Rough Start

Things didn't go exactly as planned this weekend.  In the road race, I hadn't figured the winds into the opposing teams' plans and missed the break in the first 500 yards.  I immediately knew I'd made a mistake and something had to be done to fix it.  I started attacking out of the group and trying to bridge up for the next 15-20 miles.  I made 3 or 4 attempts to get up to the leaders to no avail.  Shortly after, others started attacking themselves and I just couldn't hang on.  I spent another 15 miles hanging on to a group of stragglers until I popped off of that.  Then I was on my own for the rest of the race.  It was cold and wet and miserable, but I"m refusing to quit this year.  I finished the race 2nd to last out of the finishers, but that beats DNF any day.  I think I scared the new guys when I came back because I was shivering uncontrollably, not talking, and generally looking like a corpse.  I spent a while curled up in my sleeping bag between races and came back to life.

The TTT was probably the best event of the weekend for the team.  The D team rocked it, taking 3rd.  Not too bad for an old guy and 2 first timers.  The A team, composed of 1 A, 1 B, 1 C, and 1 Women's B, didn't beat anybody but showed more heart than any other team there.  We had Mark literally heaving by the finish of the race, but he kept pushing and finished strong.

The Crit was tough.  Another early move was aided by the winds.  I tried going with a few bridge attempts, but the stage racing legs just aren't there yet.  I probably could have hung in the pack all day and not tried to get up the road, but that wouldn't have improved my situation at all and I would rather race my bike.  I was off the back within the first 10 minutes.  Finished it out again though.

It was definitely not a bad weekend, despite the poor results from me.  The team did great.  Colton took 2nd in the RR, and is in 3rd overall.  Beth got 3rd in the crit and 7th in the RR.  The first time racers handled themselves well and seemed to enjoy the experience (and raced pretty well too).  Beyond the results, it was just a good weekend in general.  I've really missed this.  I'm running around all willy nilly all weekend, not getting enough sleep and spending far too much time in a van that can only be described as "stanky."  It's not a glamorous life, but it's a great one.  It's just a good time.  The team is ridiculous and never leaves a dull moment.  Whether it's the potatosaurus made from Colton's fries and Jackson's baked potato that "don't make no sense" to him, driving the roads of Eugene looking for a trailer hitch, or "What Mark Thinks Moments," there's always something going on to make the weekend fun.

I want to thank all the guys for coming out and racing.  It's a great experience and it only gets better the more races you do.  Chris took a ton of photos that you all should check out.  Here's a few of my favorites that really show what collegiate racing is all about:

Tough B Racers

First Timers

Probably my best moment of racing this weekend.  Attacked the field, bridged up to the UW rider, worked for a while, got caught again.

It's probably best that I'm not really sure what's going on.

Jace raced hard and had a great first effort.  Look for big things to come out of him.

Hodge-podge Men's A TTT Team (and Jackson).  This really shows the characters of this team (extra goofiness is going on behind the camera).

The B guys working together

Every collegiate cyclist should give Bill a high five... and a beer.