Cascade Classic Day 2-3

On to the Time trial. Since my weekly trips to the blood bank, one of the things I've noticed is my recovery times seemed a bit longer. Well after going all out the day before, it was time for a morning time trial (only 6.5+ miles) with a start time at 9:04:30am. It went OK, well except for the fact that like 3 people passed me. That was kindof a drag, and it didn't really seem like I was able to get all of my power on the pedals. One of the top objectives for next season is to improve the time trialing. I didn't finish last, but i was bottom 10.

On to the Criterium. Lining up for the start:

So if we had to follow that guy all day, it might have been a bit stinkier. The GTO lead out the first lap, and it smelled like a combination of burning rubber, and super hot exhaust that didn't really smell like normal car exaust. Maybe more like race car exhaust, I'm not sure. Anyway, the GTO lasted for 1 lap, and we had to go for 50 minutes around a downtown course of about .7 miles. This kind of racing has it all, it's fast, fun, scary, intense, hard, and fun for everybody to watch. I had alot of people cheering for me, so it seemed, and all I heard was "Go Ryan!, Start moving up!" on almost every lap. So when I heard that I didn't want to look back, because i might have been the last in line. The fact was, I was constantly trying to move up, but I just couldn't get more than about 1/3 of the way to the front. There were prime laps (where you sprint for a prize) like every 3rd lap it seemed, so the pace was pretty relentless. I wish I knew our average speed, because we were flying. I finished in the pack, again making it a step closer for the goal for the weekend. Finish (No DNF), and don't be DFL.

Sunday would bring a circut race with 4 laps around a common training loop west of Bend. I've ridden these roads many times, and that should have played to my advantage. Well, it was pretty cool to know the course real well, as the majority of the field was from out of town. Next year I'm going to use that to my advantage more. I made it one lap and then I got dropped. I did too much work at the front of the pack early, and then on a steep climb (Archie Briggs road), I just couldn't hang on. I rode the last 3 laps solo, to make it in 3rd from last on the stage. (oh well, bottom podium) I made it through my 3rd and hardest (by far) stage race, and my 1st Cat 3 races and I didn't finish last. But I finished. The 5 units of blood I lost in the last 6 weeks was definatly a factor. 6 weeks ago I was approaching top shape, and during the last 6 weeks I couldn't train with the intensity I had in April and May. I'm really determined to come back full blood and de-ironed next year, and plan to come out swinging. Watch out.

Until then I think I'll do some yard work.