Rubbing is Racing

Grayslake Cycling Classic 8.7.10

i went to a race and a monkey fell in front of me.

someone needs to tell me why i spend the first 5 laps of every race near the back of the pack. do i like the pain that comes with the surges? do i like the fear of the back of the pack crash? am i just really dumb? could it be a bad combination of them all?

anyway, i was racing, getting comfortable with the turns, when 2.5 laps into the race a rider went down in front of me. he almost made a spectacular save, but didn't. i think we all avoided him, but we did it very slowly. race over.

i wanted to drive us back to the pack, but the pack was flying and few were interested. they let our little group of maybe 10 race around for about 27 minutes. they even gave us the one to go (when the main pack had about 4 to go). that was cool. with that signal i rode away from our group to stomp out some frustration.

27th out of 50 starters. John & Kyle were smart, rode at the front, and finished with the lead pack. nice job boys.

the Boss let me sulk and pout a bit after my race before he reminded me; "Dude, that's racing."

secretly i only toss my helmet around because i want a new one.

next up i watched the CAT 3s. we had 5 in the race. some young, some old, some new, some just back from injury. they all rode really well.

my day was not done. typically i pre reg for these events and always think the longer the drive, the more racing i need to do. Masters 30 CAT 1 thru 4.

oh no he didn't.

i think there were three 4s the race. me, my teammate Joe, and one xXx rider, but i could be wrong. there was some talent there. 30 riders and i knew half of them, which means their reputations preceded them.

i lasted 2 laps before falling off. it took me 3 more laps to catch Joe. i won't drag this out. i mean we were lapped once. i finished last of the finishers. yet, it was extremely satisfying for me.

that's racing.