Why did I forego racing the two USAC crits this weekend? The first 'big' races of the ICA Cup? Lots of reasons but mainly because I have no desire to race a bike on a course designed for auto racing. That would mean it's just like a big track race, untechnical and probably pretty boring. Couple that with small, unanimated women's fields, tasty headwinds and the high probability of negative racing, I opted instead to do the third and final Kenosha Velosport Crit with the masters men. Good choice.
Weather was typical for late March in Wisco - chilly, windy, mostly cloudy with the sun trying really hard to poke through. I was again held out of the 50+ masters race (until such time that the rule is changed) while Mike, Ziggy, Victor and Richard raced. Mike was off the front early and ended up lapping the field and winning by a ton. Not sure of final places for the other guys - I believe Richard took the 55+ sprint - nicely done, boys!
I was feeling good in warm up and we had a large contingent representing for PACT/DishNetwork in the 40+ masters race - me, Dan, Mark, Mike, Victor, Richard and I think maybe Ziggy did the 40+ as well. I'm not certain how many starters there were on the line - maybe 20? Fabio and Brent Emery were on the line as well - very strong guys that need to be watched. Things rolled off nicely enough but nothing was very animated so I threw out a couple of weak little attacks to see if anyone would bite. After about the third or fourth hit, we had a break of maybe 8 guys with me, Dan, Mike, Richard, Mark and a couple others including Fabio and Brent. I again hit it (though not really hard) and found myself with Dan, dangling precariously off the front.
We worked together for a bit and were joined by Fabio and apparently another rider from the original break - and it seemed to be sticking so we continued to rotate and keep a safe distance. I'm sure that Mike, Mark and Richard were helping us back there, controlling stuff. At some point we lost our hanger-on and were about to lap the field. There was a decision to be made - do we stay behind or attempt to pass? My feeling was that I didn't want to be caught from behind so with 3 to go, we opted to go around the field. I really wasn't in a position to sprint against the likes of Fabio and Dan - I pretty much let them go to fight it out between themselves and rolled in a bit behind, taking 3rd. Mark ended up 4th and Mike 5th - a really strong showing for the Dish today!
It was great to race with the guys today and hang out a little while post-race, eating brownies and drinking some kind of cherry-flavored alcoholic concoction that Victor surely ferments/distills in his bathtub. For the record, not a good idea for me to be drinking any kind of alcohol after a race.
I started reading 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand and am loving it - again, amazing stuff. The best way I can describe it is that it's as if every sentence is 'crafted' and the entire book is intricately 'connected.' Maybe you have to read it to understand.
Not sure what's up next - I have to take a look at the schedule. Maybe a time trial? Dunno - we'll see! Right now I'm feeling pretty good and the plan is to continue to train hard, rest and get stronger as we get into the race season proper. If any pictures surface from today, I'll be sure to post them.
Weather was typical for late March in Wisco - chilly, windy, mostly cloudy with the sun trying really hard to poke through. I was again held out of the 50+ masters race (until such time that the rule is changed) while Mike, Ziggy, Victor and Richard raced. Mike was off the front early and ended up lapping the field and winning by a ton. Not sure of final places for the other guys - I believe Richard took the 55+ sprint - nicely done, boys!
I was feeling good in warm up and we had a large contingent representing for PACT/DishNetwork in the 40+ masters race - me, Dan, Mark, Mike, Victor, Richard and I think maybe Ziggy did the 40+ as well. I'm not certain how many starters there were on the line - maybe 20? Fabio and Brent Emery were on the line as well - very strong guys that need to be watched. Things rolled off nicely enough but nothing was very animated so I threw out a couple of weak little attacks to see if anyone would bite. After about the third or fourth hit, we had a break of maybe 8 guys with me, Dan, Mike, Richard, Mark and a couple others including Fabio and Brent. I again hit it (though not really hard) and found myself with Dan, dangling precariously off the front.
We worked together for a bit and were joined by Fabio and apparently another rider from the original break - and it seemed to be sticking so we continued to rotate and keep a safe distance. I'm sure that Mike, Mark and Richard were helping us back there, controlling stuff. At some point we lost our hanger-on and were about to lap the field. There was a decision to be made - do we stay behind or attempt to pass? My feeling was that I didn't want to be caught from behind so with 3 to go, we opted to go around the field. I really wasn't in a position to sprint against the likes of Fabio and Dan - I pretty much let them go to fight it out between themselves and rolled in a bit behind, taking 3rd. Mark ended up 4th and Mike 5th - a really strong showing for the Dish today!
It was great to race with the guys today and hang out a little while post-race, eating brownies and drinking some kind of cherry-flavored alcoholic concoction that Victor surely ferments/distills in his bathtub. For the record, not a good idea for me to be drinking any kind of alcohol after a race.
I started reading 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand and am loving it - again, amazing stuff. The best way I can describe it is that it's as if every sentence is 'crafted' and the entire book is intricately 'connected.' Maybe you have to read it to understand.
Not sure what's up next - I have to take a look at the schedule. Maybe a time trial? Dunno - we'll see! Right now I'm feeling pretty good and the plan is to continue to train hard, rest and get stronger as we get into the race season proper. If any pictures surface from today, I'll be sure to post them.
