Back on it.....almost!!

This weekend brought some good things; it also brought room for improvement.  Fact of the matter is that I was racing and that makes me happy.  We raced down in Leonardtown, MD for the MABRA (Mid Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association) Crit Championship.  As always, it would come down to Battley Harley Davidson and us.  I was eagerly excited to see how my glute would hold up.  The good.....it held up very well.  Improvement... I don't have race legs yet, and that showed in the last lap.  The plan was to save me for the last few laps and be the main lead out man for teammates Evan and Nema OR get in a late race break and attack the break with a few laps to go.  7 laps to go and I found myself with 2 non teammates off the front with a 10 second break.  We worked together for the next 6 laps until I launched my solo attack with 1 to go.  I created a bit of separation but unfortunately was caught by 1 of the 2 riders with half a lap to go.  As I was geared up to launch the 2nd attack, the field caught on and I watched our sprinters get ready for the end.  I jumped in to grab 9th place to get a little team money, and Nema took 2nd.  The good is that we rode very well as a team.  The bad is that a race like this....all we care about is 1st place and getting the jersey.  We lost!  I'm eager to get more racing in and come in to form for Nationals in late June.

MABRA Crit Championship...a good race, but we fell short!

 

I also received a recent phone from a friend in Kansas City who asked if I would like to ride as a composite rider for the Nature Valley Grand Prix  (5 day stage race in Minnesota).  I love that race; however its the week before Nationals in Augusta, GA.  It's also the same time as our family trip to northern Wisconsin, which I sadly missed last year.  Not sure it would be of my teams's best interest to burn myself out at NVGP and head to nationals tired.  Some schedule decisions to be made soon.

This coming weekend brings the Wilmington Grand Prix.  Saturday is a hard, fast crit in downtown Wilmington while Sunday is a 100+ mile road race.  (http://www.wilmgrandprix.com/About.aspx),  I'm excited to get some racing under my belt in hopes to be on form for nationals in late June.

For now its day to day with my glute and keeping it healthy.  As long as it holds off, I will continue to race as much as I can.