Wow. Can't recall ever be so pleased about a top-ten finish. Been riding a fraction of what I used to ride since I bought my bike in November, but feeling good, enjoying it and motivated. Last night was the first riding I've done with any intensity and it felt good, which was not which I was expecting. The last dirt crit racing I had done was my first season of racing in 2003 at Castlewood when I won the sport class series. That course was all gas and no flow and I never really enjoyed it that much. The Valley Park course is just a blast. Great flow, technical at speed and a great track. The beer at the finish is a nice touch.
My race was somewhat uneventful and pretty much finished where I started. My goal was a top 15 finish but I didn't want to get bottlenecked so I jump in with the lead pack, passed one rider on lap 2 or so and never looked back. I had one encounter with a tree that jumped out at me and hit my shoulder and one wash out where I ended up in the dirt with crooked hoods but fortunately recovered from both. I had a chase group that was yo yoyoing a ways back and went through a funk on laps 4/5 but managed to finish my last 3 laps consistently and close on the group with Bob in front of me a bit. I'm going to try to maintain my base/tempo riding and resist the urge to get all amped up for these but hopefully they provide a nice spring board to cross season.
No comments:
Post a Comment