The 2011 bike racing season opened for me today. I'm not planning on doing much road racing this year, so I haven't really been training like I usually would. It was just so nice here today that it seemed like a good idea to race. I don't think I've ever opened my race season wearing without wearing leg warmers and/or arm warmers and/or a jacket.
The course is pretty basic, with really only 2 corners to speak of and a long climb to the finish line. It's always weird to get back to pack racing. I'm never a fan of cornering shoulder to shoulder with people, but the road is really wide on this course so there was generally a lot of room. There was only one crash, and several close calls of people trying to shove their bike were it shouldn't be. There is always a new crop juniors every year that are fearless and fit, but their skills don't necessarily match their ambitions.
All-in-all, it was generally a moderate pace. There wasn't much attacking, and I was happy to sit in and get the workout without trying to cover moves off the front. I survived the battle of attrition and finished 18th (out of 50+ starters I'd guess).
