What can I say but I moved back up to the senior ½ category and my first race was this past weekend in the great north. Bike the Bruce was the race and it was done on the long course. 32 fun kilometers of fun filled time with wind coming into our face going out and cross winds that kept on trying to blow us off the road. Wow. With the length of time I had before the race I should have got in a better warmup but I was freaking cold. It is May right? Well my coach because of the length of my race told me this weekend I didn’t need to get as long a warmup so well I kinda went with that notion but I still got on the trainer. Lining up at the start looking around thinking do I belong here again? Sue P and Leigh H was a couple of the ladies on the starting line both former Olympians. I was interested in how they race and work within the group.
The race started off fairly slow considering that we were suppose to do 3 laps of the 32k course. So the first lap was a good warm up for us all. After the first lap finding out how strong the wind was how slow we went into the wind on the way out the race promoters shortened our race to only 2 laps. So coming around through the finish line we were told that it was our bell lap. The pace of the race didn’t really change much until a rolling section of the road and then the attacks started. I was actually able to put in one attack myself, which I was kinda proud about. Almost came out the back end of the group then but still managed to stay in. After the attacks settled down for a little while we were going down division st going towards Wiarton and some how I got myself towards the front of the group again. I was taking cover beside Sue P on her inside cause the wind was coming from the left side. For once I figured out where the wind was coming from and was in the right position at least for a little bit. Sigrid Z and Sue P were paired off at the front of the group and I was just behind them. Sue P slide back and I somehow took her spot at the front of the group with Sigrid Z and then took over the front. Well I should have figure out for myself that this was a bad move on my behalf. I had spent too much time at the front of this race and at this point in the race I should have drag my butt off of the front period. The road started to rise up a little and then a left turn onto McNaughton which also rises up and well the gas got turned on within the group and I didn’t speed up and I lost the back end of the group. So after that point I had to buckle down and ride my hardest back and try and try some more to get back onto the group. Well that didn’t work this time. I could see them down the road but I could only go as fast as I could and it wasn’t fast enough. I rode my butt off back from Wiarton to Sauble Beach.
Like I have said before every race you learn something new and every race you learn something not to do the next time. At least I didn't get dqed like at last year's race.
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