Helmet Cam - April 6, 2014, Circuit Francis J Clarke, 9th

Here's another helmet cam clip from the 2014 Outdoor Sports Center Bethel Spring Series. In this one there are a few off the front. However I thought there were a good 15 or so riders off so I thought we were sprinting for 16th place or so. Finishing 5th or 6th in the field I figured I would be lucky to have cracked the top 20. My math was pretty bad though and I ended up 9th in the race, 5th in the field. A jumbled sprint, I could never actually go.

Second to last of the Bethel Spring Series.

Enjoy!

Racing - 2014 Circuit Francis J Clarke

Today for some reason I was a bit more relaxed than on other weeks. I think part of it was the staff - the race was going really smoothly and I felt like things were under control. No craziness, no weirdness. Regular problems I can handle, the weird ones stress me.

The bike, ready for battle.

Custom Tsunami frame with a custom Steelman Bikes stem.

I brought T-shirts to the race. I bought too many, I think, since we need to sell almost 200 shirts to break even. The girls at registration did their best but I think I'll have a separate post on the t-shirts this week.

Anyway I wanted to take a picture of the bike with the t-shirt and there it is.

Some trackstand battles between the Series leader and his teammate.

I wasn't the only one feeling a bit better in the warm sun. The Cat 3-4 Series Leader was horsing around a bit, doing a track stand battle in the waiting area by Turn One. I left before someone dabbed so I don't know who won. It showed the team's spirit and camaraderie though, and helped demonstrate their tightly knit team. They've been super impressive each week they've raced and they definitely deserve the overall lead.

Rolling to the start.

Today we got a moto ref "on a trial basis" if you will. They have to do some races for practice so this was this moto's practice. It was so good that I think the federation should do a free moto for a field or two for all promoters, to give them an idea of what a moto can do for them.

Junior wants a hug before I race.

Before I got to the line I looked for the Missus and Junior. I'd spent a bit of time with them before (maybe that's why I was less stressed) and I knew that Junior was getting to the end of his tether. The Missus would leave with him before the end of my race so I wanted to say bye before the start. Junior wanted to hold me so I gave him a hug and said bye softly.

Following an early counter move.

The guy to the left will win the race, I think the guy up the road gets second, and the guy in blue, near the yellow line, third. If I could have looked even 30 seconds into the future I'd have killed myself to stay on the wheels.

Normally I sit in and such but today I felt a bit of energy in my legs. I got to the front and decided to fly the colors a bit.

I ended up pulling for a short bit.

When I say "a short bit" I really mean a short bit. I pulled a little, pulled off, but no one wanted to pull through. So I pulled sort of slowly until someone finally decided to go around, aka sort of attack. That brought a bunch of riders around me and I could get back in.

I'm still standing.

I had the legs to stay near the front for a lap or two more and then I did my customary slide to the tail of the field.

The Series Leader noticed me and commented that it was nice to see me out here. He's the nicest guy, a tribute to his team, a great spokesman for the sport of cycling, but he's so strong he didn't realize that I've been out here racing "against" him, just I've never actually ridden next to him because I'm always way back.

I grinned to myself after that comment because that's about when I went backward.

Waving to Junior.

I wanted to wave to Junior while on the bike. It's hard to pick out a particular rider in a field and I wanted to help him out. On one of the slower laps I took the chance and waved.

He was looking at me with total concentration, furrowed brow. I could tell his brain was working in overdrive, trying to figure out what was going on. He doesn't filter things like we do so he'll pick out a logo on a wall of product. His non-filtering works against him when he's trying to pick out dad in a field of cyclists - I think he has to look at every rider, at least every rider that has red on him.

Random lap, moto ref to the left.

The moto ref tooted the moto's horn a couple times. Regardless the racers were much more careful about the yellow line. I really liked it, having the moto ref looking after us.

Random lap, close.

I chose this picture because the rider close to me was moving ever so slowly to the right. I wasn't sure if it was intentional but I realized it was when he got really close. This was the closest I got to someone in the whole race. A non-incident.

