March racing at Mason Lake

Race season has started again. March is already over, and while I have raced slightly less then normal, I have managed to squeeze in five road races and a TT so far.

It’s been a bit more of a juggle to be able train, and not to mention race this season for obvious reasons.
I’m not sure if it’s always been like this, but this year of all the races Kele and I could do, 1-2, master A, or women 1-2 and men cat3, have all been in the afternoon, requiring either a babysitter or some one of us not racing.
The racing it self has been a bit mixed… the weather has been better then most years, but the personal results have been largely missing. I try and not judge my success by results only, but it is sure nice if they come. I had some kind of stomach flue one week, and a lingering cold that could explain it a bit. Overall though I have been pretty strong.. but still not quite up where I’m used to.

My longest rides this year have all been races, so it’s no surprise I start to run out of that little bit extra that is required at the end of the longer races.
I have never been a great sprinter my any means, but at the end of a long hard road race I usually could do pretty well, either in a late break or in a sprint….

The two Mason Lake races I did where nice and dry, a bit cold maybe, but shouldn’t complain.
The team did ok, a few too many guys said they didn’t feel so good and were positioned way too far back to be of any use. It basically left three of us up front trying to get in moves and cover attacks. After jumping on the first attack by the new Killer-Robots team, I was is the first break of the season… but being as there was only two of us and we had barley ridden 4 miles, it wasn’t really going anywhere. Hitch Jumped on a bridging move that blew right by us… and that was that.. the break of the day.
Chad and Kyle got away with about 4miles to go…and it looked like it was going to work… they got caught within the 1k sign..
With about 2k to go, I’m on a good wheel, right on the centerline as a rider comes up on my left, trying to take my spot. I was a bit shocked honestly, I wasn’t about to give up the wheel, but what am I going to do, I don’t want to bump anybody across the centerline, and maybe into oncoming traffic…really… this is you plan…however not soon after that there was a surge on the right I got a different wheel going forward.
I tried to go for the sprint, an ambulance right before the last corner moved the pack across the center line, and I lost a lot of places as riders took the opportunity to move up on the left side. The sprint started early, and with about 100m to go I was really hurting. Finally crossed the line after being passed by a half dozen or so right at the end. I was a bit to far back coming around the corner, reacted a bit late, and usually I can make up ground in a long sprint, but not today. I didn’t have it…oh well I tried.



At Mason Lake the following week I had been sick a stomach bug and hadn’t eaten solid food for 3 days, until Friday morning. I was a bit weary of how long I would last, but at least my legs felt rested and I was down a few pounds.
I got in a small move halfway though the first lap, but I could tell I didn’t have the power to stay in this for another 60miles…so I’d have to plan this one careful…but I didn’t have to worry about it much since we were absorbed back in the bunch pretty fast.
Our team missed the main move of the day, but at least we spent a lot of time chasing, keeping it relatively close. Some other teams who has missed the move either helped out a bit, before they decided it was too much work just ½ lap later, or simply didn’t help at all. Ok, so maybe you thought you wouldn’t have anybody else left after chasing, and therefore was a bad idea. I was a bit annoyed, the same teams are all over us to chase when we miss the move and they are in it. You had at least 5-6 rides…couldn’t spare a few?.. good tactics or not, sometimes it’s just the right thing to do….
I actually backed out of the pack sprint for this one. With about 5miles to go I drifted back and tried to stay out of trouble. I figured that maybe I could get up there in a good position, but after being sick and chasing all day, I would probably look like an anchor in the sprint and cause more harm then good. I was surprisingly hard for me to do, I can probably could on one hand how many times I’ve intentionally done something like this, and I’m not sure why it stings so bad every time I “give up” before the line.