Awesome. Day two. Beautiful weather and a great setting at Hyde Park. A fun course that includes a wide 180 degree turn, a small hill and a screaming downhill into a 90. 86 Cat 4 riders pre-registered. The best way to explain the race is fast, very fast. They staged riders by date of entry. I was back in #47 in the middle, bad spot. Like Medeira, the race started about 200 yards from the 180 degree turn. By the time I got around and found some space I was 3/4 of the straight away behind the leaders who were on the gas. I spent the next 7 laps closing the gap sucessfully. I made to up to the lead group of 25 and as the laps piled up a least half the field got pulled. We were down to 2 laps when a crash occurred going up the hill. Not sure of what happened, but the road became blocked with bikes and swearing riders. I dismounted and ran under a small tree through someone's yard to get past the melee. I muscled up the rest of the hill and down the backside at 46mph into the 90 degree right turn determined to get back on. Past the start/finish line, one lap to go, then into the 180 turn, I bridged into the rear of the remaining group and pushed. I made it to about 12-14th place and fell in line. As we climbed the hill for the last time the group jumped and I had little left. I made it up and over and found myself chasing again. I sprinted down the back straight to the finish, heart rate over my max and pedalling squares. I finished about 18/20th pending offical results. A great course that saw an average speed of 26.7. Fast....and young.
The pro race was a great event and the Hyde Park neighborhood puts on a great street fair. A band, vendors, beer tents, food, and Graeters ice cream. Heaven on earth for bikers. This event is a must do event for next year. Well run, fun, very well attended, lots going on...we just need a Masters category. Suggestion in the mail....
