Jun 04, 2011 at 07:13 PM
Lined up for the Cat 4 race with Ian, Dan, Todd, Yon, Josh and about 50 other guys. First three laps or so saw Dan attacking so much it was like he was counter attacking himself. He did a good job a setting the race alight. After about 4 laps I didn't see him up at the front and figured he was taking a rest.
The pace settled down a bit with decent attacks but with a few teams having good representation (Velocity, Speedwell, Liberty) nothing could seem to get off the front with a good mix. I stayed top 10 wheels or so with Ian, latching ourselves onto anything that looked promising. About half way in I made a bridge to 4 guys who had about 7-8 seconds but that too got shut down about 1/2 lap later.
With 8 to go I wondered where Dan had got to. Not like him to not be in the mix. Next time around I heard cheering from the start/finish, victim of a flat.
With about 4 to go I slid up next to Ian and asked how he felt. He said tired but willing to give it a go. I said I felt the same and interested in getting in the mix. I made sure to stay in the top 10 wheels for the last 3 laps, found myself in about 8th on the second to last corner, goosed it a little on the rise and slotted into 5th. Came around the last corner and gunned it. I ended up 7th, my best result this season.
I also realized I need sprinting practice. I couldn't get out of my saddle. I did the whole sprint seated which is probably why I lost two places from the corner to the finish line. Happy with my result but also frustrated that I couldn't do a little better with the good positioning I had.
35+ race was hard. Far harder than the Cat 4. 75% of the time it was single file, scrambling for wheels, chasing down moves, attacking. After one brutal bridge attempt later in the race I couldn't get back on a wheel and got spit out the back. I felt happy with my effort but man did that put things in perspective.
And apparently you can't buy beer at a market in NJ. Dan and I spent 35 minutes driving around in search of malted recovery beverages and finally found the Wine Chateau. Went back to watch Eric and Mike put on a good show. All in all a very nice day.
The pace settled down a bit with decent attacks but with a few teams having good representation (Velocity, Speedwell, Liberty) nothing could seem to get off the front with a good mix. I stayed top 10 wheels or so with Ian, latching ourselves onto anything that looked promising. About half way in I made a bridge to 4 guys who had about 7-8 seconds but that too got shut down about 1/2 lap later.
With 8 to go I wondered where Dan had got to. Not like him to not be in the mix. Next time around I heard cheering from the start/finish, victim of a flat.
With about 4 to go I slid up next to Ian and asked how he felt. He said tired but willing to give it a go. I said I felt the same and interested in getting in the mix. I made sure to stay in the top 10 wheels for the last 3 laps, found myself in about 8th on the second to last corner, goosed it a little on the rise and slotted into 5th. Came around the last corner and gunned it. I ended up 7th, my best result this season.
I also realized I need sprinting practice. I couldn't get out of my saddle. I did the whole sprint seated which is probably why I lost two places from the corner to the finish line. Happy with my result but also frustrated that I couldn't do a little better with the good positioning I had.
35+ race was hard. Far harder than the Cat 4. 75% of the time it was single file, scrambling for wheels, chasing down moves, attacking. After one brutal bridge attempt later in the race I couldn't get back on a wheel and got spit out the back. I felt happy with my effort but man did that put things in perspective.
And apparently you can't buy beer at a market in NJ. Dan and I spent 35 minutes driving around in search of malted recovery beverages and finally found the Wine Chateau. Went back to watch Eric and Mike put on a good show. All in all a very nice day.
