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As promised:
Adam S and I did the 35+ race at Sterling today. I was not expecting to be put into this much difficulty, but the 2nd time up the climb I knew I had NO game. My engine runs very hot and when I reach a certain point the only thing that will help me is to back off and cool my jets. I was disappointed but not surprised- I'm in the thick of my training- fatigue is high and I'm in a weakened state. I do not taper or try to peak for road races, but it was apparent pretty early that lots of guys were there to rip legs off, not to add to a block of training. Our race was 6 laps. After getting popped at the beginning of lap three, I just put my head down and went to work, trying to meter my effort so that I can last four more laps. I caught and passed a lot of others who were dropped. A few tried to get in a rotation with me, but I was not in the mood for a collaborative effort and I rode away from them all. Kept catching guys here and there and just leaving them behind.. I was about 1/2 way through Lap 6 when the 45 field caught up to me. I took a place at the back of the field, and still, people thought it necessary to tell me not to "be in the way" at the end. I had a LOT of choice words for their poor choice of adding insult to injury. They were at the back of the race telling me to go to the back so that I would not impede their shot at 50th place? Wtf.. Try time trialing this course by yourself for 3-1/2 laps before dishing out unsolicited advice.
Anyway, I was in the 45 group for all of 5 minutes when a bad crash happened right in the gutter. I swerved carefully to avoid, I'm sure a lot of guys were shelled at this point because I was close to the back but lots of guys behind me.. Many handfuls of brakes were squeezed. We turned on to the final state road leading to the finish and I chatted with Marro a bit just as we approached the final turn, where I backed off and let these guys kill each other for 2nd (Tom Francis passed me solo on this stretch on my 5th lap) I crossed the line and made sure to let the crew know that a 35 rider was finishing. Nothing burns me more than going full gas by myself to complete a race, only to be omitted from results. So that's my story. I hope Adam had a better time. As predicted, this turned out to be an expensive training day- hopefully it pays some dividends in a month or so. At least I got some good tan lines.. These abdominal cramps and intestinal distress I've been having for the past hour are proof that I raced hard and didn't dilly-dally. Now.. If only I could have deposited three huge eliminations BEFORE the race started! Wow. Don't brag to me about making islands, these were friggin Continents.
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