The brutal winter of 2009 convinced the State of Massachusetts to bury some power lines near the road that climbs Mount Wachusett, so the Longsjo race's notorious climb was not a factor. Points became incredibly contentious, as racers dueled for points every single lap. After two laps, I was able to pick out who were the good climbers. I made sure to keep them in check.
The weather was fabulous for bicycle racing, sunny and in the 80s. The race course, running through the woods, shielded us from the worst of the sun and wind. The big climb was exposed to both, so I compensated by pouring about 500mL of water over my head each lap.
I entered the race with the leaders jersey, and I wanted to hold on to it! I made certain that happened, by staying at the front of the pack and covering the few attacks that happened. The consensus was that I worked quite hard in the race, which is unusual for a race leader. Old habits die hard.
Michael, the other MIT Cat 3 in the race, did not finish. This means I don't have any teammates tomorrow! I was able to make a few friends today, including a tall gentleman on a black Soloist, who helped me stay toward the front. Thank you.
Our field was neutralized three times, and even stopped one of those times, to allow the juniors and the masters to pass. I guess young boys and old men are more feisty than the Cat 3 crowd.
At the finish, I decided to conserve my energy and not duel for the big stage win. I may have lost a few seconds doing so, but I'm still in yellow.
My goals for tomorrow's crit: don't crash, don't get dropped, and finish with the pack. I don't want points or the win. I want to keep my leader's jersey, and I want my Cat 2 upgrade. I hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow.
Now, where did I put that ice cream? Ah yes, here it is. Delicious.
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