here's another "OPEN" CP race 

reg goes up by $5 from $30 to $35 after this weekend

Lou Maltese Memorial 

Sunday July 21st

its a bit way off but the next open race in CP is July 21, Lou Maltese Memorial.  I suspect this will be sold out too as we get closer to the date.

They produced a guide which shows 1st place woman gets $500, plus prizes 15 deep in that category as well as 123.  Pretty sweet, I'd say.

I'm hoping the earlier start and extra laps over the other open races they have (start at Cat's Paw, finish at Tavern) doesn't make it unsafe.

bvs

(all kidding aside, hope whoever was riding that is okay..)

There was also a crash in the last mile leading up to the finish of the 4 field.  A couple of Siggi's were involved.  I got caught behind it.  But I didn't see what happened (since I was just trying to hold on by that point), I just heard people yelling, then carbon crashing.  

We all know that carbon is a FANTASTIC material to make a bike frame out of !  Why you may ask?  Because manufacturers can charge exorbitant prices for a one crash product.  The product can be continuous tweaked to fuel the pr machine with dubious claims about "improvements" realized in a laboratory that no human could possibly confirm by riding. Here is a link to other FANTASTIC applications for carbon fiber. 

 

Around lap 3 I headed to the front and managed a small break with a couple of other riders but we were gobbled up pretty quickly.  I was feeling good about being up front, especially on the downhill portion where I could pick and choose my own line, but the fitness levels of riders is becoming a lot more even and, after spitting out quite a few guys from the back on a hot day, our core group kept pressing hard.  I noticed some bumping going on, and on the last lap, actual bumping.  Not the touch the guy next to you kind of thing, but bumping that pushes two riders apart.  It kept happening and on the last lap, having lost my choice positioning, I decided the race was too dangerous and I wasn't going to be aggressive getting to the front again.  So I backed off, wanting to still ride with the group, keeping a nice distance between me and the riders in front of me.  

A quarter mile to the finish, the group tightened up and I came up on them and someone bumped someone else on the right, as they'd been doing the whole lap, and a group of guys went down.  I almost made it past except for that deal in physics where a rider, crashing right, gets thrown left.  

Stupid physics.

In hindsight, I think the next time I determine a race is too dangerous, I just back the hell out completely and turn it into a nice ride in the park.

Harry, thanks for pulling me to the front on one of the faster laps.