SuiSun Crit: Out with a bang in with a whimper

After winning my last crit as a 3 I upgraded and this was going to be my first race as a 2. I knew coming into it guys were going really fast right now and I have been clutching onto what little form I have since January. After another crash 2 weeks ago and being on the TT bike for Esparto last weekend I really couldn't get over the sketchy feeling around corners. I wasn't very comfortable before the start. Most of the p/1/2 field was rolling on the course before the race since there was suppose to be a kids race but nobody signed up.

Rolling past the start/finish I hear "10 minutes to the start" so we keep rolling. A couple more times through and I know it must be getting close so I'll stop on the next lap cause I want to start at the front.
As I round the last corner I see a wall of riders in front of me. Starting dead last.

Goals for the race:
Don't get dropped
don't crash
Don't get dropped
Oh and Don't get dropped

The race starts and it is strung out from the whistle and it hurts already. 72 laps to go. Don't get dropped. don't get dropped. I accept my fate as a tail-gunner for now since I am really uncomfortable and don't want to advance on the straights just to slow riders in the corners. Observations: The poor riding doesn't stop in the 3's its just faster in the 1/2. Biggest change isn't the speed but the duration that they maintain the speed. It wasn't much faster that the fastest times in a 3 race but instead of it being ballistic for a lap or two it was on for 71 of the 72 laps. I saw some stupid stuff that just defies logic. Also, you hear a lot of "hold your line","on you right","slowing" etc in a 3 race and none of that in the 1/2. You do hear and extreme amount of F-Bombs though

Well, the rest of the report is about the same. I just suffered greatly and finished with one of the most rewarding pack finishes I've had. I know I would have spent much less energy in the thick of the pack or off the front pushing for a break

Esparto TT

Well, after crashing last weekend and getting swamped with work I came into the TT with a whole 4 hours of riding this week and none of it on the TT bike. Great way to build up for my first 1/2 event, huh? I was relying on suffer memory. Just head down and push till its over. The course was 18 miles of flat to rolling with some wind and rough pavement. It was a small field so I knew it would be a top 15 finish so long as I didn't flat. I also knew Eric Wholberg from Symetrics was signed up so the winner was decided. Given my current state of fitness and sore backside I set a number of about 320w as a target. I went out to hard(like always) but was suffering along and keeping my minute man at around 40 seconds. I hit the turn around and was destroyed. Suffer home for 7th. If I was on good form like at districts I'm pretty sure I would have gotten 3rd or 4th.

Racing under the lights. So outclassed

So I was planning my races for the rest of the season and saw the invite only San Fransisco Twilight crit is also letting 1/2 riders apply for a spot. I contacted out Elite team leader and he knows the promoter and will reserve me a spot. Oh yeah, 100+ of the fastest guys in the country on a tight course in the dark. Good Times. This is the second to last round of the USA Crits series with the final being next month at Interbike which I'll be racing the 2/3 crit and the Industry Cup race thanks to the fine, fine guys at Fair Wheel Bikes in Arizona.

Hippster

No, I'm not getting a fixed gear with a pad, doning some chick jeans and chopping down some flat bars. I mean the other kind of hippster. Yet another crash. It really is becoming comical at this point. Every time I have a desent string of results or form its met with another make-out session between the tarmac and I. In a race? Someone else crashed? Hell no. I crashed on a freakin Saturday training ride hitting a tiny patch of water in a roundabout. The resulting bellyflop took out the three guys behind me. Fortunatly they are seasoned racer and understand that this shit just happens but didn't make me feel any better about the situation.

I'm really getting tired of changing bandages and peeling VAC off this year.

Carson Valley Classic crit.

Downtown Minden, NV with perfect tarmac, wide course and not tech at all. I figured it was going to stay together and be a bunch sprint(which I hate) but fortune smiled upon me and the wind started blowing just before the start. About 20 minutes in to the 45 minute race a couple attacks had gone and no one really chased but they all came back. The pace was brisk but not super hard when Heath attacked and opened a little gap. I knew he has been riding strong after yesterday so I bridged up to him. I had another friend in the pack and he said as soon as I went the chase was instant. I got a gap and the pack started to close holding about 10-15 seconds. Heath didn't want to waste anymore energy and went back. I continued on solo while they chased. Stayed away for the remaining 25 minute solo and crossed the line about a minute up. It hurt but very satisfying after all the effort.

Diamond valley RR

Since it was the masters district championship my only option was the non-championship 3/4/5 category. Course was a 11 mile loop with one long downhill, one short steep climb(8-9%), one slightly longer shallower climb(5-6%) and gradual uphill to the line. Tons of wind and the climbs made it a tough race despite the short distance(44 miles). The first descent was the most scarred I have been in a bike race in a long time. People were seriously sketchy. The group broke up after the first climb and at the end of the first lap Greg Remaly(pro-tri guy super freak) broke away in the feed zone taking one passenger never to be seen again. I tried a couple bridge attempts but they were to little to late. I ended up stuck on the front at 8mph and nobody would come around me. I waited as long as I could but knew I couldn't hold off the group sprinting from the front uphill and into a headwind. 7th on the day

Getting it over with. leesville/vacaville

Ok I have avoided it long enough and my rage and distain for leesville has subsided enough to briefly report.

Leesville RR:
Last year I swore never to return to Leesville. The road surface is so bad it makes copperopolis look like fresh tarmac. You actually look forward to the gravel sections cause they are smoother than the patched bone rattling surface the California DOT calls asphalt. Last year I flatted on the first major climb and chased for 50 miles of suck. Fast forward one year and just long enough to convince myself that I was blowing it out of proportion and "It couldn't have been that bad, could it?" Yes it was, Yes it is, Yes it will be. This year I flatted just before the climb and chased for 55 miles. FUCK THIS RACE. I'M NEVER GOING BACK!

Vacaville crit:
Nice course, downtown vacaville with some twisty corners and a fair sized hill. The laps were long due to the course so we were slatted for 16 total. With 6 to go I got in a break with a strong Davis kid(chris stazny) and we were working well together. Both of us were in the chase yesterday at leesville so not really fresh but were holding solid. So ass from fusion and another guy(neither of which had a teammate in the sprint) decided to blow everything pulling the pack back up to us and we got caught with 1/2 a lap to go. I still say it's better to try and fail then sit and wait.