Good job getting back in the field Chip. I looked for you at the race but did not see you. Anytime you get OTB and get back in is good. I raced in the 55+ division. My race did not go too well as I left my "balls" at home. First off I crashed warming up while crossing some rail road tracks on Smith Road and banged up my hip and shoulder in addition to the blood coming out of me in four places
. Then while we were waiting for our send off a guy on my team pointed out the three best riders and said they would make their move when we turn on Vandermark Rd (so I thought I had a plan). The race started out very fast from the get go. We were in single file right off the bat with the three guys taking turns doing accelerations making the riders behind sprint to keep in contact. I was riding near the front and doing fine until the Kennard Rd hill when one of the guys on my team attacked. I made a bad decision of not responding to the attack and let the front group of 7 to 9 riders get away. Once at the top of the hill the group was 75 yards ahead and when I looked back to see who I could ride with there was no one within 100 yards. I tried to chase down the back side only to get further behind the leaders. At the top of the 2nd hill on Kennard I slowed to let two guys catch me and we worked together eventually picking up more two guys who got spit from the lead group. The whole time I could see the lead group adding more distance and I was doing 1/2 of the work so once on Smith Rd and into the finish I rode at my pace. I won the sprint for the 2nd group so I at least got a little satisfaction. I was on vacation last week and on every ride I was mad at myself for not having the guts to go with the guys I expected to finish with. I should have went the the attack no matter what because if I got dropped I would have ended up right where I was. Next year, when I'm not a "rookie racer" anymore, I will use the experiance to make sure I bring my balls with me.
