Capital City Criterium

After several days of rain and no time on the bike it was time to RIDE and not just RIDE but RACE. Glenn and I were up to the challenge of the good and bad roads of Lincoln near the State Capital. The .7 mile U shaped course has eight turns and a false flat straight that can make it a challenge. Lucky for us the wind was out of the Southeast so it was a tail wind up the long slightly uphill straight.

Had a much better start this year and was able to clip in with no problems. Last year could not get clipped in and had to catch up to the group. This year passed a few people before the first turn, and got ready for the next two turns before the fourth turn which was Glenn's nemesis last year. When you hit the fourth turn you are going from using two lanes to a single lane. If you get pinched to the outside you may be hopping a curb or tumbling thru the grass median. Glen was unlucky last year but made it thru fine this year. By the time we had hit the next corner a split had formed in the large pack. Having done some Crit training last year I knew the best way to make up ground was to accelerate out of the turns. Passed some people in the turns and then it was up the long straight. The last turn has a nice bump and you need to either ride right next to the curb or go outside. Found a nice line and used it the rest of the race to carry my momentum up the long straight.

Was able to hold on to the group for the next 10 minutes and then the 24 mph pace started to take a toll on my out of shape body. The group I was with got a bit smaller but I was still hanging with them. Ray kept encouraging me as I went by, "Go daddy, Go Faster" I wish I could have gone faster but I just did not have it today. Had to drop my pace down to between 18-22 the rest of the race and made sure I got out of the way when the lead pack went by. Lucky for me they caught me at the tight turn so I slowed to stay out of their way and lost touch with the group. Glenn went by me at some point, I had anticipated this so it was not a surprise. I kept riding and hung on to the finish, pushing it up the final straight to make sure I was not passed by anyone else.

When the results were posted they were not correct. A rider was listed twice, my number was listed as someone else(my name is now Chris B), Glenn was listed as 6th not sure if that was correct. After some of this was pointed out it looked like I was given the wrong number and who knows what else may have been missed. Even with the incorrect results I still had fun and was glad I could represent the team. I was not first but I was not last either, so my goal for the year is still intact. Looking forward to my next Crit later this year, got good experience from this one that I can use in the next one. Tomorrow I get to watch Pete hammer it out at Pioneers Park, have a feeling he will do better than I did today. GO TEAM!!!