During the race four guys eventually went clear. One guy blew and got dropped - the other three lapped the field. In the field many of us had no idea until the spectators started yelling, "They're right behind you!" The dropped guy time trialed ahead of us, trying to get his 4th place.

A lap later two Sixcycle guys went to the front, towing another NY rider with them, the third break racer. We'd gotten lapped.

With all the Sixcycle guys streaming by, with other guys jumping on their wheel, I had no idea how many lapped us. Maybe 4, maybe 6? I assumed it was 6 and that all the points were gone. This settled me mentally as I could focus on doing a sprint with no pressure.

2 to go.

Two weeks ago I had a good sprint, partially because I started in good position. I decided that I'd try to replicate that effort. Joel, my teammate to the front right of me, was looking to move me up so I stuck on his wheel.

I moved to the left only to toss my bottle, which I hadn't touched all race. I've started without a bottle only to want a sip of water, but I'm going to toss my bottle earlier if I don't drink from it early on.

Bell lap.

We hadn't gained much position and Joel had spent a bit of time (and energy) sitting in the wind. When things shifted around I had to get to the right to shelter from the front-left headwind on the critical backstretch. Joel, stuck on the left side, ended up stranded.

Backstretch, last lap.

About 550 meters to go, maybe 600.

I've moved more to the right to get shelter. I believe Joel's wheel is just on the yellow line in that shot. I saw the opening to the right but thought someone would come blasting up the side so I decided not to take it.

Still open to the right so I go.

About 400 meters to go.

Of course, 100 meters later, the hole was still there. Maybe I was at the back of the field, I don't know, but I went right and quickly scooted up to a Jordan racer in a white kit, black shorts.

Now shifting to the left a bit.

About 300 meters to go.

I moved to the left a touch, expecting a squeeze to the right, but no squeeze so now I had a lot of room. Again there was a gap to the right but I was hesitant to fill it, holding position instead. This is a tad under 300 meters to go.

The right opens up. The Jordan guy is now to my left.

About 250 meters to go.

The Jordan guy moved left while I still eyed the right side. I wasn't sure what would happen but the left side looked like they were going. I didn't want to risk getting boxed in on the right so I stayed middle.

The Jordan guy moves left, I do too.

Just over 200 meters to go.

When the Jordan guy moved left I did also. The Rockstar Games guy to the left was my outside lane wall - I couldn't move left through him so he defined the left border, the Jordan was a variable, the right curb was my right wall. The middle was good so that's where I went, following the Jordan guy.

The right side jams up.

About 200 meters.

Then the right side jammed up. I don't know if someone blew or what but suddenly the guys came backward. I shifted left to avoid the guy coming back at me, then shifted left a bit more as he tried to get around those in front of him.

Sprint starts to open.

100 meters? 125 meters?

I finally got some space and start to go. Of course It was still a bit crowded, with riders going forward and others coming back.

Sprint jams up.

15-20 meters.

Here a big Sixcycle guy is going backward, one of the two Sixcycle guys that lapped the field, and he's winning the race. His teammate, on the same lap as me, is on his last legs and slowing hard. I'm boxed in and have to wait for the lane to open up. I end up going to the right the Sixcycle guy on the same lap as me and to the left of the guy with the red swoosh on his shorts.

Yeah, there's no hole there but it opens up.

At the line.

Sixcycle to my left, Red Swoosh to my right. I sort of nosed the bike forward but I had very little momentum since I never really sprinted. It was one of those habitual things, a little poke forward with the bars, nothing dramatic.

Relative shot.

I'm glad I nosed the bike forward because I just barely nosed out the Jordan guy at the line. It was only for 9th place, so 5th in the field, but still, ever bit helps. Another 10 meters and I would have gained a few more feet.

In the sprint I went at 700 watts peak (as the right got blocked), eased, went at 900 watts peak (as I got some real estate), eased, then 950 watts (still in the real estate), eased really hard dropping to 0 watts and 5 mph, then did 700w peak and trailed off to the line (snaking between the two riders and then throwing the bike. We never got going, maxing out at about 33 mph, crossing the line at about 23 mph.

