My first category 3/4 race

Sunday 3/25 was my birthday and my first race of the season. It was my first race as a newly minted category 4 rider and more than twice as long as any of my previous races. 34 miles of racing (instead of a measly 14 miles). The racing didn't even start until the 4th lap.

It was a lot of fun since my only goal for the race was to gauge my abilities and not get dropped. I sat in the front 1/2 most of the race.

I put in a strong effort at together with 5-10 strong men up grand-army hill (in lap 6?) and the pack strung out quite a bit - but when I blew up I got gobbled by the pack. I think we were going over 20mph up the hill.

I recovered mid-pack, and felt fine by the time we approached 15th street. It was very windy there and the smart thing to do was ride on the right-hand-side and to avoid the strong cross wind.

It was easy to spot the winning break... 4 strong riders who sat in and never attacked until they were ready to go all in. By the time they passed the guys riding on the front they must have been going quite a bit faster, and the element of surprise combined with speed made it impossible for anybody riding on the front to catch them.

I ran out of liquids and started to feel a little crampy. Next time I should make sure to hydrate the night before. Also my hands got numb. Not a bad start... Battenkill is in two weeks.