Dalton

Well I'm officially back to racing. I can't believe it! I decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I went to race in Dalton Georgia. While I was down there , I figured I would work on the spin bikes at the Rush and get paid. That idea worked flawlessly! I went down there to race, and I got paid. Unfortunately, I did not get paid for winning. Here's how the weekend of racing went down. First I go down to Chattanooga Friday afternoon. I immediately get to work on the spin bikes. Once I'm done with that, I start hanging out with my good bud Trent and his girl friend, Natasha. Friday night, they had some "sprint" race going on. The reason why I put quotes around that is because I have never heard of a sprint race. I decide to skip the Sprint race and hang to with Trent that night.
Saturday morning came, and so did the Time Trial. Have I mentioned that I hate Time Trials? I DO! I wake up at 6 a.m. and drive down to Dalton. It is pouring rain, lightning like crazy, and even hailing. Needless to say, there was no Time Trial. I drove for nothing, o well. I came back up to Chattanooga and hung out with my old roommate Andy for a while. It was great catching up with him. Once I was done hanging out with Andy, I drove back down to Dalton for the Crit. I got there, and luckily it wasn't raining. Of course the roads were soaked and it was 50 degrees, but at least it wasn't raining. The course was a typical 4 corner flat crit, however there were a few sketchy turns. The first turn went from 4 lanes to 1 while going slightly down hill. The second was turn 2. There was a SUV parked right in the apex of the turn. And finally, the last turn was unbelievably rough. The race starts and I try to keep it mellow. I go off the front once, but after that, I sit in for a while. I had one other teammate at the race, Jason Peters. Jason always does well at the crits and he did here too. Jason kind of rode off the front and the "field" let him go. He got a bout a 5 second gap for a lap then the field reeled him back in. After that, there was a noticeable slowing. So I decide to attack. I immediately get a gap. After I had been off the front for a half lap, they call for a prim. I immediately think, "looks like they are going to reel me back in." However they don't. I maintain my lead and keep going. After 3 laps of me being solo, 2 people bridge up to me. One is Cumberland University freshman Ben Salibra. The other was Emile Abraham. Ben is a guy that I met and rode with at Cumberland while I was visiting once. He is nice. Emile on the other hand, was a very seasoned pro. He has raced for several big pro teams. He was by far the favorite out of our break away. We get about halfway into the race and Emile quits pulling. His teammate bridges to our break solo. Now there are 4 of us, and the 2 strongest guys are in the break. I definitely had my work cut out for me. I continue to work. We begin to get down to laps and I am feeling good. The legs are not really hurting and I begin to think, "I have a really good shot at this." With 3 laps to go, I have a rear flat. My race was over. It sucked, but that's life. Jason did really well in the sprint and got 5th. Great job to him!
The road race was the next morning. I was hopeful after my performance yesterday. There is really nothing to be said about the road race. I saw the race was about to get harder. I could tell the winning group was about to get up the road. I even knew exactly which wheel to be on. Everything happened exactly the way I thought it would, I just didn't have the legs. I tried to follow Sergei's wheel, and I couldn't hold it. I knew that was the race, I just didn't have it. Disappointing.
Overall, I am happy with the performance of this past weekend. It was nice to be in a race winning breakaway this early in the year. Yes I am upset about my flat, but happy none the less. It was a great weekend not only racing and working, but also catching up with old friends. This Saturday, I am doing the Hell of the South Road Race. I like to call it the Dirty South road race. It is a 102 mile Road Race with Dirt road sections. I am hoping I will be able to help one of my teammates get a win. I will let you know how the race goes.
Til Next Time,
The Crow