An Upgrade Point!

Baby steps; that's how I make progress in this bike racing thing. Let me tell you, it feels good to be moving!

Saturday's race was in the mountains, and although we did not climb any of them, they made the course interesting. We did a ?6 mile? loop 6 times. It was mostly downhill and flat on narrow, twisty roads (the mountain influence) and each lap punctuated by a hill that was about 1km long. The finish line was just 150m past the crest

I sat near the front the first 2 laps and kept my wheel out of the wind. Each time up the hill I dropped into the little ring and kept a high cadence. The pace was light enough that my heart rate was dropping. I didn't like this, this meant the bigger guys were not being put into enough difficulty and the hill not long enough to split the field at this easy pace.

Lap3 was the start of the animation. The lone woman (Amity) in the field worked her way to the front, which was my que to go to the front as well. Riding with Casey has taught me that when a woman races with the men, she means business. I also figured she's a Cat2, maybe on a pro team, knows how to ride, and will probably make a move. Her presence was visibly upsetting some of the guys (stupid boys), which was pretty funny. They were freaked out by a girl leading their race. So she attacks, and me, carbone wheels guy, and tall guy in red kit go with. We each pull through before the pack reels us in since you can't let the girl get away. Coming into the hill I was 4th wheel and asked Amity, "do you want to shatter the field?" She said she needed a little rest so I pulled through and set hard tempo up the hill. About 3/4 of the way up I was ready for someone else to set pace, but I looked back and the whole field was 50 feet behind. They just let me ride away. I was caught on the downhill and sat in 'till lap 5.

Once again, I tried to hurt the field by setting hard tempo up the hill, and once again, they let me ride away.

So now it's the last lap and the field is swarming, setting up for the last climb. I had to move up, so I shot some gaps and got to about 20th at the bottom of the hill. I passed a bunch of people, but didn't have the legs to get more than 9th. But 9th earned me one point towards my Cat3 upgrade, only 19 more to go!

Well, my plan to rip legs didn't quite work. The hill wasn't long enough to create a sense of urgency when I rode away. I may have gassed myself a little too much on lap5, and I should have been closer to the front at the base of the last climb. I am pleased with my effort. I rode hard, and I raced, and have my one point, and I will get the rest!

Suday's race was at BMW. It was flat and windy, I got a great workout, the end.