Saturday's race was in Plainville, on a short (.5 mile), totally flat course. I showed up for the 8am race, and there were about 20 people in the race. As usual, I sat in the back of the pack for almost the entire race, since I was still losing speed around the two 90 degree turns. It was a 45 minute race, and the last lap started fast and quickly slowed down. Before the second-to-last turn, everyone drifted to the outside of the road, and I decided (being at the back of the group) that I had to take that chance to get up to the front.
I sped up to a pretty good rate but I wasn't sprinting, and I was at the very front of the group going into the last turn. Alas - if there hadn't been a turn I might've been alright, but instead I lost a lot of speed and while I started my sprint from first place, I wasn't going fast enough to hold off everyone. I finished in 4th or 5th place, I believe (I'll post the results when they're put online).
After the race some guy chastised me for "not holding a line for the entire race." I wasn't sure at first that he was talking to me (he was) and so I didn't respond. He shook his head and rode off. I knew he was right - I'm struggling to lean far enough on the turns to maintain my line. But I'm learning.
This morning I showed up in Bethel for another race, and I parked my car and looked at the car to my right and it was the same guy who had called me out yesterday. We awkwardly avoided each other as we got our gear on and set our bikes up.
This race was a little shorter overall but on a longer course (better for me - no really sharp turns). I was ready to go at 8:00am (after a 5:30 wake-up in Salisbury) and the first lap started right on time.
They were cleaning the course as we rode, but they missed a group of ten wild turkeys that had wandered onto the back side of the course. Everyone in the group slowed way down as the animals stared at us before deciding to leisurely leave the course.
The middle of the race was pretty uneventful, as I sat in my usual position in the back of the pack. I was feeling fine but I'm still not skilled enough to manuever my way up to the front and stay there. Oh well. I'll learn.
The last lap was pretty interesting. The speed picked up early, and there was no room on the inside so I found my way back outside and got near the front. I knew there was a break up ahead (a few riders who had separated from the pack) but I didn't know how many, and I didn't think we could catch them.
On the back side, the pack got into trouble when one guy crashed before the final hill sprint and took out a few others, and slowed everyone down. This happened on the inside, so I was unaffected by it, and we started up the final hill and people were already sprinting.
I was staying with most of them without working too hard, and with about 50 yards left I started cranking hard. Everyone else, it seemed, had used all their gas, and I easily moved to the front of the pack, finishing a couple bike lengths ahead of the next guy.
About 20 minutes later they posted the results and I was suprised to see that only two teammates were in the break, which meant I took 3rd place!
All in all, a successful weekend. Work starts up again tomorrow, so I'll have less time to ride, but my afternoons are still free. Cat 4 here I come!
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