So every week, it seems there's a racer who does an event that doesn't have it's own dedicated thread, or enough attendance to warrant the creation of a new thread. For example, Gwynna has been tearing it up doing a short-track Mountain Bike race series, I noticed Julie Jones raced in Connecticut last weekend. Anyway, I thought about starting this spot for those race reports. Because we want to hear all about your racing action no matter where you are!

I'll start, not so much because I want to talk about it (in fact I kind of want to forget about it), but seems weird to start a thread and not contribute to it.

Anyway, after a solid performance at Trooper Brinkerhoff, I DNFed a crit on the Tufts University campus. A fun course that was half screaming downhill off camber turns, and all crap-tacular tore up pavement/patches. It was also kind of like a cross race in that if you didn't get through the first couple of turns in the top two rows of starters, your game was over. I was bridging gap after gap, and actually felt good, but the guys I was catching and dispatching were already dropped. Ended up in a group that included a couple of riders from the Borg-like (at least in Boston, they had tons of riders in every category it seemed) Green Line Velo team before we got yanked.

Gwynna, Julie, anyone else...YOUR TURN!

Hola fellow Kissenas! This Sunday I raced at Walnut Hill Park in New Britain Conneticut part of the Aetna Nutmeg Series. I raced Bethel before and loved it, so I thought this might be a good race to check out. Its a bit further than Bethel though (30-40 minutes). Only six women were preregistered, but I figured more would show up on the day of. It actually snowed in CT on Saturday so the course had some patches of black ice. Instead of cancelling the race, the promoters decided to still run it. I arrived an hour before my start time and noticed that they delayed all the races two hours! I guess some folks checked Facebook (which I don't have) earlier that morning and opted out, so the fields were pretty small. The course itself is pretty boss! Its a one mile well paved rolling loop with a little hill on the backstretch. The hill dives down into a left turn (the only real one) that you can definetly pedal into.  The course could probably be raced on a track bike.  I recall braking very little if at all. I lined up at the race start at 12:30 and because there was only one other woman there they combined the women's field with the juniors. There were only 7 or 8 of us total. I've raced with juniors before and to be quite honest I was a little spooked since some of them can be sketchy riders. Boy was I wrong. So...I decided to jump hard at the line and try to get away. Big mistake! I got a 10-20 second gap then the field caught me. I was sorely mistaken to assume these kids were weak. One guy was this 17 year old powerhouse who tore away from the field and dropped everyone. There was no really no "pack" though. Sort of a disorganized race, everyone was just pretty much riding by themselves. Two of the kids were so tiny you got like zero draft from them. So I basically ended up TT-ing for 30 minutes.  I did realize that I only have one or two "matches" to burn and little top end fitness at this point in the year.  The other girl that raced mentioned she wanted her money back LOL! I guess we should have raced with the masters or cat 4/5 guys...but who knew no one would show up. But being out there was great...definetly reminded me how hard racing is!!! My work schedule has not afforded me me much time to train or race so it was just great to be there and get some hard training in.  I did ride in the drops pretty much the whole time, which is something I really feel like I need to work on. Marc mentioned this on the last group ride and I feel like I've been paying much more attention to it. I don't feel like I'm uncomfortable riding in the drops, so its not a fitting issue. Its just awkward and maybe the more time I spend there the less awkward it will be? Anyway, looking forward to this weekend. I'm really motivated to work harder and race as much as I can!

 Great advice....thanks Bruce! #sleepinyourdrops 

For the record, when I was talking to Julie about riding in the drops, it was specifically related to her position on the bike during a longish, fast descents, related to lowering your center of gravity and improving high-speed stability.

I actually ride/race a lot on the hoods and don't think it's problematic in most situations.

