Hello again. Today I competed in the Camp Pendleton Bulldog Road Race. Originally I was gearing up to race the Santiago Canyon TT, but a persuading email from a teammate caused me to change my mind. He said it was the most well organized race he had ever competed in. It sounded interesting, and I figured since I wasn't going to be able to make all four races in the Santiago series, why not try something new.
As it turns out, the race was incredibly organized. The United States Marines really know how to put on an event. Not only was it organized, but the Marines themselves were so friendly and helpful, which made the day so enjoyable. At the finish, the Marines were congratulating us and telling us how amazing we were! Not a chance! They are the ones who are amazing! All we did was compete in an amateur bike race, they're the ones putting their life on the line so we can. Anyone who serves in our Armed Forces will ALWAYS have my utmost respect. Semper Fi!
I managed to finish 7th place in my age category, and 18th overall. That's where the good news ends. As far as the race report goes, VERY SCARY! As it turned out, many people in the race had prior race experience and knew what to do out there, but quite a few had never raced before, and quite a few were racing with aero bars. Granted there were told they couldn't use them, using them wasn't the issue, it was the fact that people who have aero bars on their bikes are typically triathletes, and typically triathletes aren't very comfortable being surrounded by a large number of other riders going at high speeds. Needless to say, there was a lot of bumping, a near crash for me, and two crashes in our race!
On another down note, I'm fairly sure I could have won this race, if I had let my instincts take over instead of my brain in the last mile, (prior course knowledge would have helped too). With one mile to go I found myself in the lead group of about 12 riders, the peloton out of sight behind us. My instincts said to attack and try and break away solo for the win, but my brain said wait and count the riders around and see who is in your group. I went with the brain, started counting and came to the decision that I was sitting pretty high up, so I'd finish this one in a group sprint. I forgot that I can't sprint well! Had I known there was a 90 degree left turn coming up, followed by a 90 degree right, followed up by a chicane to the finish line, I would of attacked in a heartbeat knowing a single rider could blast through all that with minimal braking. Instead I stayed with the group, braking hard for both turns, then having to sprint from a slow speed for 7th. Another lesson learned. Tomorrow's plan...ride a large portion of the Tour of California route. 90+ miles with a whole lot of climbing. Oh yeah! Until next time...
