Crosswinds Classic

I am pleased to report that I placed second in my first road race. Arkansas Outside covered the event and I snatched their pic for my featured image. That’s me in the front on the right. As far as the race went, I made the mistake of pulling at the front too much. I got sucked back into the group on the last lap but managed to find a line in the final sprint that put me in the top ten overall and second for my age and division (Cat 5, 40+).

It was a big field, 51 riders in all. The pack was rowdy. Riders were bumping shoulders and handlebars in that final lap. I heard about one guy grabbing an opponent’s handlebars to get him to stop fucking with him. At one point I got nudged into another rider who then almost got pushed across the yellow line. There was no traffic approaching but still, not cool.

I think if I had finished 20th I still would have been pumped about the race. It felt like a rite of passage. I’ve been wondering about racing for about a year. Could I hang? Are my bike handling skills up to par? Would I crash? And though I finished well, I also realized what I need to work on. My cornering was fine but needs practice. And strategy. Man. I put myself out there at the front and the pack let me work. When the race started a pace line formed with about four guys. I jumped in. After a couple of rotations the guy behind me quit rotating and just sat in. I was pushing through the line so I screwed myself on that one. Dude was smart by letting me wear myself out in the wind. Next race I’ll be a little more cool when I get to the front.

Other things I noticed – a guy near me attacked when a rider in front of me reached for a goo. Niiiice. It was so subtle. The moment this guy reached for his back pocket this other guy attacked. Man. You can’t let your guard down for a second. Also, there was a section of the course that went over a strip of gravel left over from some recent road work. This was another point where a guy attacked. Everyone was pointing out the hazard and this guy attacks. Sneaky. He got reeled back in but it was clever.

All in all it was a great ride. I enjoyed the excitement and the speed. I’m looking forward to my next one.