So, I did the 4/5 race at the Army Spring Classic yesterday. Wow, that U-Turn is really something. Major traffic jam the first time through the turn, I found myself and an Endurance Werks guy off the back. We worked together to chase back on for a lap, after which he bailed to the parking lot. I continued solo for another lap, and that was enough for me. It was a good time, I'll definitely do it again. The course itself is great, roads in perfect condition. This course definitely requires some practice, I didn't have a chance to pre-ride, I did have a chance to at least drive one loop before my race--not enough. And also.......WIND.

Congrats Jay--you'll never forget the first time you did Bear Mountain!

I was wondering if anyone was going to take the chance to race it before the CRCA version coming up. That U-turn traffic jam is the reason why some guys take some chances and race down the hill pretty aggressively. If you can get through pretty cleanly, and with company, you have a good chance of making it around a lap with the bunch. I can usually get through the u-turn with little drama, but the immediate rising road hammer fest that follows from a near standstill, is pure pain. One trick is to be sure that you are in an easy to spin gear before you hit the turn. This way, you can spin up high cadence style to reconnect with the lead group without blowing up your knees or your bottom bracket.

Thank you for sharing with us this awesome race report!

Awesome race Julie. Your question about sitting at the front "without working that hard" is an important one. We can talk more about it on the next group ride and currently, JP, Dale and I are working on getting together a KCC interclub race/skills session where we can work on some of these things.

In the meantime, what you are "witnessing" is, frankly, an optical illusion. If there is actually someone riding point at the front, they are working harder than anyone sitting behind, or aside, in their draft. This is a fact.

Next group ride, on a long straight stretch of straight road. Experiment, go to the front, spend a few minutes there, then drop back into the protection of the draft, just 2 or 3 riders from the front. See if you feel the difference.

What often happens with new racers, especially strong ones, is that they think racing means going as hard as you can at the front of the race. And sometimes this works; only if they are greater than, say 30% stronger than anyone else in the field and they literally ride everyone off the protection of their rear wheel. But this is bike racing, that rarely happens.

I remember at the Watermelon crit last year, I did a lot of shouting at a KCC woman who was spending way too much time pulling in the wind, when there were multiple riders from a single team taking advantage of all her hard work.

A strong rider can stay in front all day long, but that rider will likely never win, or even place, because when the sprints come, or the chance for a breakaway, or any kind of move that requires a rider to move from that steady state motoring to hard acceleration, the rider will have long since emptied her tank by riding in the wind all day long. She will have nothing to bridge up to the breakaway, or sprint for a placing.

Spending too much time at the back of the field is also recipe for a disaster. But that's for another post/conversation.

Great report, Julie. I've ridden with you a few times on Sunday KCC long rides, and I feel comfortable saying that you are much stronger than a typical Cat 4 woman. As a matter of fact, you ride a lot like our esteemed teammate John Malcolmson. This is a compliment. He's been at it a while and he's seen more than his share of success on the track and on the road. He has given me two extremely enlightening bits of racing wisdom (I doubt he even remembers mentioning them), and I think one of them is very applicable to what you observed at your race.

I am quoting very loosely here:

John's First Piece of Racing Wisdom: "There is a place near the front of the peloton that I like to call the 'throne.' You're near enough to the front that you can see all the important things happening, but on the other hand you're far enough back that you're completely sheltered from the wind. It's the spot where fresh legs pass you to go to the front and tired legs fall back from the front to rest. And you just sit there at that point where they just seem to rotate around you." [I've found it a few times, it's real. But it takes a lot of focus and adjustments to stay there.]

John's Second Piece of Racing Wisdom: [I'll share some other time.]

Also, Julie, after looking at the results, I am further convinced that you should feel good about how you raced.

http://www.road-results.com/race/5813#cat59563

It looks like you were the third cat 4, and in my book that is pretty darn good. These combined/open category races can be hard to manage especially when the fields are relatively small (fewer places to hide, higher ratio of ass-kickers to field-fillers), and you've got some serious firepower at the front winning it all.

