CAT 3-4 race
The boys in the BAND ( Team Expo - Superior Energy / Manchester cycle)
This was my third week racing the Bethel Crit series and for my first time ever I was racing the CAT 3-4 class. This is no big deal for all the guys who do this race but for me I was a bit nervous to say the least. I had never intended on doing this race content with the Masters 45+ class with some safer older guys and me a relative new racer. I started racing in the fall of 2008 with two races and maybe 20 -25 races last year mostly training crits. I have more fun doing these races and will continue to focus on what’s fun for me. After reading one of my teammates ( SOC’s ) Blog last week - living the race as I read I decided I was going to join teammates supporting team Expo in the CAT 3-4 race.
To all the riders in this race it was no big deal they have all done this before so I line up near the front and off we go. The pace was not blistering as I assumed it was going to be and I ended up on the right side maybe ½ way into a pack of 60 ish guys & a few gals. I moved around a bit and then got on the right side for a few laps I was feeling good I only did 50 easy miles sat vs. the 70 harder miles I did the week before so in my square head I was going to be ok. One other thing I didn’t know about or plan for was this race was 30 laps vs. the 23 I had been doing. So those extra laps had me a bit concerned during the early part of the race.
When the group would slow up on the hill I would just ease off save my legs and keep rolling along testing what I was made of. Once during the race I ended up way up front and not wanting to take any hard pulls or needing to do any help at that time I eased back to the middle of the pack.
I was having a lot of fun my nervousness was way down, and I started thinking ok where is my teammate Aki. I moved up a few times so I could ride near him and pretend I was a real racer helping out my teammate like we watch on TV during the Tour de France. I was having the time of my life (OLD FART racing with a bunch of young guys) and I was still staying with the bunch and not my normal self…. You know off the back !!!
I need to find the WEB site for the photographer guy on the scooter as I think he got some pic’s of me when I was on the outside for quite a few laps.
OK back to the race – the race went along and I was feeling real good, I guess my training so far this winter + into race season is working this year. Several more laps then were getting to the point where the 45+ race ends 23 laps and I still have legs Cool. This is getting even better and it’s not a total suffer fest ( YET ) . A few more laps and I’m getting a bit tired then the pace ramps way up and I’m hanging on by a thread for a lap or so. As we go up the hill one more time I hear the bell ringing ( this tells us one lap to go). Wow that’s it last lap I look back to see how far from the end of the group I have slipped to and I am the end of the group. Damm and my legs are TOAST – Gotta keep with the group only one more lap. Well after the race talking with Jeff M from the ( IRS Medic team), I found out why all of a sudden I was not able to hang on. Jeff said the guys up front were drilling it hard and I popped . I still had ½ a LAP to go but the GAS tank was DRY. I was still very happy I raced with 7 team mates, I did my TINY part to help mostly just showing up , but it was a great day and I will race this class 4/11 & 4/18 the last two races in the series for sure.
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