More race reports...

Since I'm a category 4 road racer now, I don't need to keep track of my races. The only way to upgrade from category 4 to category 3 is by winning races and getting points. Not so easy.

Anyway I thought I'd post these reports for posterity. I raced the Bear Mtn. road race on 5/13. The first climb is a 10-15 minute hill. My result was 31 minutes behind the winner, 65th of 95 starters. I finished but got dropped from the lead group towards the end of the first climb. Ughh.

Before that gloriously miserable experience, I did two races at Floyd Bennett Field. In my first race at FBF as cat4, I pushed myself too hard and got a cramp on the 7th lap. In the next race I landed a flat tire immediately after the start. So I was getting my ass kicked for 3 weeks in a row. Ouch!

So I decided to edit my goals. For the Floyd Bennett Field races my original goal was to place in the top 10. My new goal is to finish the race. A week ago I raced with this goal in mind, and satisfactorily achieved success! It wasn't easy, but I got there. Last night I decided to keep the same goal, and I finished strongly, a little better than the week before.

It is a lot of fun racing. More fun than just about anything else worth doing. I'm learning just how deep I can reach inside, hunker down and ride fast even when it hurts. Although I don't know if I'll have a chance of winning a race in this category, I can see the opportunity coming closer.

Weekly midweek race report

I raced all weekend (two days) at Kissena velodrome's "opening weekend". Placed 4th overall in my category. Niki took third, I was happy to see him get a medal especially since his parents were there to support him on Sunday! Overall it was a fun time: the chariot race and the match sprint were my favorite events. Simple, short, and incredibly focused.

Andrew L. took photos on Sunday and posted them on his web site. I am the one wearing the blue/white helmet and Kissena jersey.





On Tuesday I raced again at Floyd Bennett Field. It was a combined 3/4 race. Mike Berk kept the pace high from the beginning by pulling the entire first lap. Sometime around the second or third lap, Mike and two others managed a breakaway. They were brought back, then got away again. The pace was very fast, hitting between 32/33mph on the flat. I did a lot of pulling to bring them back the first time, then after they got away the second time I got a leg cramp. It was in the 7th lap and I had to retire. This might be a fit issue or a sodium issue, since it did not feel like maximum exertion.