Speaking of firepower, the race and series winner, Cassandra Maximenko is hands down, one of the strongest, most powerful riders, (male or female) around. She managed to crush a win at a UCI cross race last year, and was a perennial top 10 contender in that category throughout NE and the MidAtlantic.

Anyway, keep at it, your results will continue to improve.

Julie, love that you are out there mixing it up, getting some great experience, doing a variety of races. You are quickly learning/noticing things that are hard to pick up on if you are only racing NYC park races. Kudos to you. Every race is a learning opportunity, and you are already picking up on some key skills. It's right there in your race report:

"The one thing I realized quickly is that if you didn't stay tight on wheels while cornering you would have to sprint through every corner and eventually be totally gassed."

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Even on pretty basic four corner crits with wide open turns, the further back you are from the front, the more you will slow down going through the turn, meaning the harder you will have to accelerate coming out of the turn. That's what's hard about crits, if you do it wrong, every corner, of every lap is an interval. But if you are well positioned you can motor through those turns without scrubbing off too much speed. There are some exceptions to this rule, including times when I actually let a gap open up in front of me as I approach a turn, but...that's a lesson to be learned later.

"The girl who won sat in the entire race and was pretty much just chillin'  in the pack.  She saved her energy for the final sprint."

Yes, yes, yes. Lots of clichés to pepper you with now. "The strongest racer rarely wins the race." "No prize for hardest working in a bike race."

"Which brings me to an important question….how does one approach a field sprint?  Do you go all out knowing full well it might be a shit show and hope for the best or do you just sit it out?"

The answer to this question is always, "it depends." It depends on the course. It depends on what YOU WANT? The only thing that is ALWAYS true, and I'm going to quote someone very wise here, "Do or do not. There is no try." Successful sprinting has more to do with good positioning going into the sprint than anything else. I've ridden with you. And I think if your head is willing, you could be a good sprinter. But it's important, especially in crits and circuit races to evaluate and re-evaluate the course, the sprint, the set up lap after lap. Some course, it's a race to the last corner, and she who wins that wins the day. Other courses, like at Trooper Brinkerhoff, with it's wide open road and obnoxious killer headwind, is about waiting until the last moment, because no one is going to last very long in that headwind.

"It was really funny though, we were all chatting at the start and I recall her saying, "Oh my god I have the worst butterflies in my stomach, I hate bike racing, why do I do this to myself?"  LOL! I guess she was pleasantly surprised.  I always think it's just me that feels like that!"

Nerves before a race are good. It means you are focused and present and care about what you are doing. I still get nervous before races. There are times when it gets really hard, and the fact that you want it, and are there in mind and body will help you close that gap when mentally weaker riders will fail.

Julie, it's tough to fend for yourself against teams. It certainly can be done, but it takes a whole lot of racing savvy to be able to read the dynamic and choose which wheels to follow up the road.

All that said, your report sounds like you had a great race! You identified the strong teams, you read the race as it happened, and you animated when you could. Nice work. Now get a teammate out there with you and work together to put the hurt on everyone else!

"Figure 8 Hotness."

Seriously, one of the best crit courses I've ever raced. Before I get to my race, I feel it important to note a few things.

• I didn't get to watch him race, but Jeff White placed either 12th (the last money spot) or 13th (the other spot) in the 4/5 race. Keith Garrison (King Kog) was 8th in the same race. BrittLee was I think 18th in the Pro women's race.
  
  
• This race took me precisely, Washington Heights door to parking spot, 2 hours and 15 minutes, and that included a couple of extra loops around city streets locating a parking spot. For the quality of this race? Well worth the trip.
  
  
• Watching the Pro men's race was hotness. United Healthcare, Astellas, etc. Very, very interesting tactically. Local NYC teams didn't fare so well. Foundation only had one guy finish. The other Somerville team (not Ragot's group) sucked too.
  
