2800

Yeah, just a number.

Today was intense.

Of course the one morning I don't bother setting the alarm because for 2+ weeks the dog hasn't failed to wake me up at 5:30am. Today I woke up and the clock said 6:20am. Thanks Lucy but I kind of was planning on you waking me almost an hour earlier.

A bit of a rush (left with my bag carrying too much stuff) but I made it to the Coffee Exchange in time. Let Fatty Load the bike on the car while I ran in past the dude smoking a joint there in a chair on the sidewalk, got my cup of Guatemalan French Roast (soooooooooooo good OMG that was like heaven in a cup). And we headed south.

Got there, stood in line for quite a long time while a handful of Day Of Reg people were entered by hand into the sheet, got my number. Pinned up. It was cool and so I chose the long sleeve skinsuit. Yes. I work jersey and shorts in the morning for the ride to the city (with arm and knee warmers and baselayer - it was 50 degrees). And I stuffed both long and short sleeve ss in the bag. Went with long. Rubbed down with some nice cooling ben gay ultra strength (Love the smell) pulled out some Death Magnetic, went to take a shit (in a toilet that was only flushing about a 1/4 of the previous 4 people's crap), then did a few warm up efforts around the park and well got two laps in before our race started.

Lined up 2nd row and boom like an explosion the race was full gas from Bill Dolan's whistle. A couple guys were trying to get a break going. And so I went to the front. We had good representation in the race and so I figured I'd be the one to hit the front to cover the early breaks in case something stuck.

A group got off the front and I bridged up and we had a gap for a while but the pack was hungry and pulled us back in (i was sitting in, maybe should have attacked the group if I wanted it to stick). So for about 5-8 laps or so I was on the front, in the wind or just out of the wind, helping to keep the race more or less single or double file. Thing settled down a bit and I drifted back. But they never really felt like they slowed down.

It was the fastest cat 4 race I've done there on that course. It was crazy. Much faster than the 3/4 race when Gary and Scott went off in a successful break.

There were a good number of total squirrels. Couldn't hold a line for shit, that or they didn't really care and were chopping lines and causing lots of brake checking and pissed off people.

I didn't hear him much hassling me but EVERYONE told me "The Announcer" was really singling you out and telling you to get to the front when you weren't. Thanks Paul. I had no idea you were carrying on your start line advice the whole race. I heard it a few times, and Man with 2 to go I went to the front. Top 10-15 after the finish, moving up and settling in feeling pretty good... then...

one of the line chopping d-bags chopped a guy in front of me who slowed a ton and had to pull and evasive maneuver onto the grass and well i was left with no choice but to kill my momentum and slide pretty much all the way back. Yeah I should have moved up even further.

I was cooked and just sprinted to stick with the pack and rolled in at 37th or something. Dr. Flats-a-lot was 2nd, money man (brier) was 9th? and Fatty was 13th.

Kurt was there and he was going to chill at the back. About 1/2 through he wasn't there. Next lap I looked and his bike was leaning up against his truck. Doh. It was pretty damn fast. At least I thought it was and he did too.

Post race, did the whole debrief with the team, then found Kurt and had a cold beverage on his tailgate before getting my bag and riding back home.

53 miles according to maps.google.com from Ninigret course to my house.

Meh 53? No big deal.

Well I was cooked. sure 22 laps around there is nothing. but other than the Smack downs and races my rides over the last couple months have almost totally consisted of 8.5 mile rides 2x a day (too and from work).

I thought I had lucked out. The wind seemed to have switched over from North to South. Tailwind. Perfect.

And I headed out.

And I picked Murat's choice. Route 1

o
m
g

that road sucks

boring

flat (good)

and not a single other cyclists

and a FLIPPING HEADWIND (yeah, forgot to mention, the wind didn't really switch)

i would get hungry and suck down a bit of sports drink...

it

was

not

much fun but it really wasn't that bad. Kept ticking out a rhythm.

Only got yelled at once by a car (it did scare the shit out of me) and a couple kids in west greenwich shouted "HEY LANCE"

it was tough.

my plan was to get to the team's shop sponsor Casters. I needed to take a leak, refill bottles (i stuffed a 1/2 empty can of Gatorade drink powder in the bag too).

Stopped for about 30 minutes.

And got going. Oh man this sucked. And the wind, kept blowing.

Finally made it to India Point Park. And on my bike path. For a bit there I thought Maybe the wind had shifted and I would have another headwind.

But nope.

Tail wind.

Thankfully.

Made it home at 3:40pm. After leaving at 7:20am.

Felt like I was riding the whole time.

Blue Lizard saved my skin. Except where I missed a few spots. But they are small and not too problematic.

Right around 80 miles today with a race tossed in there there.

Legs feel pretty trashed.

But man it was too nice of a day to waste off the bike.

Ran some 700x25 Ultremo DDs I ditched the fat boys. These 25s are narrow 25s. It has me thinking about getting some Ultremo Rs in the 28s for crits. But these worked great riding from there to here over glass and sand and shitty roads of Route 1 and Allen Ave. And at 85 psi I could corner w/o problem. They stuck very well.

No issues.

And

I'm

freaking

tired.

It was great racing with the team, hanging out with Kurt and his folks post race, saying hey to JD, Bill D, and Paul. Cat 5 team mate paul S got 3rd in his race so the team did pretty well.

Thanks to Mystic Velo for putting on the race, and Bill and the rest of the officials for showing up, Paul for announcing and JD for doing the results.

It was a great day.

Tired but happy.

peidiwch da
g