Impressions form the Green Mountain race Sunday. Hot. well, and HOT. Besides that, a typical "Kiddie Prison" course. Lots of twisty corners and sketchy traction in a lot of them. Had to be happy with one or more tires sliding around a bit to carry much speed. No major "climbs" but at least one good long uphill fast section to get you gassed before the finish trudge thru the heavy grass. Course ended up racing better than I thought it would in warm up.
Avoiding the 110 Rider herd of the Beer-Drinking-Dad's group was probably a good move, less dusty, and the 45+ bunch rides a bit smoother and "different". Actually made for a good first race, without the pileups and chaos of the old guy 4's group. Started in pretty much the last row, as I really had no expectations, and had only done one 45+ open race the year before, and that being a back to back race right after a 35+ 4 race. Fair start, but was pretty far back after the grass loop, coming almost to a stop at the drop off the field. Spent the first lap pretty much sitting in at the back of the group I was on (38th from the video analysis). Everything was fast and single file for that first lap. after that, gaps started to open, and I realized I was quite comfortable sitting on. So I started to move up and jump across some gaps. Strange, it was on the long uphill and hills on the back out of some chicanes that I was passing guys, not my usual strength. Seemed to be moving up consistently, along with some good back & forth from a few Green Mountain sports guys and a RRV rider. As the race wore on, the groups I was in seemed to disintegrate around me, and the group kept geting smaller and smaller. Late race attrition and heat were probably the reason. Was driving pretty well, seemed to be able to carry speed thru the loose corners pretty well, which was key on this course.
I can always tell how I'm feeling in a race by when I finally look for the lap card. This time it was 2 to go. Still feeling good, I just kept the pressure on for the parts of the course where I was seeming to go better than those around me. Even into the last lap, I was not really fading much, a complete reversal from last year. Felt (reasonably) strong all thru the last lap, and was able to pass 5 guys in that lap (well, OK, passing someone crashing in the last corner may not have been from my "superior" fitness, but it still counts!).
Ended up moving to 23rd from that high 30's back row start. QUITE pleased with that for me in the open group. Felt good the entire race, without a lot of slowing in the last 2 laps. Maybe that Laramie Enduro training for hours & hours back in June & July helped that out. Planning on testing the Beer-Drinking-Dads race Saturday at Xilinx. May even do a "double" and race 45+ back to back. Can't hurt the late race endurance. HPM is working the race, so to pay for a 6:00 AM race arrival, maybe we can score the "promotion" call up like Green Mountain Sports did Sunday. Sure would be nice to get in the first 2 rows for that start. We have a full contingent of HPM guys coming out, so look out for our planned world domination and our BBQ compound. At least it does not look like 90+ degrees Saturday.
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