First places (although not for me) and first experiences.

Monsters of the Midway was another typical successful XXX outing in multiple races. My first race was the Masters 30+. The pace was not too bad at the start and the definitive break formed early. Ed and a few others started up the road. When the break first went, I wasn’t sure how exactly to play it. Do I try to bridge up to get a second XXX rider in the break or sit on front to block? Fortunately Randy noticed my indecision/hesitation and bridged the gap himself, so we had two riders in the break. A number of us blocked quite well for the rest of the race, the break stayed away, and Ed went on to win and Randy I think got 8th. With about 2.5 laps to go, I got on the wheels of a couple riders down the windy back stretch. When I looked back, I noticed we had a small gap. Although I hadn’t planned on an attempted break at this point, the main break was well up ahead and not going to be caught so I decided to give it a go. I was with one other rider and we lasted until the second to last corner of the final lap. I was left leading the field out of the last corner, fairly spent for my effort, gave it my all and saw about 15 riders pass me on the home stretch. But overall, I was quite happy with the race, probably my best of the season. A XXX win, another top ten, and I felt I rode fairly well at the front most of the race and almost pulled off a late breakaway.

In between races, I watched Liam solo to victory in the 4’s, holding off the field down the final stretch. There was some great blocking by the rest of the team but it was an impressive solo victory nonetheless, especially given the ferocity of the head wind on the back stretch.

My next race was the 3s. Up to this point, races were being shorted to 30 minutes because prior accidents on the course caused significant delays. When it was announced that our race would also be shorted to 30 minutes, one rider yelled at the official and basically said no way. This was a first for me. I have never seen this at the start line before and am not sure where exactly I stand on the issue. I too would have preferred the full time, however in this case, the delay was because the course was closed twice during the morning so two people could be carted off in ambulances. I generally try to show officials tremendous respect and courtesy and especially under these circumstances, I was more than willing to cut the official some slack and do my part to get things back on track. In the end, there was a compromise and we would race 40 minutes.

Are the 3s the most dangerous field in bike racing? No offense to any other category if you think this title belongs to you, but my vote is yes, the 3s are the most dangerous. I accept that bike racing is dangerous, that crashes occur, and that I will crash. I have multiple crashes over the years to attest to this. Nevertheless, the squirreliness in this race was a bit excessive. Riders repeatedly and dramatically swerved in random directions, causing someone else to do the same, and thus a mini chain reaction of swerving and breaking. Fortunately the Midway is wide and we had plenty of space, otherwise, I am sure there would be more crashes. Maybe I over embellish. It probably wasn’t that bad, but it was noticeable, and has been in each 3s race I have done this season, much more so than in the masters. Maybe it’s because 3s are a bit more experienced than 4s and 5s so they think they know what they are doing, but often times don’t. Maybe it’s because many are younger and more reckless (man I am starting to sound old and I’m only 35). I really don’t know, but don’t these people have jobs to go to on Monday? Well, enough ranting.

The race was a typical 3s criterium. Someone tries a break, the pace picks up, they get caught, the pace comes to a halt. The process repeats itself about a dozen times until the field sprint. Intermix a crash or two or three and then you cross the finish line (I know I sound bitter, perhaps I should have waited until tomorrow to write this and it in no way reflects on the race organizers who put on a great race in a great location). For me, my fitness isn’t quite there to be aggressive in 2 races so I sat in the field and played the chase then halt game, trying to improve my fitness. With about 4 laps to go, my contact lens popped out of my right eye. In 20+ years of riding with contacts, this has never happened, another first. I am very blind without them and it would have been too reckless for me to continue riding in a field with limited depth perception and essentially no vision out of the right eye, so I bowed out.

I look forward to the challenge and uniqueness of Snake Alley and it’s next up.