Golden State Crits and Circuit

I'm not particularly good at crits, but I've decided I like them anyway and would like to figure them out.  This past weekend was the Golden State Series, a local and enjoyable couple of days of racing.  Saturday I was able to do the 30+ 4/5 as well as elite 4 category.

The 30+ race was fun.  I stayed near the front and was able to snag a wine prime.  For the uninitiated this is a lap of the race where they call out that the first person across the line wins some wine.  It's not the final lap, but is meant to encourage speed and entertainment.  I was able to attack on the back side and catch a solo rider before the line, so Juliette finally got something out of my racing ;)  I didn't end up figuring out the final lap however and ended up 13th.

I'm not actually at the back in this picture.  Perhaps people don't like riding behind me.
You guys can be honest, am I squirrelly?

The 4's race was fast and fun as well.  I was already pretty beat from the earlier race so I decided to ride at the front and get into every possible break.  A junior from Bicycles Plus and I stayed away for about a lap and then I attacked him before getting caught which allowed a few other guys to bridge to me.  Sadly, no one wanted to work.  With 3 laps to go I was pretty drained and ended up mid-pack, but low and behold I was not a total loser.  Turns out they had a "most aggressive racer" award and I found my niche.  A second bottle of wine and a hat.

Please also note in the above picture my stealthy Odell crabon tubies.  I been "running" these since Chico but needed to give a shout-out.  I'm not sure who I'm actually advertising to since the only people who read this blog are Odell, Malm (who has a pair of Odells) and my wife who doesn't ride.  Marc, that leaves you.  Consider me a high pressure salesman.

Sunday was the circuit and I decided to leave my aggressive ways behind me.  Didn't turn out as well for me, but Brasel more than made up for it with some aggressive photography.

Wente Vineyards

This was not my day.

If you look closely I think you can see me way back there, losing ground to this guy on the climb.

The above picture summarizes well how my legs felt going into this race.  I had plenty of rest due to travel, and perhaps it was too much rest.  Nonetheless it was a beautiful day and I love this race so I was determined to enjoy myself.  I was already off to a better start than the guy whose tire blew within seconds of the official blowing the whistle.  I also gave one of my stupid little attacks about a half mile from the first climb.  The first and second time up the climb were uneventful for me, and I was kind of disappointed that everything seemed to be staying together.  A theme for me this year in road races has been selections.  Since I'm too stupid to actually race my bike, I prefer these wind swept or climby races to do my thinking for me.  A selection finally came on the 3rd time up the climb and I wasn't in it.  There appeared to be two splits and I was able to catch what ended up being the third during the descent.  We had about 7 guys working together but I quickly discovered I was unable to pull through. I was toast.  The guys were cordial enough about my wheel sucking and I explained that I would not be coming around them on the last part if they were willing to let me sit in.  They obliged and we took the finishing climb slower than I thought possible.  I felt like I was doing one of those fixie bike who can go slowest races.  I can't complain though, because I probably wouldn't have made it without the tow.

My next hilly adventure will be Pescadero in late June.

Chico Stage Race

This race report is a little late so I'll probably remember things even less accurately than usual.

Day 1 was the Paskenta Road Race course, a 45 mile loop, mostly flat with some rollers and a 4 mile stretch of gravel.  Right from the gun two guys attacked off the front and the field wasn't entirely eager to chase them back.  A little more than halfway through the course Brasel went on the attack and had a few guys with him.  I dutifully followed wheels and contributed nothing and over the course of a couple miles this shattered the field.  Once I was satisfied I threw in and made it to the lead group, making it 7 guys chasing the original 2 off the front.  We caught to 2 leaders and only one could hang on with us and this was the selection before the gravel.  I figured I was safe and sat at the back through this, but that turned out to be a mistake because even with a small group I was swerving and braking too much and lost contact.  Brasel started his sprint a little early but snagged 7th and I was not caught by the group behind, so I held onto 8th.  All in all, not a bad day.

Day 2 was a downtown crit in Chico and it was fun.  The plan was for Brasel to lead me to the front with 2 laps to go, but as it turned out Brasel had some early umph and I sat up at just the right time for him to get into a small breakaway.  Just about every team was represented and Schuyler was doing some great blocking for Rio Strada.  At some point 3 of the 6 break mates fell off and were swallowed up but Brasel was committed and ended up taking 2nd and gaining some time in GC, IN A CRIT!  Pretty sweet.

Not much to say about the Time Trial except that I appear to be sucking a little less at this.  I definitely felt the pain of not having the right geometry, since I basically threw bars on and wore a TT helmet.  Brasel had a phenomenal TT, but unfortunately so did 2 other guys.  He ended up 2nd overall on GC and I held on for 10th.  Pretty fun weekend.

Here's a pic of Brasel crushing it.

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And here's a pic showing how much draft I get off of Brasel :)

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