Pigeon Lake Road Race

A frustrating race to say the least.

111km 4 lap road race.

Got away with an ERTC rider in a break but the pack turned it up & we were caught within 2-4km

Beginning of 3rd lap got caught up in a "no where to go" situation with a crash in front of me. Ended up slamming my adams apple on some guys rear wheel so hard feels like I have strept throat right now.

Got in a few other surges off the front which didn't end up successful.

Tried soloing away from the pack on the 4th lap but shut down as well.

Uphill sprint to the finish didn't have enough juice ended up 6th-7th.

Burnt all my matches before the finish when my plan was to chill out.

Pretty upset with myself right now.

Oh ya to top it all off ABA apparently ruled me as a DNF so am not eligible for any points.

Awesome.

Back to the drawing board.

Jevro

Velocity 2011- Bitter Sweet Sensation

Velocity consisted of a TT/Crit/RR over a 2 day period.

I was able to ride strong for the short TT circuit & take the win & overall GC lead for the first event.

In the crit I wrestled with trying to protect my GC by marking riders & also trying to remain in contention for a potential podium. Ended up burning too many matches & placed mid park with GC lead in tact.

Road race was vicious. 4 laps 90km total with horrendous cross winds & head winds that took a toll on all Categories today.

Being the only Top Gear/Road racer in cat4 this weekend I had a difficult time protecting GC & remaining in contention for the win.

It seemed as though I was being marked by certain teams in the group that waited for me to make a play. A few breaks tried to get away in the first 3 laps but were shut down by the pack.

the main pack allowed (Maybe I'm wrong) a 5 man group to pull away on the beginning of the 4th final lap. Trying to be disciplined I watched them drift ahead thinking that the wind would be too much. If it wasn't hopefully they wouldn't be to far away for me to bridge to them & then make a final attack.

They ended up gaining time on the group & I realized I was in a real dilemma. Attack to bridge & get caught or get away. A synergy rider had already tried bridging & was between the peloton & the breakaway. I waited for the cross/tail wind section to start which was about half way into the lap & I attacked. I was able to bridge to the synergy rider & then we pushed the pace to try & stay away.

We passed a few guys who popped from the break away & it looked as though we would be racing for 3rd/4th place.

I took the final turn which would lead to an approximate 1.2 kilometer cross windy section to the finish & when I was just about to finish the turn a cross wind gust seemed to of caught my 808 rear perfectly & I flew into the ditch.

Some roadrash & some psychological struggles I was back onto my bike for a very disappointing solo ride to the finish. I'm sure I got bounced out of Top ten in the GC with the crash as a bunch of guys passed me.

Overall I am happy with the performance this weekend. Protecting GC even in a cat4 race with no teammates is no easy task. I am learning that this can be a daunting responsibility & difficult to balance if you want to win races as well as GC.

Learning about wheel choice with strong cross winds & maybe thinking a clincher is better than a tubular in road racing for braking is another good lesson. Aluminum braking surface may be the best way for better control especially in crits & Road races.

All in all not sure if I earned enough points to move into Cat3 but we will soon find out.

If not keep trucking in Cat4!

Wildcat roubaix

Wildcat Roubaix was a very difficult 50km race consisting of close to 18% grade gravel hills & plenty of other difficult rollers.

Dallas Morris hosted a great event that turned out to be an incredible sufferfest for all who participated.

It was a group start for the open A/B Men/Women as the total field was only around 40. Great turnout for the first race!

A lead break away quickly formed at the first climb which happened to be the KOM consisting of Shawn Bunnin, Troy H & 2 other strong riders.

I raced tempo with Top Gear teammate Craig Fraser along with Speed theory Trev W. & Synergy's Mark M. & other fellow riders to try & bridge the gap. I was able to latch onto an independent rider trying to bridge to the breakaway & we were able to bridge starting the final lap. I wasn't able to recover quickly enough at the back of the group & with rollers ahead got dropped by the now 5 man breakaway.

Ended up working well with Trev W. & Craig D. all the way up to the final big hill.

Trev gapped me near the peak but I was able to close it down near the top & nipped him in a sprint finish.

6th overall no ABA points but this race helped set the tone for the beginning of 2011.

Thanks to Dallas & all the volunteers for making this race happen!