn and the pack took us back in. I didn't feel very motivated to sprint at that point and finished as 35th.
I'm happy about how this race went for me. I felt strong and capable, nothing like how I felt in the previous races. The pace was 25mph average, same as the last race but I didn't feel like death this time.
I'm 6'5 and I was just sitting in the whole race. My last Cat 5 race
Do you know if umd is OK? Was told there was a big crash in cat 3.
Picture is not from today as I was riding a red Cannondale
04-25-10, 09:33 PM
#3752
Fresh Garbage
Were you in a blue jersey? I was the big guy in the yellow jersey. If that was you then thanks for the ride!
Last edited by hairnet; 04-25-10 at 09:40 PM.
04-25-10, 09:40 PM
#3753
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04-25-10, 09:41 PM
#3754
Fresh Garbage
edited mineok, it wasn't you. I do remember there being a couple really tall people. Did you ever get stuck behind the junior racer? He was tiny!
04-25-10, 10:24 PM
#3755
**** that
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Vance Creek RR - Masters 4/5's, 53 miles. 9th. 1 point?
Good lord what a sketchy field! No crashes but I was glad not to go down. Wish I'd just done the 4's, but didn't have a ride to it.
Bridged to a two-man break about half way through the race, hammered for a few miles, but we got caught. Team mate Josh bridged to winning break on the last 12-mile lap, got 2nd. Fun stuff.
Does it count as blocking if you tell a 'big' team with nobody in the break, debating the chase, that "Oh man it's over for you guys! They're so far up there, we're sprinting for 3rd now. No way you can catch them."??
Good lord what a sketchy field! No crashes but I was glad not to go down. Wish I'd just done the 4's, but didn't have a ride to it.
Bridged to a two-man break about half way through the race, hammered for a few miles, but we got caught. Team mate Josh bridged to winning break on the last 12-mile lap, got 2nd. Fun stuff.
Does it count as blocking if you tell a 'big' team with nobody in the break, debating the chase, that "Oh man it's over for you guys! They're so far up there, we're sprinting for 3rd now. No way you can catch them."??
04-25-10, 11:24 PM
#3757
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Nothing wrong with the chit chat as long as you still pay attention. As for the gaps, yeah, close those suckers asap.
04-25-10, 11:27 PM
#3758
I eat carbide.
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Had to drop this on here - not my race but one of our fresh faced 19-yr old cat 5's went out to the Iowa races this last weekend....and got hit by a deer during the road race. Srsly.
He's OK, but got back up and kept racing....after bending everything back into place. Said it was a good 5-10 minutes of racing without really knowing who he was, where he was, or what he was doing. Damage - new helmet needed.
....laughter every time I think about it? Priceless.
He's OK, but got back up and kept racing....after bending everything back into place. Said it was a good 5-10 minutes of racing without really knowing who he was, where he was, or what he was doing. Damage - new helmet needed.
....laughter every time I think about it? Priceless.
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04-25-10, 11:45 PM
#3759
5 Time Bike Path Champion
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I hope that guy in the 40 plus race is ok. I know it was bad when I left.
04-26-10, 12:16 AM
#3760
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I wasn't there when it happened, did they stop the race? I think that is the race my teammate said he got 2nd.
04-26-10, 06:21 AM
#3761
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Had to drop this on here - not my race but one of our fresh faced 19-yr old cat 5's went out to the Iowa races this last weekend....and got hit by a deer during the road race. Srsly.
He's OK, but got back up and kept racing....after bending everything back into place. Said it was a good 5-10 minutes of racing without really knowing who he was, where he was, or what he was doing. Damage - new helmet needed.
....laughter every time I think about it? Priceless.
He's OK, but got back up and kept racing....after bending everything back into place. Said it was a good 5-10 minutes of racing without really knowing who he was, where he was, or what he was doing. Damage - new helmet needed.
....laughter every time I think about it? Priceless.
04-26-10, 06:27 AM
#3762
One speed: FAST !
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Vista View park Rosewood Series.
Result = 13. Dropped on the 3rd lap then got my rhythm and just kept picking off the stragglers and other dropped riders.
