First Race Weekend of the Season

The past few weeks have been encouraging. I've been getting out a couple times a week for 2-3 hour rides. And I'm even getting to do my Home Depot loop for some up hill sprint efforts. I've been looking forward to getting my lighter self on the road racing again.

Saturdays race was in Walkersville Maryland. Five laps on an eight mile loop with rolling hills for a whopping 40 miles. It was a category 35+ 4/5. The good thing about this category race is because everyone has to go to work in the morning it tends to be safer then racing with the crazy 20 somethings. And because it is a 4/5 race, they don't push hard on the climbs. Nice. I sat in for the beginning of the race just watching people stretch the early season legs. Little breakaways, nothing dangerous. With two laps to go I made my way toward the front to have a look around. There were three guys off the front by about a 20 second lead. Their teammates were sitting on the front letting the lead get bigger and bigger. I started saying we need to get though their little roadblock to bring the break back. There was no response from the rest of the riders. I got to the front and wiggled my way through their little armada. That opened the flood gates for everyone else to come through. The break came back.

The last lap I sat in recovering a much as possible waiting for the final sprint. The last corner is over a mile away from the finish line. I was doing my best to stay up front but also stay out of the wind. We also had the yellow line rule to deal with. We had to stay in one lane until the 200 meter sign. Guys were trying to push their way forward early. I was sitting second row working hard to stay there. The front guys were not building up speed like I had hoped. I was just waiting to get swamped by the guys behind us at any second. As soon as a whole opened in the front line I jumped with my sprint. I got a good jump but way to early. I was losing my power quickly about 50 meters from the line. They came around me on both sides. I got 9th place. They pay the first 8 places. :(

Sundays race was in Tysons Corner Virginia. A one mile D with a long down hill backstretch and a short big ring homestretch. This was a straight category 4 race. Very funny race for me. Almost half a race for me. The down hill was so easy for me it became a game. Every lap I could coast from the back of the group to the front of the group. Pedal up the hill going from the front drifting to the back and repeat. The game became how far can I go off the back and still make it to the front by the bottom of the hill. If I let myself go twenty feet off the back I could give it 2-3 hard big gear pedal strokes and tuck all the way to the top ten riders. Very funny. For the last few laps I stopped playing my game and just stayed up front as the speed got higher. I started to second guess myself about sprinting with this crowd. Whether they were safe or not. I dropped back twenty places or so before the final corner. Decided to sprint for the line and saw a giant wall of riders and immediately turned off the jets. I finished in the group.

All in all it was a good first week of racing. Very happy with my fitness so far. I just have to let myself sprint for the win instead of just being satisfied with a group finish.