I did a cool down lap, very unusual for me, mainly because I was blocked from going to the left to get back to the trailer. Then I  stopped, chatted a bit with the guy that got 4th - he finished just in front of the field - and then headed over to the trailer. My race was done, now it was time to get to work.

One more race here and then it's on to the rest of the season. Yay.

Promoting - 2014 Circuit Francis J Clarke

Ah. Second last Bethel for 2014. It seems like just last week that I was frantically ordering numbers, gambling that the race would happen. Now it's almost done and things seem much more calm.

Saturday I really pushed Junior's limits by making a long trip with the idea of storing stuff in the trailer and not having to bring them down next week, the last week of the Series.

I started by loading the T-shirts into the car - that took up the front seat, one side of the child seat, the foot area of the backseat, and one box in the trunk. I got Junior in the packed car, loaded up the car with distraction stuff, and set off.

The box next to him acted as a shelf so he left his Horsey and blanket up there. Normally I'd be contorting to reach them after he dropped them but this time I didn't have to contort too many times.

We headed down to pick up the trophies from Crown Trophy in Brookefield. I've been using them since the very beginning and they've been very good to me. This year I ordered the trophies before the end of the Series so that was good - they didn't have to scramble to make them.

I got there about an hour before they closed - 1 PM - and the trophies fit in the back of the Jetta just fine. I headed to the trailer to drop everything off. Because Junior was out of "getting into the child seat" cycles I left him in the seat while I quickly threw everything into the side door of the trailer.

Then without any further ado I headed home.

Where I'd basically pack up the Expedition and do the same 90 minute drive back. My phone died on the way down, the charger sometimes does something and then the phone just turns off when it has 0% battery. This has only happened once or twice but of course it had to happen the night before Bethel.

I got to my dad's sort of late. My brother greeted me in the driveway, waving a flash light.

What?

I rolled down the window after my brain went through a few scenarios. The one I came up with wasn't good.

"Is the power out?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"I tried to call you."

"My phone died on the way here."

"I left you a message." My brother paused. "Do you have any gas?"

Yes I did.

We got the big generator going, the house felt normal (except for the generator running outside), and I ate dinner and plugged stuff in. My big worry was my phone, which is also my alarm clock.

The power went back on a while later and things seemed fine. I didn't get to sleep until just a bit past midnight.

The next morning I snoozed my optimistic 4:30 AM wake up, reset it for 5:00 AM, snoozed it for 5:05 AM, then finally got up. I was looking forward to this day as it was supposed to be pretty warm.

I got in the Expedition.

27 degrees F.

What?

I realized I hadn't bought the little propane tanks for the small heaters. It'd be cold in the trailer today. Ugh.

Trailer selfie.

I kept wanting to take a trailer selfie in the mirror building and finally managed to do it. It's early in the morning, about 6:15 AM, so I was comfortable with taking the selfie in terms of the whole "not focused on driving" bit. I wanted to get one when it was dark and the running lights made for a cool "Mac the truck from Cars" effect, but now it's too light.

I should point out that I ended up well over the yellow line doing it and I would have sworn I didn't move more than a foot off my line. Distracted driving is stupid driving.

We were short a number of helpers so the set up took a bit longer than normal. There were no bake sales, no free food guys, so it was just the table for release forms. No biggie and we got things up and running okay. Mike the camera guy was there so he got his stuff set up fine.

Cat 5 field

I was trying to help out a Junior in his first race ever. This is a good shot of him just in front of the field.

Another Junior

With my Junior (meaning our son) I've taken more of an interest in Junior racing. I realize things about being a parent that I simply couldn't know before. It's changed a lot of the way I approach and think about things, both promoting and not. In the promoting sense I realized that having Junior races is important, regardless of the length or fanciness of the race. It should be low buck for grassroots promoters.

Someone asked me if the Juniors get anything. I shook my head to the negative. He said that that was good. I told him that I figure a $5 entry fee and no "everyone's a winner" makes for a good thing. $3 goes to USAC for insurance so it's not like the promoter is getting much, and the extra $2 is really so we don't have to get as many singles. It costs more to hold the race than the entry but that's okay. When I figure out the costs I might adjust the price up but suffice it to say that the Junior entry fees didn't pay for the registration staff for 30 minutes, that's for sure.