Never got lapped (which was a 1st for me on this course). =)
Result = 13. Dropped on the 3rd lap then got my rhythm and just kept picking off the stragglers and other dropped riders.
Never got lapped (which was a 1st for me on this course). =)
04-26-10, 08:06 AM
#3763
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First race
Note to self: Choosing a 62mi Hilly road race to start my racing career was probably not the most strategic choice.
Quabbin Reservoir---> 5 miles of squirrels-on-ice "neutral" descent. 10miles of fun in the pack. 2 miles of getting shot out the back on a climb. Like a howitzer. 20 something miles of pretending I was OTF of the wave behind me. 5 miles of very lonely, slow, self-loathing pedaling. Finally found some other dropped riders and had a lot of fun coming in the last 20miles. Even made a good effort on the final climb.
My self-loathing is very high. Gotta race again.
Quabbin Reservoir---> 5 miles of squirrels-on-ice "neutral" descent. 10miles of fun in the pack. 2 miles of getting shot out the back on a climb. Like a howitzer. 20 something miles of pretending I was OTF of the wave behind me. 5 miles of very lonely, slow, self-loathing pedaling. Finally found some other dropped riders and had a lot of fun coming in the last 20miles. Even made a good effort on the final climb.
My self-loathing is very high. Gotta race again.
04-26-10, 08:20 AM
#3764
Making a kilometer blurry
Note to self: Choosing a 62mi Hilly road race to start my racing career was probably not the most strategic choice.
Quabbin Reservoir---> 5 miles of squirrels-on-ice "neutral" descent. 10miles of fun in the pack. 2 miles of getting shot out the back on a climb. Like a howitzer. 20 something miles of pretending I was OTF of the wave behind me. 5 miles of very lonely, slow, self-loathing pedaling. Finally found some other dropped riders and had a lot of fun coming in the last 20miles. Even made a good effort on the final climb.
My self-loathing is very high. Gotta race again.
Quabbin Reservoir---> 5 miles of squirrels-on-ice "neutral" descent. 10miles of fun in the pack. 2 miles of getting shot out the back on a climb. Like a howitzer. 20 something miles of pretending I was OTF of the wave behind me. 5 miles of very lonely, slow, self-loathing pedaling. Finally found some other dropped riders and had a lot of fun coming in the last 20miles. Even made a good effort on the final climb.
My self-loathing is very high. Gotta race again.
Congrats!
04-26-10, 08:49 AM
#3766
Bulldozer
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Note to self: Choosing a 62mi Hilly road race to start my racing career was probably not the most strategic choice.
Quabbin Reservoir---> 5 miles of squirrels-on-ice "neutral" descent. 10miles of fun in the pack. 2 miles of getting shot out the back on a climb. Like a howitzer. 20 something miles of pretending I was OTF of the wave behind me. 5 miles of very lonely, slow, self-loathing pedaling. Finally found some other dropped riders and had a lot of fun coming in the last 20miles. Even made a good effort on the final climb.
My self-loathing is very high. Gotta race again.
Quabbin Reservoir---> 5 miles of squirrels-on-ice "neutral" descent. 10miles of fun in the pack. 2 miles of getting shot out the back on a climb. Like a howitzer. 20 something miles of pretending I was OTF of the wave behind me. 5 miles of very lonely, slow, self-loathing pedaling. Finally found some other dropped riders and had a lot of fun coming in the last 20miles. Even made a good effort on the final climb.
My self-loathing is very high. Gotta race again.
04-26-10, 08:54 AM
#3767
VeloSIRraptor
nah, you picked a GREAT first race... you didn't wreck, you know what to work on, and you'll be back...
i'm looking forward to hearing more reports from you, keep after it
04-26-10, 09:41 AM
#3768
Gunner.
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Pontius Crit Cat 4. I haven't been training nearly as much as I'd like (only 2-3 days/week race included) so my goal was just to not get dropped and get a good workout from the deal. I got there super early so I could hang out for a while and they had just carted off the 40+ guy. The racing was running about 30 minutes behind.
