Charge Pond Training Series Road Race Report

Pack finish

The race season unofficially began Saturday with a road “scrimmage” in Plymouth, MA. The course was a 1.5 mile rolling loop. I raced in the “B” group (Cat. 4-5) 25 miles. My expectations were high, yet tempered by the fact that I had no idea where my fitness stacked up against other competitors. Conditions were fair. It was breezy and cold (35 degrees) and the road was semi-rough with a few potholes, one I had to bunnyhop over when it caught me by surprise! We all stuck together for the most part, feeling each other out. A few would go off the front, but never threatened to run away with it. I had a few pulls out front, spiking the heart rate, then settling back at the end of the pack before cycling back towards the front. With 2 to go, things got unsettled and I think some guys got away out front. I wanted to pull away too, but could never distinguish who was a serious threat and who to go with (life in the pack with no teammates). Not being a sprinter, I put myself ahead of the pack the last ½ lap thinking I could get away with 1 or 2 other guys. I took a turn out front and wasted myself with ¼ mile to go. Lesson learned: if the pack is together, don’t go off that early! I slowed and the pack swooped by me. I just held on to the back and finished with the main field, probably top-20 out of 30. I came away with some lessons learned, and satisfied with my fitness. I had no trouble riding up front and didn’t feel like I was suffering as much as others. The way some of the guys were breathing, I couldn’t believe they weren’t in cardiac arrest! The bike was set up perfectly by Steve at the shop and it rode with flawless shifting. I'm just getting familiar with the bike, so I'll post more about it down the road. I’m looking forward to returning to the same race next weekend and hope to apply new strategies to a higher finish.