  
• Bill Elliston looked VERY good. As did Edwin and Gui Nellesen. Van Dessel got a guy named Stoop in a break of 6 that included UNH's Karl "Ten Men" Menzies & Brad White, Astella's Stephen Hyde. White lapped the field and won. Adam Myerson snuck inside the top 10 taking 4th or so in the field sprint.
  
  
• Super family friendly. Amazing spectating opportunities. Great bouncy house action. Plenty of eats.

In the 2/3 race, I was the lone KCC representative, but Ragot, Stokes and Wes from Sommerville Sports were there in all their glory. Ragot especially, he was the "taste the rainbow" skinsuit from CX season. Big start line scrum because, well, because the course had 8 turns, including 5 blazing fast descending rights and 3 rising left turns that could spell trouble if you were too far back. So with 20 minutes to the official start, 3/4 of the field was already hovering around race announcer Richard Fries trying to elbow their way to a first or second row start.

And so during call-ups where I learned, incidentally, that if your dad is Marty Nothstein, you get an automatic call-up too, I pushed and poked and got as close as I could to the front. It would be critical. The Sommerville gang was pinned at the back.

The start siren erupts and the hairy legged dude in front of me can't clip in to save his life.

PRO TIP I WOULD HAVE SHARED AT THE CRIT CLINIC:

Clipping in at the start of a fast 'n furious crit or cross race is important. And while it is something to work on and think about, it's more important to NOT LOOK DOWN AT YOUR FEET WHILE YOU ARE TRYING TO CLIP IN. Just keep your eyes where they should be, and pedal. Your foot will slide around and eventually you'll engage. No good comes from looking down at your feet. Okay?

And then the race was on. My I wasn't in terrible position, but not great either. And when guys started wrecking at the front of the field, I was forced to do a few more intervals a bit earlier than I would have liked. But that's crit racing. Still In contact with long line of riders I was feeling okay. The 1-2% false flat home stretch coming off of an out-of-the-saddle big ring climb was taking a bit more out of me than I would have liked. But when you are not at the front, you are somewhat a slave to the racing lines of those in front of you.

There were enough times though, that I unchained myself and took the pro lines (honestly, not to be all brag-a-douchey, but I was taking lines that no one in my group were taking; but the pros from Astellas and United Healthcare and others were) around and up the climbs, easily keeping pace, while keeping the surges to a minimum. #oldguycraftiness

But then on one of those climbing left turn, the rider in front of me chops the apex and forces me to break check. I'M INSTANTLY OFF THE BACK. FUUUUUUUCK!

I put my head down and motor. The field is gone. I keep pedaling. I've got the company of a few others. From 3 to 4 riders, including I think an Elite UCI Crosser-dude. We're working together pretty well. We keep the field in sight for a long time. I think we have a chance. Riders ahead are literally disintegrating off the body of the field. We're blowing by them. Some grab on, others are done.

Our group swells from behind. I see Wes first. I try coaching him through some tough stuff. Right after he pulls, the guy on his wheel is going for a hero bridge. Trouble for Wes, I shout at him to keep pushing hard. No good, he's dropped. Then I see Ragot. He puts in some strong pulls on the false flat, but honestly the rhythm that we had as a small group is GONE. Guys are being heroes. And it's annoying. I have to start skipping pulls, because I'm chasing down all these yahoos that won't/can't work together.

With 10 laps to go, the officials do something that RARELY happens here, but is so pro and so perfect. They announce, "Next lap you guys are getting the bell!" Sweet. Not sure how many guys are in front of us, but they are paying 20 deep and I need the practice, so I'm sprinting (I don't care how many times the nagging ghost of Charlie I tells me "not to sprint for 20th place. Haha. JK, kind of.)

Our last lap doesn't end up that well for me. I got by some people, but mostly guys not contesting the sprint. I did pip a Burrows bro though. I just wasn't aggressive enough in my positioning. Manage 10th in my group.