However, for promoting I've realized that the extra half hour is not much to give when it benefits the future of cycling. Giving the Juniors, and really it's the kids, allows them to participate for real. It makes bike racing real, just like becoming a parent makes parenting real (versus just babysitting).

Of course I have the luxury of saying this because time at Bethel isn't that expensive, and it's open ended in terms of time. I don't have to vacate the course by a certain time like a downtown race would have to do.

Moto ref.

I learned that about 30 moto refs got their special moto ref licenses recently. They all need practice so we had one for a few of the races today. It was great having him out there, it really helped tame the whole "Yellow line rule!" screaming that happens on the other side of the course.

I also think the moto ref encouraged folks to race a bit more. I don't know if that's valid or not but it seemed that things were a bit more active. Maybe it was the sun, who knows, but I will seriously consider a moto ref going forward.

By the time the Masters were racing the temperatures had climbed into the mid-upper 40s. It still felt cold in the trailer, with no sun warming up the inside, but outside it was pretty warm when the wind didn't strip the heat out from around you. I saw some shorts in the Masters race.

The Intersection

The intersection, with the maximum number of cars I saw today. I was so shocked at how many cars were there that I snapped this shot. You can see that there aren't that many cars. The consistent stream of vehicles makes it tough though. John, our guy working with the police, has been exceptional at Turn One, and he's a key reason the race worked this year. He even sacrificed racing so that he could work the turn - he put working the Series ahead of racing. That's dedication.

Note that it must be warm - one girl has short sleeves.

Here's that kid thing again. One of the guys in the 3-4 race is here talking with his (?) kids. The idea that the girls are here for the bike race is great. To them a bike race is one of those things that happens on Sunday, just like Monday they go to school. Kids that grow up with this kind of exposure to racing will think it natural to jump in one of those races when they get a bit older.

The races went smoothly today, mainly because of the reduced field sizes and the warmer weather. There was a half marathon in town today that went straight by the course entrance so traffic seemed much reduced. The Masters took the brunt of the traffic hit, stopping for 15-20 minutes here and there, so the officials delayed the Masters race 15 minutes. With the normal 20-30 minute dead spot after the Masters we could still keep the last two races on time.

I think the warmer weather helped also because the main traffic generator, an indoor trampoline place, would likely get less traffic when the weather ended up nice. It was a nice enough day, at least relative to our winter, so maybe a lot of kids did other things instead. The idea generated some hope in me that things would stabilize or be okay enough to hold races here in 2015.

We did have way fewer staff than normal, with one family at Battenkill. The son won the Junior 17-18 race so obviously the trip was worth it, and we'll be glad to have them back next week.

With one replacement staff things were a bit tight but enough volunteers filled out the ranks and the races went pretty smoothly. No one yelled at me so that was a good thing.

With the last race of the Series this Sunday a lot of us have hit the beginning of the closure feelings.

"Oh, it'll be the last Bethel next week."

It's pretty amazing how it seems so stressful and tough in January and by April things have mellowed out. For now, though, it's like what some of the GC leading racers have said to me.

"People are telling me I have it all wrapped up but that's not true. I'm a flat tire, a crash, a sickness away from losing the Jersey. I have to race every week 100% because I have no idea what'll happen the week after."

Likewise promoting the races comes first. I have to focus on the logistics, the planning, the various stuff I need to get in place for the last race. So that's this week. Next week, after the last race, that's when I can finally relax.

We packed up everything at the end of the day Sunday and I headed home. I felt pretty warm and took my hoodie off.

As I drove I felt some discomfort on my lip. I wasn't sure what it was - an abrasion? Did I scrape my lip on something?

A few seconds later it dawned on me.

My lip was sunburned.

I looked in the mirror. I could see some pink in my cheeks, my forehead, and above my lip.

It had been sunny today.

I got too much sun.

It must be near the end of the Series.

I cracked the windows open, letting in the air, ventilating the cabin.

It felt like summer was almost here.

Almost.

