My only goal was to finish with the field and to observe how the faster group reacts to attacks and counter attacks.
The course was pretty banged up from the winter freeze and thaw. Gwenn and Chris went around prior to the race and marked the more dangerous sections of pavement with fluorescent paint. Most of the time it was possible to see the holes and make minor course corrections, but I still had to bunny hop a couple of times, and managed to find a couple holes but didn't damage my tires or wheels.
The race started off with a couple of parade laps to give everyone a chance to learn where the bad sections of pavement were. I got up to the front and took some pulls to get warmed up. The racing really started after a few laps, there were a flurry of attacks until a break got established. I followed wheels near the front of the race while the attacks were going. I was a little too winded to grab a wheel and jump across. I caught my breath and tried to bridge, but only made it about half way across the gap.
Once the break was up the road, there were a succession of attempts to bridge, and the field chased them all down. Finally, the break got out of sight, and the field settled into tempo riding. The race ended with a practice sprint. I just watched them go for it and was happy to finish with the group.
I averaged 24.6 mph, average power was 250 Watts. I only felt under pressure a couple of times near the beginning of the race while the break was forming. I conserved plenty of energy and fatigue by spinning a smaller gear than I typically do. My bike handling brain finally clicked on. At the CB races, I felt like I was fighting the bike. After 30+ high speed turns at Westlake, I started to feel the lines through corners and was pedalling through most of the turns.
It was a relief to finally finish with the field and to actually participate in the race instead of hanging on for dear life.
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