Spring Prairie Road Race Report

This was the race of lessons learned.

1) Don't park in the field/parking lot when it's wet and you have a rear-wheel drive car. I knew better, did it anyway, and promptly got stuck along with half a dozen other cars. Made it out, barely, and only with the help of about 6 teammates pushing.

2) When you see Al from the Cuttin' Crew testing the waters on the first lap and acting all squirrely, and you *know* he's going to go off the front, get on his wheel. Peter did, and he got in the break and got 4th. Al took the win.

3) RR's are not crits. You have to be willing to hang it all out there and go for broke off the front. When Chris Padfield got off the front on the 3rd lap, and one other rider bridged, I started to bridge too. I got halfway there, and then the crit racer in me said "no...conserve your energy...stay with the pack". Dumb, just dumb. Chris solo'd in for 5th, dropping the other rider who'd gotten off with him. I don't think I could have beaten Chris for 5th given his huge motor, but I think I had the legs yesterday to hang in for 6th.

As it was, I stayed in the pack, worked to get my teammate Brian a good position up in the front of the main pack going into the hill and neutralized attacks from the unattached CSC-jersey guy. I went into the hill in about 3rd position, right along with Dugas and Morrisey. But, given my lack of climbing ability and the energy had burned in the last lap, the best I could do was hang on for 16th right behind my teammate Dave Moyer (who did a great job being a Cat 5 and racing his first road race).

4) Knowing I came in around 15th, and the fact the riders were all strung out in front of the camera, I didn't bother checking the results during the protest period. An hour later, they had me at the end of list. Guess they couldn't see my number. No big deal, 16th doesn't mean anything but a completed race towards upgrading, but I still should have hung around the finish and protested the result. Had it been a top-ten result, I would have been really angry with myself.