Saturday May 19, 2007

The forecast of rain didn't keep us from making it out to the far end of Brooklyn this weekend and we placed 6th and 7th in Cat.5 and Cat.4 race, respectively.

Cynthia, who also biked the 25 miles to reach Floyd Bennett Field, rode the whole race on her own after a bit of a mechanical at the start. She said "By the time I clipped in, I had to get out of the saddle to chase them. They were approaching the first corner and I was getting really close, and then they took off. Errr….alright, solo riding it is... I was actually feeling stronger today than at Prospect, granted it's flat here vs the one hill in Prospect. I kept riding, got pushed by the wind couple times and eventually crossed the finishing line. I did it. My second cycling race. And I passed one person."

Up next was David and Steve in Cat.5. David said "...the pace was really uneven. Toward the end there was a one man break. I ended up at the front and decided to try to do a lead out for Steve, who was on my wheel."

"I spread the field out a good bit, caught up virtually all the way to the break, and pulled off around the final turn for Steve to take over. He did and moved forward well, but ended up being
passed by a few guys (he placed 6th). I was done. As Mitch said, I probably should not have worked so hard. Need to unlearn some instincts to chase."

So this brings us to the Cat.4 race where we had Toby, Mitch and Jack, well ...except Mitch had a flat shortly before the start. He was able to borrow a wheel from Cynthia, but while changing it, the field took off.

Toby recounted "My time in the 4s was 1:07:10. The average was about 24.3 mph... The 4s occasionally pushed to chase, but often settled to a 23 mph or less in the wind, which just
would not have happened if the 3s were there."

"I wound up on the short 2nd to last stretch (where moving up counts) but had no wheel to help get up far enough in the sprint, though I did start too far back. One must want it, and in the last lap remind oneself that it is all about using what you have the smartest way when it counts." With about 1/2 mile to go, when the pace was increasing, Toby managed to draw enough strength to pass on his own most of the field, already stretched out over 200 yards to no more than 20 yards from the winner, earning him 7th place.