Off the back

Last weekend I went down to Iowa to visit a couple friends from my ISU Cycling days. Ended up doing three races. Ended up finishing sub-par in three races.

Snake Alley
19/27 finishers (~60 riders started)

Probably the most fun race of the weekend. Grinding up Snake Alley 12 times made for a good sufferfest. Unfortunately, I did a poor job of looking pro. Bryan's dad took a bunch of pics over the weekend with his digital SLR, and only a few of me came out okay.

Climbing the Snake

FYI-- that is not me off the front

I was happy I didn't get pulled like half the field. I started in a poor position (#58 out of 60), and didn't attack off the start like I should have. There were lots of people in the field that climbed like rocks, and I was way off the back from the start. Not good.


Melon City
Middle of the field, couldn't find results

Melon City crit in Muscatine was another sub-par performance. I didn't have the balls to move up in the pack. I ended up paying. I am trying to get more comfortable with moving through the crowd. I am taking this learning process pretty conservatively; I'd rather not cause a wreck.

Holding down the back of the pack

Quad Cities crit
Middle of the field, couldn't find results

Repeat the same results for the Quad Cities crit. Justin was an animal this race, going off the front most of the time (and dying at the end). I'd rather ride like him and just go for it. I ended up a few positions back from him, but my race was totally uneventful.

Looking fast at Quad Cities

The best pic of the weekend came from Quad Cities crit. Unfortunately, I was next to some junior girls, and I had to do some serious cropping to make it less embarassing.

Overall, it was a decent weekend. I wish I would have done better, but there's always more races. I managed to get the new Cat6 jersey out in 3 races in 3 days, so I can't complain. Oh, so we need to get the bibs. Just not looking pro with the regular black cycling shorts and the light-colored jersey.