Over the weekend, I was working at a retail store to help answer customer questions and sell them on our stellar products. Working retail and playing salesman is not my favorite thing to do, but it was interesting to see what customers are looking for. Not to mention, I scored a trip home (Toledo, Ohio) on the company's bill to do it.
While in Toledo, I was able to borrow a bike from a high school and ride in a bike race on Thursday. Oxygen is good. :) Since it's a small weekly race, all categories of riders start together. That means I, as a cat 4, was racing with cat 3's and 2's. In other words, my goal was to try and hang on with the leaders as long as possible, and then get in with the first chase group when I got dropped.
It was a 28 mile race on an 'L' shaped 7 mile course with 6 corners. I started the race at the front with my friend, Phil, and shuffled through the pack for the rest of the race. Sometimes on the front. More time on the back. The corners is where I really suffered because I'm not very aggressive around corners in a big group, and even less aggressive on an unfamiliar bike.
As we neared the finish, I could tell that I wasn't going to have to legs to really contend the sprint, so I drifted to the back to stay out of trouble. Bunch sprints are scary. I ended up finishing with the lead pack, which is a great result for me, considering I was racing people that were well above my skill level. Phil led a blistering pace for the last mile and his brother was able to sprint it out for the win.
Phil and I hanging out before the race.
Joe and Phil
I get to visit that fine state tomorrow. Congrats on finishing strong.
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