Day 2 in Brookhaven

Unlike last year, it was already warm when we arrived at the community college where the criterium was being held. The biggest difference for me, though, wasn't the temperature; it was the fact that, being in 10th place on GC, I didn't feel much pressure at all. My legs felt surprisingly good, so I figured I would just go for a good stage placing today and not worry much about GC at all. I got a fast start, clipping in quickly and making the first turn near the front. Russ W pushed the pace for the first couple of laps for some reason, but after that it settled down into a fairly typical masters criterium. Compared with last year, when I was trying to defend a top-three spot on GC, it felt relatively easy. Perhaps it was, or perhaps it was just that I spent less time at the front. There was a hot spot at the mid-way point of the 55-minute criterium, and although I wasn't interested in picking up the few seconds that were up for grabs, I made sure I stayed near the front. I was expecting an attack. What happened wasn't really an attack, but a big and dangerous gap did open that required a concerted effort to close. The whole race was nearly lost at that point when a small group got away for most of a lap, but it was pulled back by the time we got to the hill near the finish. I thought that overall the race was less aggressive than I had expected, and so I arrived at the 4-laps-to-go mark with surprisingly fresh legs. The last few laps got faster, of couse, and every time the pace slowed a bit riders would swarm up from behind, each trying to move into a better position. Half-way through the last lap I was not in a very great spot, but then on the second-to-last turn there was some room on the inside and I swung through, emerging on the fifth or sixth wheel, just behind Jay S. Coming into the finish of this course there is a nice little climb that tops out about 150 meters before the finish. For all practical purposes the sprint starts at the bottom of the climb. Half-way up, Jay started to fade a little and I immediately heard wheels coming up on my left, against the fence. I saw a spot of daylight and got onto one of the wheels moving forward. I think it might have been Russ W. or maybe the person on his wheel. Keith was right behind me, as I was to learn later. Anyway, it was a fun last lap and I managed to get across in 4th place with Keith right on my wheel. Definitely a better-than-expected result for me. When the dust cleared, I was still in 10th place on GC, thanks to my mediocre time trial, but the good news was that I was starting to feel that old excitement that keeps me racing year after year. Charlie D. finished with the pack and kept his 9th place on GC. Not sure where Keith ended up on the overall, though. In fact, I'm not exactly sure who won the master's, so I guess I'll wait until I see the full results.

The Cat. 1,2,3 race was pretty interesting and somewhat controversial. Early in the race a break went off the front. It later split into two groups, with what was left of the pack chasing about 30 seconds back. Before the break split a couple of guys made a long and difficult bridge up to the break. That was pretty impressive because these guys were going fast. As the 75-minute race wore on, the front break dwindled to only three riders while the second group held its own. The pack pretty much gave up eventually and the lead break lapped them. Then, just to make sure the officials were as confused as possible, the second group caught the pack, lapping them on their last lap, so that they ended up essentially sprinting into the back of the pack. Along the way one rider in the lapped pack dropped back in order to help one of his teammates in one of the breaks. I think he or they got penalized for that. It was a pretty good race to watch. I'm sure I'll get the full results tomorrow for posting to the website(s). The winner on GC: Mike Olheiser , winner of this year's Rouge-Roubaix, from the Memphis Motor Werks team. The Herring Gas guys worked hard and almost pulled off the win, but not quite this time. Brooks was tired by happy to have finished with the pack today.

The Cat. 4 race went pretty well for Jason, though I don't remember exactly where he placed. Likewise, we had a couple of guys in the Cat. 5 race who finished near the top.

Although I had driven up to the race alone, I drove back with the car packed to the gills. Both Brooks B. and George H. needed rides back to New Orleans, so we put two bikes on the roof, and loaded up the old Volvo with a bike case and bike, stationary trainer, about ten wheels, six or seven bags, pumps, etc., somehow salvaging enough space to put squeeze in three people too. For some reason I just love travelling like this.