CX Race #3

Good times for this race. First, it was my first chance to test out the tubulars (which I finished off with a coat of Aquaseal, oh, the nigh before the race, with P's help). Second, it was an opportunity to change my racing strategy a bit, and see if I could improve on my results by racing smarter.

The tires were great. Well, once I got enough air in them, they were great... my first little spin involved about 25psi, which felt, in the parking lot, a bit soft to me. But, I was told to just see how they felt, so away I went, checking out the course! As it turned out, it was a bit on the low side. The tires were folding over on every little bump, making the back end fishtail all over the place. Sketchy! A bit more air, and the tires were much better to ride. Excellent traction, very supple, very, very, very nice to ride!

The race itself was also great. My plan was to stick with a couple of women who are known to be strong, steady riders, and to try and push the pace a bit more later in the race. The front group stayed together a bit longer at this race, and by lap 3, I was in contact with the race leader, and not as far into the red as I have been in previous races. I was really focusing on moderating my efforts, rather than going hard & blowing too early. On lap 4, I pulled through to lead for a bit, but was feeling pretty weak, so Anne passed me and started to get a gap. We already had a small gap on the rest of the field, so I shifted my focus to keeping the effort up, choosing good lines, and riding as smoothly as possible in the technical sections. At one point, I came through the finish, and the lap counter said "5 to go". Frig - I didn't think I could handle another 5 laps! Luckily, they revised it before I came through again, by the next lap, there were only 2 left!!

I finished in 2nd, and was really happy with my race. I was also really happy to win beer! Gauging it against some of my season goals, I was successful in two - I finished only 44 seconds back from Anne, which is well within my 10%, and my lap times ranged from 7:10 to 7:27, which definitely qualified as consistent!

Up next: a double race weekend on the books!