Peer pressure can be brutal. Looking at the calendar I put together back in the winter I had only planned on 1 road race and 1 criterium. Now staring down the barrel of June I've finished 3 road races, and 3 crits and I imagine a few more to come. I blame my fellow Cat 5's on this one. If they all jumped off of a bridge I would too. At least it would be pain over a shorter amount of time and no waiting days for results.

-Hillsboro (Place: 12th) -

My first road race. After losing traction on my rear wheel I hopped off my bike and ran up the remainder of the hill just in time to see the pack roll away never to be seen again. Afterwards I caught up with Sean G. and we worked well to play catch up, then I lost him and was sad while I rode my last lap by myself passing stragglers.

Things I learned: Warm up beforehand and if you have to dismount shift to an easier gear and your knees'll thank you on the remount.

Fun fact: My max heartrate was 227(!) which I attribute to the sheer fear of falling down the massive jagged WI cliff.

-Baraboo (Place: ? > 31) -

So far my favorite race which includes photo proof of my Achilles heel. Stay. At. the. Front! As many of you know a somewhat steep hill comes into play about 3 or 4 miles into this route. When I saw the hill I remembered the advice Ansgar told me "If you shift on a hill...shift to a harder gear." Success! I felt terrific up the hill and couldn't believe it when I realized that I was still on the tail end of the pack. Only one problem. I couldn't recover. I found myself confident that I was going to finish DFL only to roll into the finish and find that others were close behind.

Things I learned: Getting up the hills is easy, recovering is the hard part. (see previous race)

Fun fact: Lucas M. & I shared a small bed at the Spinning Wheel motel thanks to him paying for a terrific meal at TGIF & conflicting reservations with the front desk. Good times.

-Monsters (Place: 14th)-

Teamwork & Sprint Practice came together for me on this one. I was up in the front (see I'm learning) coming out of turn 2. Then after getting passed Sean G. and I worked together with some UCVC riders to get a chase going. Coming into the finish I was able to get on the right wheel and sprint for 14th place. Thanks to everyone at the line who yelled "throw your bike!!" It totally helped.

Things I learned: Practicing at Matteson the week before was very helpful especially some great tips from Terry C. and future XXX-er Ted.

-Spring Prairie (Place: ????)-

Still feeling this one a day later. As per usual I put it all in on staying with the pack only to be dropped soon thereafter. I found Lucas and we worked together to find Nick and later Carlos then...CRAMP! I need to hit wikipedia.org to figure out how to get rid of a monster cramp. Luckily the cramp subsided after eating a Cliff Shot and doing my reverse yoga breathing while murmuring Nameste. After I found my rhythm again I was able to catch up to a group of 5 riders (3 were from my 6-series group, while the other 2 were stragglers from the 7-series). Not thinking of the possible legality we worked together passing the several racers until we were lapped by the leaders where I was more than happy to perpetuate Luke's subterfuge. Passing the finish line and hearing the last lap bell almost made me hop off the bike & quit knowing that sadly I had TWO more laps to go. I wish they could un-ring that demoralizing bell.

Things I learned: (see previous two races times 10)

A great season of riding road all in all and I am very appreciative of my fellow XXX-ers for peer pressuring me to try new things. I leave to visit family abroad soon so I'll be missing several of our target races and then I'll be back ready to finish off the summer at the track(s) and look forward to 'cross season.