Sunday, April 26, 2009

Points!


Today I finished 6th in the Cat 1 40-49 at The WT Fat tire Classic.. That's in the points baby!
That was my short term goal; top ten. Points!

Start was fast and dusty...and HOT!
Pre-riding yesterday I knew the heat was going to be a factor, so I really tried to ride my own race.

After almost crashing on the first big drop, being splayed out spread eagle on my top tube, my adrenalin was spiking and I was going a little harder than I planned trying to gain back the spots I had lost.
I passed Kerry R. and he stuck to my wheel like glue for a lap. Earlier in the week he joked that the only one he was concerned about beating was me, and it seemed his plan was to ride my wheel for 4 laps and beat me in the final sprint. I finally got a gap and it stuck. I believe he DNF'd, but I don't know if it was a mechanical, or the heat.

Speaking of DNF's about 1/4 of the field dropped out. One guy who wouldn't give up was the guy who finished 5th. He had 4 mechanicals, and still beat me by a minute! Good on him.

After I lost Kerry, I really kept the effort in check. I was going for it, but felt if I tried to go any harder, the forth lap might be ugly.

The fast guy with the mechanicals (I'll look up his name when they post the results) rode behind me for most of the third lap. He made a pass on the flats but couldn't make it stick, I passed him back on a hill. He held my wheel until about where I first passed him fixing his tire, he said "I think that guy is in my class" referring to the guy we had caught, so I informed him I was in his class, "But you're on a singlespeed; you have your own class". I replied "can't let you guys have all the fun" to which he put the hammer down, and dropped me. I caught him at his next mechanical, only to get caught by him again. One more mechanical for him and I would have a
podium!

Another bonus for me was Kim, Lillian, and Quinn came out. Lillian found babies, Quinn found dirt, and Kim earned her wings by handing me a fresh bottle on the second lap. They all seamed to have a good time, and Lillian is hoping to do the kids race at Winsted Woods.

Looking at the results, I would have won the Cat 1 singlespeed by about 5 minutes. That makes me even more satisfied with my result, and more excited about the class I've chosen to race.

Next stop, podium!

2 comments:

James said...

Nice job! It's a good feeling to know you would be a sandbagger in the cat 1 ss class. And a good feeling to beat guys with gears even on the Farmington course!
Cool pic too!

CB2 said...

Just think if you raced the Cat 1 SS, you'd win by 9 minutes!
Brian Plouffe took that shot, he raced the Cat 2 40-49 on a ss. I think I'm going to hire him as my personal photographer;-)