A bicycle race.

     Yesterday, I traveled to Piney Flats, Tennessee to race my bike.  Cue Queen.   First, a bit of background.  Last fall I joined Velosports Racing Team, which is a local team with about thirty members.  Amateur cycling is quite big here in the Southeast with many races taking place in North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina.  Racing your bike is not as simple as going to a 5k foot race and lining up on the starting line.  Bike racing involves a ranking system of numbered categories, which is usually shortened up as 'Cat' and then the corresponding number (Categories 1-5).  Entry level racers are in cat 5.  The categories are used as a way of separating cyclists according to their ability and experience.  For example, to get from cat 5 to 4 one simply needs to race ten races or do very well in a few races.  Then, to advance from cat 4 and upward one needs to place in races to gain points.  With the correct number of points one can then apply for an upgrade to the next category.  Wow, now that you're thoroughly confused, let's move on to the actual race.
      The race.  I raced the Milligan College Cycling Classic Road Race.  This race was a 22 mile course and my race was two laps and totaled 44 miles.  It was a rolling course with two decent climbs, large hills, and a few other small steep hills thrown in the mix (Here is the Strava link showing the course and my race).  Additionally, my race was a combined field of categories 4 and 5 with a total of 21 riders in the race.  The race began with a moderate to fast pace thanks, in part, to me since I was on the front pushing the speed.  My goal was to get the pack going fast to shed the cat 5 riders and anyone else that couldn't climb.  The first lap went by without much drama, I was on the front during the climbs attempting to make everyone else hurt without hurting myself too much.  As is typical of a small field the pace on the flats was pretty slow, since no one wanted to do the work in the wind.  Unfortunately, I probably spent too much time on the front trying to push the pace.  The key in a road race is to be near the front in order to respond to any attacks or attempts at break aways, but not actually on the front working hard in the wind.  The problem for me is that I get too antsy and end up working on the front too much.  All of this work is usually for nothing, in bike racing there are no points awarded for working on the front.  Regardless of my lack of smarts, the first lap went by and I still felt pretty fresh.  On the final climb of the day I pushed the pace pretty hard and ended up with a bit of a gap between myself and the rest of the pack.  I continued to push as hard as I could and soon another rider crossed the gap. I found myself in a two-man break away.  We worked hard to crest the climb and stay away.  I believe we were off the front for maybe a mile or so, but then we were swallowed up by the rest of the field.  Again, I wasn't really racing very smart. A little two-man break probably wouldn't have been able to stay away from the pack for very long, but I had fun doing it and that has to count for something.  Once the the rest of the pack caught us I decided to sit in the group and wait until the very end for the sprint to the finish line.  It was probably the only time in the race that I was patient and smart.  Even though I am not a sprinter, I felt that I had a good chance since it was not a very big field.  My small frame and skinny build are better suited for big climbs than the fast accelerations of a group sprint.  The pack and I motored on to the finish line.  As we neared the finish the group started to get twitchy.  Then, with less than a mile to go, everyone was trying to get near the front to be in good position for the final sprint.  I actually was in a good spot and attempted to rest a second to get ready for the pain that was about to ensue.  With about 400 yards left someone went for it and all of us followed.  Then, for the last 200 yards, we were supposed to have both lanes of the road closed to allow for the sprint finish.  Needless to say there were cars in the oncoming lane.  However, the guy I was trying to get around was on the yellow line so I jumped into the oncoming lane, traffic be damned.  Sadly my legs didn't have it and I ended up in third place.  Like I said earlier: I'm not a sprinter, but I gave it my best and had a decent result.
     I got a few upgrade points out of the race and learned more about racing.  Next week I'll be heading to Charlotte for the Dilworth Criterium.  I should have an update on that one as well, and some info about what exactly a criterium is.  Stay tuned.