I hung for a bit then started to get warmed up. I had noticed a strange bulge in my rear wheel on both sides of the valve and asked a few mechanics at the race to look at it. They all said it seemed abnormal but they didn't see any potential issues. During warm-up, I hear a ping ting ping sound (like a broken spoke) then my rear wheel blows out. Fortunately, I brought my trusty Psimet wheels with me so I swapped a new rear and was good to go.
Race starts and zing I miss clipping in TWICE! Crap. So now I'm in the back 3rd of the pack. About 5 or 6 laps in I saw a rider go down in turn two pretty hard but I was able to spring back onto the back. The rider turned out to be my teammate and we think he suffered a broken wrist. I made a few efforts to move up to the front but just didn't have the energy to stick it out. So I just tucked away in the back 3rd and watched. With about 3 laps to go a group of riders went way wide on turn 3 (and this is an industrial park crit so the turns are wide to begin with) and a team Ritte guy was sent into the curb. I have no idea why they all went so wide but it almost looked like they were trying to send him into the curb.
Anyway, finished back o the pack but got a good workout. I don't have any fancy data but the avg. speed was 24.9 for me for 40 minutes of ride time.
Cheers
Rob
I hung for a bit then started to get warmed up. I had noticed a strange bulge in my rear wheel on both sides of the valve and asked a few mechanics at the race to look at it. They all said it seemed abnormal but they didn't see any potential issues. During warm-up, I hear a ping ting ping sound (like a broken spoke) then my rear wheel blows out. Fortunately, I brought my trusty Psimet wheels with me so I swapped a new rear and was good to go.
Race starts and zing I miss clipping in TWICE! Crap. So now I'm in the back 3rd of the pack. About 5 or 6 laps in I saw a rider go down in turn two pretty hard but I was able to spring back onto the back. The rider turned out to be my teammate and we think he suffered a broken wrist. I made a few efforts to move up to the front but just didn't have the energy to stick it out. So I just tucked away in the back 3rd and watched. With about 3 laps to go a group of riders went way wide on turn 3 (and this is an industrial park crit so the turns are wide to begin with) and a team Ritte guy was sent into the curb. I have no idea why they all went so wide but it almost looked like they were trying to send him into the curb.
Anyway, finished back o the pack but got a good workout. I don't have any fancy data but the avg. speed was 24.9 for me for 40 minutes of ride time.
Cheers
Rob
04-26-10, 09:54 AM
#3769
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Vance Creek RR - Masters 4/5's, 53 miles. 9th. 1 point?
Good lord what a sketchy field! No crashes but I was glad not to go down. Wish I'd just done the 4's, but didn't have a ride to it.
Bridged to a two-man break about half way through the race, hammered for a few miles, but we got caught. Team mate Josh bridged to winning break on the last 12-mile lap, got 2nd. Fun stuff.
Does it count as blocking if you tell a 'big' team with nobody in the break, debating the chase, that "Oh man it's over for you guys! They're so far up there, we're sprinting for 3rd now. No way you can catch them."??
Good lord what a sketchy field! No crashes but I was glad not to go down. Wish I'd just done the 4's, but didn't have a ride to it.
Bridged to a two-man break about half way through the race, hammered for a few miles, but we got caught. Team mate Josh bridged to winning break on the last 12-mile lap, got 2nd. Fun stuff.
Does it count as blocking if you tell a 'big' team with nobody in the break, debating the chase, that "Oh man it's over for you guys! They're so far up there, we're sprinting for 3rd now. No way you can catch them."??
04-26-10, 11:25 AM
#3770
i got nothing.
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Pontius Crit Cat 4. I haven't been training nearly as much as I'd like (only 2-3 days/week race included) so my goal was just to not get dropped and get a good workout from the deal. I got there super early so I could hang out for a while and they had just carted off the 40+ guy. The racing was running about 30 minutes behind.
I hung for a bit then started to get warmed up. I had noticed a strange bulge in my rear wheel on both sides of the valve and asked a few mechanics at the race to look at it. They all said it seemed abnormal but they didn't see any potential issues. During warm-up, I hear a ping ting ping sound (like a broken spoke) then my rear wheel blows out. Fortunately, I brought my trusty Psimet wheels with me so I swapped a new rear and was good to go.
