Off to the Races

Yesterday I was contemplating if I should do the Opus Crit or not. Being put into an open field with the elite women—I don’t have a chance. It came down to: Do I want a beating or do I not want a beating? I went for: not this time. Instead, I rode down to the crit and was able to make it in time to watch the Men’s Cat 5 race. Bernie and Jordan were the only two that I knew. Bernie did great the first half getting sprint points on a couple of laps. Jordan took points on the second half of the race. Wow…what an amazing kid!

In the Cat 5 race, there was a guy that was racing that looked like a commuter. He had a bike rack, a fanny pack, mirror on his helmet, knee high socks, and a regular t-shirt. He was in last place, but he looked like he had potential if you shed some of the weight off his bike. He had a great attitude and was having a blast! I heard he is a two year cancer survivor and just wanted to come out and race. Everyone was cheering him on every time he passed. It was great!

Bernie and I volunteered to be corner marshal on the first turn after the line. Loons where in full force last night.

The women’s race was fun to watch. There were three women from the Flanders team that raced. Wow...they are fierce! One of the ladies missed the start and was ½ a lap down. I told Bernie to watch she’s a strong rider and will catch up. Second lap she was still down. Third lap she was down. Fourth lap she was leading. Her and a teammate had a breakaway and stayed away the rest of the race. I would love to get to know these ladies! They seemed nice when they were not racing. One poor girl was way behind…I felt her pain and was cheering her on every time she passed.

The Men’s Cat 1,2,3 where flying averaging about 28 mph—what a good race. I think Alex came in within the top five. I’m not sure since I was at the bottom of the hill after the finish line. Jim C did great during the middle he was in the breakaway group for a few laps. Skippy raced (race number: 666) he looked good, but dropped after about 5 or 6 laps. Matt Anderson from Penn Cycle was there—I went to REGBRAI with him last year. He was in the breakaway for the second sprint then was pretty much done for the rest of the race. The guys were going so damn fast around the corner I was on, it was hard to see everyone.

I'm glad I went down to watch, I have a better understanding of the strategy it takes to do that type of race—if I can stick with the peloton.

After the race I had to ride home. Not the most exciting ride. I couldn't see a thing it was so dark. Thank god there was little traffic. I almost lost it on a pothole. It was a great motivator to go all out on Vicksburg.

This morning I road to work. My legs felt like bricks after my sprint to get home last night. I’m trying out a few different routes. I haven’t quite found the right one yet. I was told about a pathway that I’ll checkout after work. I hope to make it home to drop off my stuff and to meet the MGC Wednesday group ride.