Average speed 21.8, Max speed 39.1, Average cadence 92. The first lap was a fast one then the pace settled a little bit. As usual I didn't get comfortable until around lap number 5. The first 4 laps were painful and my body kept telling me to fake a cramp and pull out. I know myself well so I just keep fighting with my body until it just snaps into race mode. After lap 5 I started feeling good and was able to acelarate with no problems. There's no flat ground there, even the start finish is a false flat. The rest of the laps it was just the same with some guys trying to jump but were quickly chased down. We go by the start finish and the race promoter yell two laps to go, after we started going up the longest grade one rider jumps and gets a gap. I was boxed in in the middle of the pack and couldn't chase, nobody chased for that matter. We go around for what should have been the last lap, coming around the last turn another rider jumps and gets a gap, my friend Rick quickly jumps and I follow, we close the gap and now is just a matter of who's going to take 2,3, and 4 since we had a good gap on the pack. Rick and I outsprint the other rider for what should have been second and third and then we hear the bell lap. The promoter screwed up when he told us 2 laps to go when it was actually 3. I'm half wasted the pack quickly closes in swallows me and spat me off the back. I fought hard to stay with the pack and managed to move up to about a third back of the leaders, I'm thinking I still have a chance for a good sprint. All of the sudden one of the inexperienced riders in the group starts to take the turn at over 35 miles and hour goes too wide and bumps another rider on the hip which looses control of the bike, clamps on the brakes flies into the air with the bike flying higher than him and goes down right in front of me. I had to slow down or hit him while he was laying down on the tarmac and that was it, the pack accelarated I tried to chase but I used too much energy on the sprint that never was. Check the videos and you'll hear Rick yelling at the promoter about how many laps where left.
There where two accidents, the other one a rider took his eyes of the wheel in front of him and overlapped it, went down and took a couple more down with him.
Too many riders with very little racing experience tonight, all over the course overlapping wheels and making everybody nervous. I had to yell at two of them that almost took me down when they crossed from one side of the pack to the other. After the second time I told him that if he did it again I was going to taking him down myself. Never saw him in front of me again. Sometimes you have to be like that or risk going down and braking a bone or getting road rash.
By the way the rider that went down hard broke his collarbone. Too bad he rides for the University of Cincinnati cycling team.
Overall even with the sprint that never was I had a good workout. This is my last hard workout
before the Mohican mtb race.
Thanks to my daughter for taking the pictures and video, she'll do better next time now that she's done it once. Even the wife made it to the race tonight which was nice to see her there.
What is he smiling at?
The real finish
The sprint that never was.
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