Which was good enough for 37th overall out of 83 pre-reg'd. Worth noting, I think, is that I was the 5th overall dude over 40 years of age.

Both disappointed and surprised/not surprised that I didn't finish in the top 20. I came into the day off of a serious block of workouts that left me more tired than I have felt all season, but I still thought I had a legit shot at placing in the money. Oh well, back to work. Tomorrow I'm going to race in Baltimore in the Pro 1/2/3 field. This is still, ultimately "a training weekend" for me. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Results bro:

https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2015-33&bypass=1

(Jeff, you are "in the clear," looks like 14th officially. Still, stick around next time and watch the pros race if you can. It's fun and informative!)

"Shit that was hard."

BikeJam in Baltimore today. 53 Pro1/2/3 riders pre-registered. Course run in reverse from when Vlad did it a few years back. 75 minutes of total racing. 80 degrees and muggy (this is Baltimore after all).

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my legs were working well today. Of course, getting to the course 2 hours early, allowed me plenty of time to get in a proper warm-up on the park's surrounding roads. And by proper, I had one or two moments of efforts where I was like, "no way in hell I'm going to be able to survive this race."

The race was ON, ALL DAY LONG. With 15 riders from the host Kelly Benefits team, Another 9 from Team Beyer Auto, and a full squad of Bill Elliston's elite development team, EC Devo, someone was always drilling the pace. There were exactly two laps where it was not single or double file.

I was in the mix until 2 laps to go, when I just didn't have any more to give. I kept riding naturally. Not sure what my official finishing position was. Can't even guess. I'm too tired.

In fact, this race left me even more exhausted and beat than I felt after the Coxsackie "Snowpocalypse" edition. Overall the weekend was, I think (we'll see) a perfect set-up for the coming races in New Jersey. Can't wait!

Results bro:

https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2015-1713&bypass=1

They didn't list the DNFs, but...

I was 44th overall. 11th Cat 2. Save a single cat 3, and one other cat 2 who finished behind me, everyone else in my field was a 1. No wonder I'm still tired.

I noticed in another thread Jeff gave teammate Adam a shout-out for his excellent result. Turns out Jeff raced a STACKED 45+ field and did well too.

He even beat ex-pro Mark McCormack by over 1 minute! Congrats to both.

http://www.road-results.com/race/6239

Write up those reports, let us know if this is a good RR to travel too for 2016!

Jeff was pretty funny - as we were leaving he was pretty sure he finished last. When I found the results on the way back it turned out he was solidly in the mix without even knowing it. 

I posted my report over in the Purgatory thread for anyone who wants to check it out.

 
Julie Jones, looks like you raced up in CT again recently. How did it go? You've done this course a few times now, how has that changed your racing experience?

Walnut Hill Park Race was really fun! It was the CT state championship and sort of a larger field for a women's race, at least the ones I've been in.  The course is twisty with smooth pavement and two mini hills and only one real turn.  It was perfect me to get my confidence back as the last couple races prior to this were not great for me.  It was fast from the very start.  One girl from Sherpa attacked from the start and tried to shell some girls.  She was really strong and succeeded in doing about a lap and half by herself.  Then random attacks went off, with four to go Sherpa girl attacked again and stayed away with a few others.  For me this race was about staying tight to wheels and not gapping riders, especially in the corners.  Lucky for me I found a great wheel, this girl from MA who does a ton of CX, she was solid in the corners so I tried to stay with her as much as possible.  The breakaway group had one girl from a well represented MA team who did everything in their power to prevent anyone from catching on.  Great teamwork on their part.  As for me, I've been doing more cadence drills which have been super helpful to me in responding to attacks.  I felt like I wasn't spinning enough in corners/after attacks…as a result my muscles were so fatigued I would get spit out the back.  I also realize NOW (after the past couple of races) that these short crits go absolutely ape shit for the first couple of laps and then slow down, so it is essential for me to stay tight on wheels and not drift to the back like I normally do.  Overall, a fast and fun race.  I had the pleasure of hanging out with some of the girls from the well represented MA team after the race.  Really nice girls!  One girl has a brother that lives in Brooklyn so I invited her along on our weekend team rides if she's in the area.  I had a great time there, both before, during, and after the race.  Although sort of a drive this a great venue, I think this will also be the new spot for some of the Bethel spring series races….if you haven't been, definitely hit it up next year!