Race starts and zing I miss clipping in TWICE! Crap. So now I'm in the back 3rd of the pack. About 5 or 6 laps in I saw a rider go down in turn two pretty hard but I was able to spring back onto the back. The rider turned out to be my teammate and we think he suffered a broken wrist. I made a few efforts to move up to the front but just didn't have the energy to stick it out. So I just tucked away in the back 3rd and watched. With about 3 laps to go a group of riders went way wide on turn 3 (and this is an industrial park crit so the turns are wide to begin with) and a team Ritte guy was sent into the curb. I have no idea why they all went so wide but it almost looked like they were trying to send him into the curb.
Anyway, finished back o the pack but got a good workout. I don't have any fancy data but the avg. speed was 24.9 for me for 40 minutes of ride time.
Cheers
Rob
I hung for a bit then started to get warmed up. I had noticed a strange bulge in my rear wheel on both sides of the valve and asked a few mechanics at the race to look at it. They all said it seemed abnormal but they didn't see any potential issues. During warm-up, I hear a ping ting ping sound (like a broken spoke) then my rear wheel blows out. Fortunately, I brought my trusty Psimet wheels with me so I swapped a new rear and was good to go.
Race starts and zing I miss clipping in TWICE! Crap. So now I'm in the back 3rd of the pack. About 5 or 6 laps in I saw a rider go down in turn two pretty hard but I was able to spring back onto the back. The rider turned out to be my teammate and we think he suffered a broken wrist. I made a few efforts to move up to the front but just didn't have the energy to stick it out. So I just tucked away in the back 3rd and watched. With about 3 laps to go a group of riders went way wide on turn 3 (and this is an industrial park crit so the turns are wide to begin with) and a team Ritte guy was sent into the curb. I have no idea why they all went so wide but it almost looked like they were trying to send him into the curb.
Anyway, finished back o the pack but got a good workout. I don't have any fancy data but the avg. speed was 24.9 for me for 40 minutes of ride time.
Cheers
Rob
i feel ya....racing is training for me right now too! i am in no where near good enough shape to have any outcome on the race. Just a long for the ride!
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04-26-10, 11:44 AM
#3771
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04-26-10, 12:23 PM
#3772
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I did, and I did go around him a few times. I was trying to stay on the inside which at the end didnt work out as well. I was about 10th wheel going into the last lap when a guy in front of me almost went down on the turn #1 after his right pedal hit the asphalt. I guess he was pedaling through the tight corner and we were on the inside so I had to brake to to avoid a crash. After that, just too many guys passed me from the left and I wasnt able to get back for the finish sprint and just rolled easy through the line finishing 23rd.
04-26-10, 02:07 PM
#3773
Renewed cyclist in VT
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First Cat 5 race
I completed (I think that is the highlight) my first Cat 5 race this weekend as a 50 year old new racer. It was the Dartmouth road race (Vermont/NH border) where they added a cat 5 race to the host of Eastern University teams there competing for the weekend.
Fantastic weather, course (for some - turns out not for me though), roads, and atmosphere. It was a very small field with 20 riders so lots of space for a first timer. It was about 36 miles on two laps + another climb to the finish. It was kind of interesting because they were letting fields out about every 5 minutes so we are constantly picking up dropped riders from other fields which makes it hard to tell riders apart until you get close enough to see the color of their number.
The course was a 12.5 loop that we did twice plus the start/finish segment for a total of 35.5 miles (2500 ft climbing). The loop had a 500 foot climb with one 8% and one 10% section that were the separators. The final climb was also 500 feet with some 8-9% sections.
Earlier in the week I had beaten my club TT speed by 2 mph so I was feeling confident going into the race. You can check out the linked video for a bit more race commentary but the quick summary was - felt good on flats but the race decided on the climbs and I couldn't match the pace. I did ok catching back on (to the chase as 2 guys had broken away on the first climb) but couldn't match the pace on the uphills.
