Here we go

Lots of racing through the weekend.

The Chapel Crit is tonight. Since it's around a church parking lot, it's a closed course, and even though it's technical, it's pretty forgiving if you don't panic. If you overshoot a corner, you can breeze through the traffic cones, or just ride into the grass and hop back into the field.

I'm eager to test myself on the course this year to see how much improvement I made since last year. I'm 15 pounds thinner, plus my right quads are near normal strength. I've been racing on a regular basis since February 28th (Frosty Toes RR), and have been flogging lots of solo miles, two man pain fests with Chris, and group rides with da Club. The weekly Westlake "A" race beat-down has given me a steady boost in fitness.

The "B" field should be representative of other Cat IV races in the area, so for the first time this season, I'll be racing against my fitness peers instead of getting thrashed at Westlake, or sandbagging at Medina.

The race log comes in handy! From last year, I see it's a low average power effort, but there are several jumps per lap, so my heart rate should be high.

I'll be happy to just finish with the field and compete in the sprint. But my goals for the race are to ride efficiently, stay in the first 6 places start-to-finish, and to control any breakaway attempts. Also, I want to hone my pack riding skills and efficiently pass the slower traffic, which will be a challenge on the technical course.

The race should be a good tune up for the TOTV, which starts early Friday morning.

My biggest post-race challenge might be refueling and relaxing enough after the race to get a good night's sleep for the early morning wake-up call for the prologue.