Race Report #3

[RidgeRider]

Hey chaps, thought I would combine let everyone know what happened at the races over the last three weeks to get everyone current with what has been happening.

On January 17th, week 3 of the Early Bird Criterium series in Fremont, California kicked off in the hard rain. As usual, we started at 11:45AM for a little over an hour in a mentored clinic working on single and double pace-lines, breakaway group tactics and pace-lining with a small group and wind positioning in the peleton.

It rained steady for over an hour and we were soaked to the bone. I think the most amazing part of the day for me was doing 23-26 mph around 90 degree corners in the rain and trusting your bike would stay tracked. The reality is, the best way to keep your traction is to pedal through the corners and to not coast.......and trust your tires!

By the time we ended the clinic session we were all soaked, had grit and dirt all over our backside and face and we were all cold. During our debrief after the clinic, it was suggested by one of our mentor instructors that it was not a good idea to race in this weather and that we would receive credit for the race as well.

The credit for the race is important because most of us there were there to receive 'upgrade' points for attending the clinic and the race. Those of us who attended all 5 events, ended up being in a really good position to quickly upgrade to a Category 4 racing classification from Category 5....Category 1/Pro being the highest.

Anyway, it was a very uneventful day however I do love rain riding and managed to have some fun even though the weather was dreary.

Week 4 next......