Covered Bridge Series, Peninsula, Ohio, April 26, 2009

From CRCycling

4/5 Race

By Kevin

A big field (probably more than 30) turned out for the second of three Covered Bridge races for 2009. The weather was sunny and hot (mid 80s) with a stiff breeze out of the south. Due to winds swirling around the valley, it seemed like there was a headwind on most of the course. A large contingent of stronger masters riders chose to ride with the "B" field, so I knew it was going to be a fast race. My goal for the race was to stay relaxed and hydrated and try to finish with the group.

We got underway at about 9:30AM. Max went to the front of the field. I took it relatively easy as we rolled out of the lot and ended up about 10 places back from the head of the race. The neutral start proved to be short lived. We accelerated all the way to the start/finish, and hit the first climb at speed, then descended toward Riverview.

Like last week, I felt the pressure of the race when we swung out of the left hander at the bottom of the descent and the steady grade before the bridge. Unlike last week, the speed never let up. We finished the first lap at a high pace, and sped up through the start finish area after the prime. The second time through the left hander, I cracked a little. I was chasing to stay in contact over the bridge and toward Riverview. I hung on over the tracks but got gapped around the corner and into the head wind. If I'd been fresh, I probably would have hung on for at least one more lap. Oh well. Training ride time.

I settled into a tempo and rode by myself, chasing after other debris from the field. Eventually we got a small group together with a rider from Stark, a guy with a CAMBA jersey, and AAron from CRC. We did the next couple of laps with a four man group, which was nice. Somehow, on the sweeper on the descent toward riverview, I snagged my glove and wasn't able to apply the brakes in time and overshot the turn. I guess I was tired. I went off the road into the dirt and jammed on the brakes and came to a dead stop. Whew! No damage to me or the bike. I got back on the road, and just did a fairly easy tempo for the rest of the race.

I'll probably front load my training next week so I get a couple consecutive rest days so I'm a little fresher going into this race.