Topsfield 411

Such a full day it's been! Suffice to say that after racing at Topsfield, we found enough to do in the Boston area that we didn't get home until 9:00!
Topsfield was a blast. For me a test, because it's the first road race I've tried since 1995, in which my out-of-form sorry ass was summarily dropped by an elite field in Izmir Turkey... The road race prior to that: 1988 or 1989 Endless Mountain Road Race in Binghampton NY, where 2nd place was taken by none other than 16 year old George Hincapie. I've stuck to crits because of an aversion to long hills, and because I'm built for short fast bursts of speed. At any rate, I pre-registered for Topsfield not knowing what to expect, other than the "rolling hills" which were touted on the race flyer. To me, it's not a real hill unless you're in the little ring, and today's race featured no such climbing. Man was I relieved after lap number one. The rollers were really easy to get over, especially from the nose bleed section where I took shelter. I have to admit, I felt completely out of my element the first few laps. It felt like an over-sized Wompatuck, where the next bend is out of sight and you're cornering only because the dude in front of you is beginning to lean left or right.. The unpredictability of those first few laps kept me close to the back of the field. Once I became more comfortable with the twists and turns and descents, I moved up a bit, but never once did I contribute to the overall speed- I never took a turn at the front. For this I'm not proud, but hey I did what I had to do to survive the assault on my nerves. The last thing I wanted to do is waste energy and blow my wad and end up riding solo off the back... Whatever... in the end I achieved my goal of finishing the race, and I did it using more brains and less balls. Eleven laps and then an uphill finish up a side road.. With one lap to go, I gained some position going into the final corner. Was able to hold good speed taking the inside line, somewhere in the top 30... Then just as I'm getting out of the saddle to wind it up, someone decides to swing wide left without any regard for those about to blow past him (me). Completely took away my speed.. When he peeked and saw me (after the swerve) he yielded a bit to let me by and I gave it everything those last 50 or so meters, passing about 10 guys in the process. I thought I broke into the top 20, until I realized that four riders had already finished ahead of us, putting me in 23rd place, out of 67 finishers. I could have done better, there was lots of gas still left in the tank. Sitting in and sucking wheel all day, it comes as no surprise. I think that getting hooked like that in the sprint cost me at least ten places. I guess I'm happy with the way I fought and gained position in the end. What I regret is being so damn skittish and nervous for the first half of the race.
As for our speedsters Matthew Kressy and Michael Andelman:
Matt finished in the money with a 10th place (6th in the sprint)
Michael had a mechanical problem- a busted cable- and was forced to quit with about 5 or 6 laps to go.
Me- 23rd
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