Second race of the day for me. After finishing the E4 race I was pleasantly surprised to see that my wife and 2 boys had come out to cheer dear old dad on. Figured I better perform. Again we rolled out with about 50 (older) dudes. First few laps were really chill. Tri Valley Velo had 8 guys in the race so I made a note to keep an eye on them. First 10 minutes or so I just surfed wheels and eyeballed all the usual suspects. See who’s looking strong and who isn’t. Two TVV guys went to the front and kept on rolling. So I grabbed a wheel and went with them. We had a small gap but the pack wasn’t worried and just sat there. After doing my pull I give an arm wag and slide over. Guess the guys behind me didn’t grasp the concept and our short lived break was over. We get reaquainted with the bunch and that was pretty much the way it was for the rest of the race. Nobody got very far off the front. Fast forward to 5 to go. I make my way up to the business end of our little party. Trying to see who is fresh. I was feeling decent but not great. 3 to go I see the wheel I want. Try to play it cool and slide on over benind Greg and Adam of BBC. Greg’s smart and he had positioned himself on the inside between 2 and 3. So the pack was sheltering us from the cross wind. Greg slowly ratched his pace up till he pulled off before turn 3 on the last lap. I sat on Adam’s wheel till about 100 meters before turn 4. Jumped hard and got a gap. Rode the razor trying not to blow up early. Cleared 4 with clean wheels and trucked across the line for the win.
I definately wasn’t the strongest out there. I felt I raced smart and put myself in a good postion for the finish. Of course lady luck played her part also. Was cool to take the win with my family there. Guess I performed OK for them. Thanks again Tony for shooting the race. Can’t wait to see those pics.
Mike
larry_nolan
congratulations Mike!