Oh the spring and fall winds! Just reading your description was almost painful albeit humorous.

I did tournaments in a sport many years ago that was very dependent on wind speed and direction. The advantage (and the annoyance) of living in a state with high winds was that when traveling to neighboring states that happened to have high winds that were unusual during a tournament, we knew how to handle them.

Granted the downside was when we the wind was absent we had to work even harder.

Just saw this thread. I've won a bunch of races by solo breakaway. Like RacerEx says, it's about commitment more than anything. If there was one thing I pounded home to the Cat5's in the clinic, it was this. Timing is also important, but there's no formula for that. I've gotten away clean on a counter, but also when the front is napping. Another thing is that the field has to know that you are not a one trick pony. If you are, you have to be stronger than the rest of the field. Reading the race is very important. It's a skill that has to be developed by trial and error.

So so what do I think about when soloing away? Primarily what is in front of me. I never look back for the first 30 seconds, then I take a quick glance to check the shape of the field. What I see does not affect how I ride. I just want to know how hard they are chasing. If it's lined out, I'll check again in another 30 seconds, otherwise it doesn't matter. My thoughts stream like a play by play announcer. I'm optimizing everything. Position on the road. Lines through corners. Pedal stroke timing. Cadence. Looking for any little undulation in the road to find those few milliseconds of relief from the razor's edge of VO2Max and blowing up. Those little breaks keep me going. In the last kilometer it's all adrenaline, knowing what's ahead if you just finish it off. It's hard to put into words how it feels to win a race.

I'll post the obligatory race winning photo later. They always tell the story better than words.

Yep, and that's part "B" of a two part question, part "A" of which is "Should I try to get across?"

In a lot of races people will burn matches to get across to a group that's obviously not going anywhere, probably won't stick, or where their presence will shut the break down or make the field chase. Especially as you move into the upper categories, the team tactics come into play, an effect that get doubled or tripled in stage races.

That's why it's so fun to watch tactics play out in the Grand Tours. And how occasionally guys who elicit a "who dat?" like Oscar Pereiro or Thomas Vokler end up in yellow.

Can I post a video?

Yeah, well, racing in Cat 3/4 races (and for a team that was mainly dedicated to developing kids, so had few adult racers) I think I only raced twice as a team in the real sense. We weren't very good at it, and I certainly wasn't doing any bridging on those occasions.

My attempts to get across weren't much to do with tactical awareness, to be honest. They were more about "I'm feeling OK, I think I can do this". Not too bright.

I've got videos. Just hold tight buster.

Bring on more videos!

Sweet.
I got video as well but it's in a different sport if you will. Includes bears, alligator, deer, antelope, Caribou, wild hogs.
Perhaps one day the guy running the camera at a bike event will forget to turn it off and catch me as I'm otb...

Shovel, you said it all. Ex knows this too well...'there is nothing like the feeling of winning a race". Word. It's unbelievable....