Racing - 2013 Circuit Francis J Clarke Report

Last week I didn't even bother with a race report. Although the morning started out very calm, as it usually does, the wind really picked up during the day. I decided to go all in and use the Stinger 7 front, Stinger 9 rear, the tallest wheels I have. I figured the "SCT" (Stability Control Technology), meant to help deal with crosswinds, would help overcome the height of the rims.

Well the first bend almost blew me off the road. Now, granted, I had a 75 mm tall rim up front. I think an old 46 mm rim would have done the same, just more sharply. Whatever, the tugging on the bars wasn't good.

I redoubled my grip on the bars and chided myself for gambling too much with wheel selection.

Regardless it didn't make much of a difference. I was in trouble from the very beginning, well over my limit within a few laps. I hung on grimly at six laps in, really pushed hard to make the seventh, but on the eighth I was done. I exploded on the backstretch, the wind sawing me off the back. Shelter smelter, sitting in didn't matter when I couldn't get up the hill or when the wind was so gusty it hit you from all directions.

So last week's race report would have been pretty short... like the four short paragraphs above.

The wind started deceptively light in the morning but even when the Cat 5 clinic started it had started to pick up. I knew that it'd be ferocious by the early afternoon.

Therefore I decided to skip the tall front wheel.

You see aero wheels work differently at the two ends. On the front, the steering end, a tall wheel increases instability. The way a bike stays upright is by steering, not because of gyroscopic wheel effects, not because of the head tube angle, not because of trail. It stays upright because the rider can steer into a "fall" (or into a tilt if you will) and avoid actually falling. By tilting and then steering left and right repeatedly the rider can stay upright. If you want to try an experiment that'll make you feel very clumsy you can lock the bars of a bike in place - use straps or tape or something, or, if you have a totally beat up unfixable junker, just tighten the headset until it won't turn anymore. Try riding it. When I tried it I lost all fluency and almost crashed into a wall, and this after about 12 race seasons under my belt.

Or, for an easier, less harmful experiment, go to a MUP (Multi Use Path, aka Rails to Trails etc) and watch a 4 year old on a bike. You'll see this "steering/tilting" in vivid action as the child wobbles left and right repeatedly.

My very scientific uncle tried to explain this to me when I started riding a bike. "Steer into the fall," he told me. I wasn't sure what that meant but it only took a couple skinned knees for me to start riding around.

So that's the front wheel.

The rear wheel increases stability. It has no bearing on the steering of the bike therefore it doesn't do anything negative. In fact a tall rear wheel notifies me what the wind is doing and allows me to react to wind. When the whole bike feels like it's getting pushed a bit I know the wind is picking up and I should therefore be attentive for veering or wandering riders (including myself).

I used to put the tallest rear wheel on for races with high top speeds. For windy conditions or high top speeds I'd choose my Zipp 440 (predecessor to the 404), the Specialized Trispoke (now the HED3), or a prototype disk wheel. I remember racing a windy Ninigret once with a disk wheel in the back and a TriSpoke up front. I figured the disk would help stabilize the bike a bit and that would let me get away with a TriSpoke up front, a decidedly unstable-in-wind wheel. I ended up in a 10 lap break in the 1-2-3 race, eventually finishing 15th or 20th behind two breaks that actually stayed away.

With these wind lessons in mind I decided to keep the Stinger 9 in the back - it's a 90 mm tall wheel but with SCT so it's very rounded on the inside - and use my training wheel up front. That's a 24 mm Ardennes rimmed wheel. When I bought it HED called it the Bastogne. Now HED calls that class of wheels Ardennes with different letters for the different models. The Bastogne is sort of like the Ardennes LT now.

A couple laps in. Frisky.

A couple laps later. Still frisky.

I realized today that I can always go up the hill a couple times okay. My fitness determines how many times I can go up the thing okay. I remember climbing off my bike at the end of a long day many, many, many years ago, having just done both the 3-4 and 1-2-3 races, and someone excitedly telling me I'd just done 83 laps of the course (he was 10 years old I think and he counted every lap).

In 2010 I felt good 70 laps in, loose, fresh, eager to contest the finish of the 1-2-3 race after having placed in the 3-4 race. The Cat 3-4 are 30 laps long, and have been for a few years.