Lessons learned
- I need more high speed hill work. I do hills all the time, but I guess I don't do them fast enough to be competitive
- I need to learn how hard I can push before blowing up and keep it right there. I could have gone harder up the hills to keep contact, but I was working very hard and worried that I would completely explode and completely lose contact
- I wasn't that sketchy in a pack - it was a small pack and the course didn't have lots of turns but I never felt out of place
- One can't hesitate when making a jump. I tried to roll off and then sprint (I have no idea why) which of course let everyone come with me. It did work to get the pace higher though
- I need to be more selfish/aggressive. I was the only one from my club whereas most of the other riders were from two teams. When bridging the gap, I was dragging other stragglers back to the chase rather than just trying to go myself.
Stats
15th of 20
1:52:11 (winner @ 1:45 but 3rd -15th - the chasers were within 2 min of eachother)
260/211 np/ap
19.6mph
https://www.vholdr.com/node/83756 Oh well - here is to doing better the next time!
Fantastic weather, course (for some - turns out not for me though), roads, and atmosphere. It was a very small field with 20 riders so lots of space for a first timer. It was about 36 miles on two laps + another climb to the finish. It was kind of interesting because they were letting fields out about every 5 minutes so we are constantly picking up dropped riders from other fields which makes it hard to tell riders apart until you get close enough to see the color of their number.
The course was a 12.5 loop that we did twice plus the start/finish segment for a total of 35.5 miles (2500 ft climbing). The loop had a 500 foot climb with one 8% and one 10% section that were the separators. The final climb was also 500 feet with some 8-9% sections.
Earlier in the week I had beaten my club TT speed by 2 mph so I was feeling confident going into the race. You can check out the linked video for a bit more race commentary but the quick summary was - felt good on flats but the race decided on the climbs and I couldn't match the pace. I did ok catching back on (to the chase as 2 guys had broken away on the first climb) but couldn't match the pace on the uphills.
Lessons learned
- I need more high speed hill work. I do hills all the time, but I guess I don't do them fast enough to be competitive
- I need to learn how hard I can push before blowing up and keep it right there. I could have gone harder up the hills to keep contact, but I was working very hard and worried that I would completely explode and completely lose contact
- I wasn't that sketchy in a pack - it was a small pack and the course didn't have lots of turns but I never felt out of place
- One can't hesitate when making a jump. I tried to roll off and then sprint (I have no idea why) which of course let everyone come with me. It did work to get the pace higher though
- I need to be more selfish/aggressive. I was the only one from my club whereas most of the other riders were from two teams. When bridging the gap, I was dragging other stragglers back to the chase rather than just trying to go myself.
Stats
15th of 20
1:52:11 (winner @ 1:45 but 3rd -15th - the chasers were within 2 min of eachother)
260/211 np/ap
19.6mph
https://www.vholdr.com/node/83756 Oh well - here is to doing better the next time!
04-26-10, 02:14 PM
#3774
RustyTainte
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Got that one out of the way, huh? It's good to go and learn.
Just keep at it. Train hard. Recover harder. Then do it again.
Just keep at it. Train hard. Recover harder. Then do it again.
04-26-10, 02:24 PM
#3775
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Note to self: Choosing a 62mi Hilly road race to start my racing career was probably not the most strategic choice.
Quabbin Reservoir---> 5 miles of squirrels-on-ice "neutral" descent. 10miles of fun in the pack. 2 miles of getting shot out the back on a climb. Like a howitzer. 20 something miles of pretending I was OTF of the wave behind me. 5 miles of very lonely, slow, self-loathing pedaling. Finally found some other dropped riders and had a lot of fun coming in the last 20miles. Even made a good effort on the final climb.
My self-loathing is very high. Gotta race again.
Quabbin Reservoir---> 5 miles of squirrels-on-ice "neutral" descent. 10miles of fun in the pack. 2 miles of getting shot out the back on a climb. Like a howitzer. 20 something miles of pretending I was OTF of the wave behind me. 5 miles of very lonely, slow, self-loathing pedaling. Finally found some other dropped riders and had a lot of fun coming in the last 20miles. Even made a good effort on the final climb.
My self-loathing is very high. Gotta race again.
Pace picked up quite a bit going over the climbs coming out of Ware and then back up to the tower....I realized I don't have the really explosive power of many other riders, but probably could have held a higher pace for longer....My note to self....try to create a selection earlier in the race, and go from further out....oh yeah, and more short intervals.....