the Dark Side

I took yesterday off. Not because it was raining, but because I needed the rest. My arms were really tired from being suspension and an easy day at work helped loosen my back and ankle.

Today was a different story. After work I stopped by TBS West to get a couple of tubes and talked with Jesse. He's understandably jazzed following his Expert Race win at Phillips. He's wanting to take the Dream Killing Machine to Wisconsin State SingleSpeed Championships. Then he threw a wrench in my machinery. "we're thinking about doing the SS race and the WEMS race. You should do that too." I still don't believe that I think it is a good idea, but I do. I asked if he wanted to come do the Crit tonight. He begged off and commented that it was good training but that I shouldn't be drawn into "the Dark Side" of road racing. Yeah, I hear you dood.

Afterwards I rolled home in the Vdub and got the Seven ready for yet another Crit. I rode over on the little ring and registered in time to do a lap before the race. I tactics would be simple. I planned to sit in and contest the sprint. Unfortunately with barely a dozen others racing the comfort of a draft would have to be earned. I held to the plan for all of 3 laps and I couldn't endure the shenanigans. A pair of 4's had gone ~100 meters off the front and nobody wanted to brave the wind and reel them in. So I jumped relatively hard and reeled them in in less than a quarter of the 1.5k lap. They did it again, and again, and again and again. So I reeled them in every time. On the 7th attack I hear one say to the other "I think they'll crack on the next one. So I attacked them on the hill. That put them on the other end of the pack but I had a plan. The wind was harsh out of the west so I took the pack to the far gutter where nobody could draft, and I sat up. They followed like sheep all the way around the lap. One of the others attacked so I slingshotted off him and took a flier. Guess who chased. Yup. So I did that 3 more times to them at almost the instant they'd catch me. With 2 laps to go I stopped tormenting them and sat up. With a lap to go Frick and Frack tried again but the field stayed on them but another guy took a flier which stuck. I jumped just after the last corner but I went too early so I had to hit a couple more gears when someone pulled along side, but I had him. Second place in a race that didn't matter, unless you factor in my average heart rate was 169 for the 30 minutes and maxxed at 178.

As with last week I tried to do the A race, and just like last week I got shelled when the pace took off on the 3rd lap. But I had a good 45 minute ride home.