Last week I was good for 8 laps.

This means that I have to race very carefully, very conservatively. If I was a race car the pit crew would be telling the drive to save gas, save the tires, save the car. Gun it once or twice and the car would blow up, so gun it when it really counted.

A funny incident. SOC is to my left.

Note the gap to the riders in front of me - I couldn't close it, believe it or not.

SOC is one of my teammates, a friend, and a much stronger rider than I am. When we did some practice sprints a couple years ago he actually sprinted away from me. I was on his wheel, I knew when we were going to jump, and he just rode away from me.

At any rate during the race he drifted to the back after some efforts. I was already struggling, unable to keep within a few feet of the riders in front of me. When he appeared ever so slightly ahead of and next to me I figured I'd get on his wheel for shelter. I eased and moved behind him.

SOC eased to let me pull up next to him, wanting to tell me something, something about the race. He didn't understand just how redlined I was at the moment.

SOC hangs back a bit to give me shelter.

When I didn't come around he realized that for whatever reason I was just hanging at the back. He didn't feel it important to close the little gap in front of him because it would take two pedal strokes for him to close it.

For him. Not for me.

He closes the gap easily on the hill, not realizing I was close to the limit.

At some point on the hill, two pedal strokes and SOC was back in the group. It took me an agonizing 15 seconds to get back in and another few laps to recover from my "effort". Pitiful, yes, but it's all I had to offer.

I was determined to keep going as long as I could pedal. Either I'd cramp or I'd explode, but I felt the need to keep pushing. I had a few troubling moments during the race after the humorous SOC one.

When the Stage 1 / Fusion Think rider (in red) moved over and jumped I was gapped.

One of them was when the field was in full cry. With massive wind by Turn Two and on the backstretch I had to manage the gaps well. Just like how SOC closing that minor gap put me in trouble, so did the action in the above picture. The Stage 1 / Fusion Think rider jumped hard to move up - he knew potential trouble when he saw it and the strung out field wasn't looking very cohesive. A gap here, a gap there, and we'd be talking a whole different ballgame.

When he went it left me with about a 10-12 foot gap to close. I pushed very hard to close it, briefly contemplating sitting up.  I had to push hard for a while to close the gap. In the end I closed the gap before I blew up so it worked out okay, but I think it took me a couple laps to recover from that seemingly minor effort.

The field splitting apart under continuous and ferocious attacks.

Joel is in front of me.

The other major crisis happened when the field split in two. In the above picture you can see a front group splitting off, followed by a trail of racers trying to bridge the gap. I couldn't grab a still of the two groups separated because by then my head was down and all I could see on the screen was the rider in front. In fact the above picture is one of the last shots before all but four or five riders disappeared from the camera's view as my head dipped down. I knew the split meant trouble and I was already deep in the red when it happened.

I found the chase/thought process in the back group interesting. First, when the split happened, guys started easing a bit, looking back, seeing if someone else would take a pull. During all this they'd move to one side or another, causing the group to spread out.

At that point we resembled a group ride that just left a parking lot on a group ride. We were scattered all over the road, not really a "peloton" as much as a "group". As the racers realized that this one or that one wasn't about to come through, that they weren't in a position to help, the ones that had the legs gathered themselves together and went to the front. The others knew a good thing when they saw it and they all closed in and hung onto the wheels.

The group immediately coalesced into a proper peloton and went about the business of chasing after the field. Ultimately the battle up front subsided and the two groups came back together.

Disaster, at least for me, had been averted.

Bethel was, and will always be, a battle between the sprinters and the non-sprinters. There is so much shelter at Bethel that sprinters can arrive to the finish with some kind of reserve, even if they were at the limit throughout the race.

Therefore the time trialers try to break the field. It makes for very tough racing for everyone involved. The time trial guys are at the front just killing it. Everyone behind, including the sprinters, grovel on the wheel, hoping for an end to the insanity.

In the Cat 3-4 races a break can work, especially if there are larger teams sitting at or near the front, chasing down any counter moves. When the larger teams are working for a sprinter, though, any aggressive moves get marked by a clump of racers.

For this race it came down to a field sprint.

