Monday, July 21, 2003
Watsonville Crit
Race: Watsonville Criterium
Date: July 19, 2003
Category: Sr. 5 (17 laps)
Temp: 80 (I trust Bob on this one)
Teammates: Ralph Hipps
Field: 23
Place: 11th
Well, this was my first race. I went into it with only a few modest goals:
1a. Don't go down
1b. Don't take anyone else down
2. Hang onto the pack
Bob and Howie gave me some advice before the race-- stay near the front. So, what did I do? I hung onto the *back* the whole race, which meant I was constantly going around guys who were dropping off, but when you can't hold a wheel, what else can you do? Guess that will be a goal for the next race.
Anyway, after the Tuesday night crits, I was not surprised by the pace. However, with all the turns I didn't see many opportunities to move up. But with two laps to go, I decided to give it a shot, and went from back to front on the hill up to the finish line. I led the pack around for half a lap, then pulled off the front, hoping to stay near the front when the big guys made their move. But, that didn't work out, as I couldn't hold on to the front and guys kept coming around me, especially on the hill with one lap to go. Coming down to the one 135-degree left hand bend Bob mentioned, I took it poorly and went way wide, into the gutter, and had to brake hard to stay on the course. (Maybe it was due to the extra speed of the last lap, because I made it around OK the other 16 times.)
So, with about 1/4 mile to go I put my head down and tried to catch back to the pack, but once they started their move, they were gone. I finished at the pack of the main pack, in 11th.
My overall feeling was that it was definitely a tough race, and the corners were kinda sketchy because they had some loose pavement and drainage channels in them. My avg heart rate was only a few bpm below my lthr, so I know I've got a ways to go. I had planned to take all the corners without braking, but being as far to the back as I was, I was victim of whatever was going on ahead of me. Lots of braking and chasing. Oh well, not too bad for a first race. I accomplished my goals, anyway.
Date: July 19, 2003
Category: Sr. 5 (17 laps)
Temp: 80 (I trust Bob on this one)
Teammates: Ralph Hipps
Field: 23
Place: 11th
Well, this was my first race. I went into it with only a few modest goals:
1a. Don't go down
1b. Don't take anyone else down
2. Hang onto the pack
Bob and Howie gave me some advice before the race-- stay near the front. So, what did I do? I hung onto the *back* the whole race, which meant I was constantly going around guys who were dropping off, but when you can't hold a wheel, what else can you do? Guess that will be a goal for the next race.
Anyway, after the Tuesday night crits, I was not surprised by the pace. However, with all the turns I didn't see many opportunities to move up. But with two laps to go, I decided to give it a shot, and went from back to front on the hill up to the finish line. I led the pack around for half a lap, then pulled off the front, hoping to stay near the front when the big guys made their move. But, that didn't work out, as I couldn't hold on to the front and guys kept coming around me, especially on the hill with one lap to go. Coming down to the one 135-degree left hand bend Bob mentioned, I took it poorly and went way wide, into the gutter, and had to brake hard to stay on the course. (Maybe it was due to the extra speed of the last lap, because I made it around OK the other 16 times.)
So, with about 1/4 mile to go I put my head down and tried to catch back to the pack, but once they started their move, they were gone. I finished at the pack of the main pack, in 11th.
My overall feeling was that it was definitely a tough race, and the corners were kinda sketchy because they had some loose pavement and drainage channels in them. My avg heart rate was only a few bpm below my lthr, so I know I've got a ways to go. I had planned to take all the corners without braking, but being as far to the back as I was, I was victim of whatever was going on ahead of me. Lots of braking and chasing. Oh well, not too bad for a first race. I accomplished my goals, anyway.