Great race! Our women's team might be small this year, but the quality is right up there!

P.S. Welcome to the "High Cadence" club...I'll be spinning my way up the backside hill at White Plains while others are big gear mashing their knees to death every half a mile!

Iron Hill Crit(s) Report.

Race #1
Lined up for the 35+ qualifying race in the early afternoon. Small field, about 20 starters. Some high quality PA racers started to light it up early. I followed the first three times they shredded it at the front. The fourth time they get away...without me. Boo.

Settled back in the pack to reassess. Another 2 get up the road. Field is not reacting. This "around the high school course" is out in the open and tends to be pretty tough when you are in the wind.

With about 10 laps to go Andrew Walsh from Health Warrior has a gap. 4 up the road, Walsh is the fifth. I know I can't stay out by myself for 10 laps, but maybe...

And so I'm on the front, I gentle pick up the pace on a straight-away that leads to a pretty quick and tight chicane. Guys have been good enough through this bit, but still there's much braking and I know I've got a secret weapon. THE SPIN. A few meters before the entrance, I go from 90 to 130 rpm in about three seconds and get a gap. Click. Click. The cadence slows, the power ramps up. Left turn up a little climb and it's power, power and more power. I connect with Walsh. He hollers, "wait up." Damn, he's moving too slow, but I know I don't have a chance without him so I wait.

He grabs a wheel and I start to crank some more. He pulls through and off almost immediately. I'm not getting enough power from him. 2 laps later, the field has brought us back.

Reassess. Recover a bit at the back of a noticeably smaller field. Okay. Now what? Field sprint. 4 guys up the road, 5 money spots. Gotta "win" if I want the ka-ching. 5 laps to go, I'm moving back up. 3 laps to go, dudes are getting aggro. I'm giving up too many spots.

2 guys lap us. PA BAR leader Thomas Detwiler is back at the front. He's clearly the class of the field. Looks like he's not content to ride it in at the back. 1 lap to go I'm about 7 wheels back on the fast homestretch carrying some speed. Carving right the field drifts right leaving the left wide open. The chicane is approaching, the climb. And so I LAUNCH hard. By the time I pass Detwiler at the front, I'm already going 5mph faster than him. Scream through the chicane, still have my gap. Hit the climb. HIT IT HARD, SON. I've still got my gap Now is a relatively long descending homestretch. Can I hold it? Can I? CAN I?

Yes I can. I roll in free and clear of the charging field to grab that last money spot for 5th place. $30.

Race #2
Having qualified for the Amateur finals, me and the family head to downtown West Chester for what is one of the best/hardest crits of the year. It's just a slug fest. 4 corners, fast-nasty turns. And an unusual mix of riders. I'm tired, I'm hungry and yet don't know what to eat. Nothing too heavy, but I need something. My son lines up for a kids race that had to have 100 little boys and girls. They went off in waves, Peter had a blast, very proud of his medal! Not as proud as mom and dad though! His reward? Fro-Yo. PERFECT? My in between race "meal" would partly consist of a tub of frozen yogurt.

Things are running late, about 60 or so "qualified" racers are hovering on the course waiting to get called to the line. They tell us there is going to be a 20-minute delay (it ends up being more like 30), and NOBODY MOVES. That's how important start line position is at this race. Winners from the qualifiers get front row. I look around me. There's a whole lotta 14 tooth cogs in front of me right now. (Junior Roll Out is going to be busy). This will not stand. When the rest of us get the all clear to race to the start line, I hit it fast and hard. Dudes are missing clip in, swerving, but I'm there. 2nd row.