With our team leader Bryan absent I figured it be best to support another teammate Jeff - he had earned points last week so he was by default the GC leader on the team. I learned the hard way that I can't do anything worth talking about if it takes longer than 30 seconds. If I tried to give Jeff a leadout I'd use myself up just getting into position or within meters of hitting the front. Dumping Jeff into the wind at 500 meters to go wouldn't help him much.

Therefore my goal was to place immediately behind Jeff. This way he could get whatever place and I'd try and be a filler rider just behind him, denying someone else any points available there.

The last time I tried to help by placing behind someone it was when I wanted to place behind Bryan. Unfortunately Bryan exploded in the sprint so I just sat up, finishing a sort of accidental 13th.

To assist I'd have to be up front. That's easier said than done, especially after three hard-for-,e efforts to get back into (aka stay in) the race.

Bell Lap.

At the bell I was pretty well buried in the field. I'd moved up a little bit but not really into the front - I was mainly "out of the back" rather than "in the front".

Turn Two on the last lap.

At turn Two things stayed the same. The first stretch was so hard on me I couldn't afford to use extra energy to move up - it was all I could to to maintain position and mentally prepare for the second half of the lap.

Gap opening up in front of me. I will take it.

The Brauer rider moved to the right a bit, opening a big gap. I zipped up into it, my legs reasonably fresh from going easy the last half lap. Obviously I was leaving it late but I hoped that the ferocious wind had taken the edge off the legs of the riders in front of me.

Through the gap, waiting for an opening so I can go.

Jeff is just ahead of me, Joel is fading on the left.

We're now in the heart of the sprint. On a good year I'd launch from here, even earlier perhaps, but this year isn't one of those years. This week I waited behind two riders, knowing that at some point a gap would open somewhere. Eventually one moved enough to let me by - I went, 100%, as soon as I saw the opening.

Trying to place behind Jeff.

Missus is standing holding Junior who is wrapped in the green blanket on the memorial.

Coming up to the line I had one guy in my sights. My sprint isn't what it used to be so I couldn't think about passing more than just the one guy, but that would be enough - the rider in front of him was a very well placed Jeff. I figured I should be able to pass the one guy and finish the race behind Jeff, exactly as I wanted.

Then I heard movement to my right. Someone was making a late surge for the line. I was taken aback enough that I couldn't really throw my bike - a couple quick downstrokes and a poor lunge for the line and I knew that the other guy had beaten me.

Ironically I saw that on review he was the guy that moved right and gave me the opening I needed to get into position for the final part of the sprint.

A quick (and very poor) throw but I didn't realize he was there until he was passing me.

Stinger 9 in the back, Bastogne up front. Tsunami Bikes frame.

It ended up that Jeff got the last points place so getting a place behind him wasn't critical. Lucky for me since I didn't get that spot behind him. In addition the guy that passed me wasn't in for the overall anyway so my place holding ended up a moot point. Regardless it was a better execution of the same plan I had twice before. Once I wasn't anywhere near my protected rider and the other time the protected rider blew up.

I did a cool down lap, unusual for me, and then found the Missus and Junior. Junior was funny - he wasn't sure who the guy was with the helmet and stuff, but as soon as I nuzzled his cheek he smiled and leaned his head into mine. He knew it was dad and started waving his hands and kicking his feet.

The Missus was happy for me, knowing how I've been struggling at the races. It's not fun to struggle, even less so when it just leads to getting shelled. At least today I got something for my struggles.

I got to think, to plan, and to try and adjust my riding to fit another rider's needs. I struggled like crazy a few times, once literally giving up just as everyone else sat up, and managed to get to the last few laps in the field. It reinforced the idea of not giving up.

I made a good equipment choice - the shallow front wheel - based on my experience from last week, getting blown around on the course. I felt less stress holding a line, I felt more comfortable sidling up to another rider, getting better shelter.

Of course I say all that but lasted all of two laps in the P123 race. For now, though, I want to focus on what I need to do to become at least marginally competitive in the races I'll be doing throughout the summer. Right now it's all about training and getting some hours in because, frankly, I can't use my equipment as any kind of excuse.