It's a Team Thing
Vet's Park is a really fun place for a cx race. It is in Ann Arbor, one of my favorite towns, and it has some interesting elevation changes. And as a bonus - no sand pits!
The plan for the weekend was to race Elite on Saturday and then see how I felt on Sunday to determine whether I raced Elite again or Masters. I went through the registration process and here is my number:
The same number that my team mate Ron drew down in Louisville! We definitely have a good team vibe going this year! If everyone were healthy, it would be even more fun.
I warmed up and thought the course was going to be fun. At the line it was the largest field since Davisburg, I think. At least it felt like a big field. Given my past performances, I was not expecting a whole lot, but I had certain people that I felt I should be able to handle. The first lap was it's usual fire fight - I'm just not that fast. As the race settled in, I figured out who my competition was and began to work on them. At the end of the day I ended up 14th out of 23 starters and was reasonably satisfied with my effort. I seem to do well on the runups, managing to pass people along the way. I had one very near disaster with about 3 laps to go - I heard one of my spikes catch the top of the first barrier on the run up. I managed to keep my balance and get through, providing some near entertainment for the crowd on the hill.
Sunday dawned a bit cooler than Saturday and I was feeling my age, so I opted for the Masters race. It would also provide for some more family time later in the day. This was a small field, I think 7 or 8 in the 45+ crowd and a nice women's field, 10-12 I think. The 35's had a group of around 15-18 and they were starting a minute ahead of us, so there was potential for traffic along the way. The Flying Rhinos were there in force, they had 3 in our group. The start was pretty exciting with me ending up 2nd wheel at the first turn. At the first fast section, I was trying to pass Joe Brown of the Rhinos and we nearly tangled up, fortunately we both can handle our bikes fairly well and nothing bad happened. It set the tone for what was to come. Keith Rigge attacked on the first lap and gapped Joe, Mark and I by a few seconds. I was concerned that I was going to get hammered by the Rhino boys if the chase was on, but decided to let them do the work for a while. On the second lap, i attacked on the run up and that was the end of that. I was in chase mode from there on out. I used the 35's when I could and slowly closed the gap on Keith. Catching him with 2 to go. I rode his wheel while I recovered and then attacked on the run up. Again, that was all I needed to drop him. Using the 35's even more on the last lap and a half. Along the way, I managed to bloody up my right knee without ever going down, some of the passing was a bit tight to say the least.
It was a fun weekend and I felt good about my efforts. When is the real cx weather going to get here?
The plan for the weekend was to race Elite on Saturday and then see how I felt on Sunday to determine whether I raced Elite again or Masters. I went through the registration process and here is my number:
The same number that my team mate Ron drew down in Louisville! We definitely have a good team vibe going this year! If everyone were healthy, it would be even more fun.
I warmed up and thought the course was going to be fun. At the line it was the largest field since Davisburg, I think. At least it felt like a big field. Given my past performances, I was not expecting a whole lot, but I had certain people that I felt I should be able to handle. The first lap was it's usual fire fight - I'm just not that fast. As the race settled in, I figured out who my competition was and began to work on them. At the end of the day I ended up 14th out of 23 starters and was reasonably satisfied with my effort. I seem to do well on the runups, managing to pass people along the way. I had one very near disaster with about 3 laps to go - I heard one of my spikes catch the top of the first barrier on the run up. I managed to keep my balance and get through, providing some near entertainment for the crowd on the hill.
Sunday dawned a bit cooler than Saturday and I was feeling my age, so I opted for the Masters race. It would also provide for some more family time later in the day. This was a small field, I think 7 or 8 in the 45+ crowd and a nice women's field, 10-12 I think. The 35's had a group of around 15-18 and they were starting a minute ahead of us, so there was potential for traffic along the way. The Flying Rhinos were there in force, they had 3 in our group. The start was pretty exciting with me ending up 2nd wheel at the first turn. At the first fast section, I was trying to pass Joe Brown of the Rhinos and we nearly tangled up, fortunately we both can handle our bikes fairly well and nothing bad happened. It set the tone for what was to come. Keith Rigge attacked on the first lap and gapped Joe, Mark and I by a few seconds. I was concerned that I was going to get hammered by the Rhino boys if the chase was on, but decided to let them do the work for a while. On the second lap, i attacked on the run up and that was the end of that. I was in chase mode from there on out. I used the 35's when I could and slowly closed the gap on Keith. Catching him with 2 to go. I rode his wheel while I recovered and then attacked on the run up. Again, that was all I needed to drop him. Using the 35's even more on the last lap and a half. Along the way, I managed to bloody up my right knee without ever going down, some of the passing was a bit tight to say the least.
It was a fun weekend and I felt good about my efforts. When is the real cx weather going to get here?
posted by ask at
9:28 AM
2 Comments:
Hah, I was just wondering the same thing on my blog. I need crappy conditions to take my mind off of how crappy I feel :-)
By
Danielle Musto, At
7:39 PM
Good job this weekend. I opted to ride closer to home on sunday as well and put in a good 2 1/2 hrs with my buddy Joe. We started at PLRA then took the back roads to Higland rec where we rode the A loop before heading back to Pontiac. It wasn't the same as racing but it was definately a good change of pace (although I hate Highland). CYA at Waterford Hills. TC
By
sworksredace, At
8:14 PM
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