And we're off! Slot into about 10th wheel. 1st lap screaming down the backstretch into an off camber climbing turn 3, guys are overcooking it big time. There's a wall of hay bales fortunately. "C'mon, get it together guys." 2nd lap still in the top 15, guys are losing their shit in turn 3 again. "Are you kidding me?" 3rd lap, a Goguen does a spectacular sideways sweeping wipe-out that made me think of ice dancing. Why is he ice dancing? "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS." I grab brakes and start to pray. I have to turn my wheel 90 degrees to avoid the wrecks. I was literally 8th wheel when this shit happened in front of me. EIGHTH wheel. Sometimes you just can't win.

And then I chase. Holy crap is this a chase. The eventual winners, 3 guys (including one of the other Goguen brothers who at 16 years old won the damn race) get away at this exact moment never to be seen again. I see them up the road, but I'm still chasing "miles" behind. They're gone and now it's just me and my group.

Sarah tells me early on in the race, we lost about 1/2 the field. They were pulled. She remembers 2 years ago, that I was in that group. Now she tells me that I was never even at the back of my group, the first main group. I think about the advice I shared with Jill on her first race. "If you aren't moving forward you are moving backwards."

Halfway through the 30-lap race, I just want it to end. I'm not getting dropped, I'm solid, but hot damn this hurts. Guys love to scream by me on the descent when I like to give a little room to take a faster line through the turn. EXIT SPEED PUNKS. I pass them on the exit every time. And yet, this dance continues. I'm sick of it. I make a hard push to the front to lead into the turn. Good, but the fast homestretch is made faster with the promise of primes. I get shuffled back.

I look around me, I see the look, I see the guys saying, "enough, I'm done." I feel it too. I'm starting to just get tired. There's not enough recovery on this course. It's just pedal pedal and pedal some more. My son made up a new kind of cheer for me this weekend. He holds his hand up as if he is grasping a hammer and drops that hammer. "Go daddy." I have no idea where he came up with this, but I love it. He loves watching daddy race. I am so lucky.

I double down. Maybe I still have a chance? As the final laps wind down, guys are leaving gaps open coming out of every turn. I have to work to close. In the end, I don't know exactly where I finished. Somewhere between 25th and 30th maybe...out of the money, but honestly, by the end of it, I was completely tapped, drained and done.

I got stopped by a number of spectators saying, "nice race" and such. One guy, sheepishly asks how old I am. It's hard to hide grey hair when it's in your eyebrows. I look old. I know it. But he was so nice. He really was so complimentary of the race. I don't know if he actually noticed me out there, or just noticed the tenor of the race in general (that being, "holy fuck, this was fast and hard and kind of nuts.") and upon hearing I finished decided that I had a good race.

Sarah was proud though. And she doesn't put up with my BS. She knows bike racing. So that's good enough for me.

Epilogue: After my race, Peter was busy running up and down and through a really cool fire truck that was just off the course. He was so happy, so full of joy to be able to run around a REAL FIRE TRUCK. I loved watching him have so much fun. Later, he was listening to a classic rock band, going up to band members after every song asking them about their instrument, and generally having a blast. Super family friendly event. The insane activity of the downtown course coupled with the serene quite of picnic-friendly confines during the morning/afternoon qualifiers made for a brilliant family day.

Well done Marc!  Congratulations on a fine 5th place.  Nicely done too- you worked a plan and got a result.

Also, unless you are some sort of phenom, when doubling up for the day the most that one can hope for is a result in the first race and to finish the second with dignity.  So success all round.

Bertucco is back. 

Great job Marc! Great tactical racing and glad Peter so now showing the other riders that his dad is the man with the hammer, who is out to crush their dreams. 

Marc can you please stop doing those small, out of town races and join us for the REAL RACING in Prospect?  respectfully and all that....yacks