Props to the old team today at Nevada City. The race started very aggressive on the parade lap with riders leaning into me to get my spot behind the motor (really guys?!?!?). Not too big of a deal though. I still hit the bottom of the climb on the first live lap in really good position. However I figured people would be firing off right away and I didn't want to put too many accelerations in my legs too soon in the race, so I figured it would be best not to go for broke in the first few laps. That ended up to not be a wise thought. Sue to a little sag climbing, I found myself 40 or so deep on lap 3. That meant I was slamming on the brakes as we were going through the corners 4-5 wide. Again, not smart. It quickly became obvious that I needed to get up as quickly as possible. So I hit the climbs pretty hard to make up lost ground. Unfortunately, people were already getting blown off and that meant jumping a lot of gaps solo. Eventually I made it into the lead group of about 25 riders, but the effort it took to get up there was weighing heavily. I tried to settle into a rhythm but I still felt like I was losing a lot of momentum at the bottom of the climb sitting at the back of the group. So I tried again to move up, and I did. But that dug me even further into the red. About half way through my legs gave out. I stopped at the top of the hill and asked around for some beer, but nobody had any. As disappointing as I was to not get a beer hand-up, I just stopped and collected my composure. Eventually the group that I tried so hard NOT to be in strolled up the hill and I felt silly not getting back into the race. So I rolled down the hill with them and told myself that people will crack and that the race isn't over. Several laps later, the lead group of 7 riders lapped us and continued through the pack. I was feeling quite well and figured now would be a good time to see if I could get away from the chase group. It worked and I thought that I may be in good position for 8th place. So I rode the last 10 laps in a "pseudo no mans land." Since I could not work with the guys that lapped us, all I could do was follow. I rolled in in front of the chase group, expecting to be places in the top 10 or so. However after waiting for what seemed like an eternity for results, I learned that there were 17 people that lapped the field, but only 7 continued on. So instead of 8th, I ended up 19th. Oh well. It was fun, fast, and an amazing experience.P.S. I need somebody to write my name in chalk ;-)
