grand prix clark natwick
golden gate park
2005/11/20
cat b
22nd/71
teammates: joe, roger (ss), rich (ss)
great day in the park today. perfect racing weather. sunny, but not too hot. the low autumn sun mottled from filtering through the eucalyptus reminded me of my best morning training rides. made me feel like i was on home turf. really cool to ride to and from the venue. just strapped the race wheels to the gear bag and go!
managed to get the punctured tufo from yesterday sealed and holding air again. also took delivery of some 700x35 ritchey clinchers that i can run lower than the schwalbe's. so happier with my wheel options than yesterday.
got there nice and early to help set up the popup. lauren et al had it well under control. put the race wheels on only to find a puncture in the front tufo this time. not a great weekend for the tufos. worked the sealant down to the leak and it seemed to close up, but i didn't really trust it at that point, so left it in the pits. decided to run the rear tufo and the front clincher today, which worked out fine.
got out on the course for 2 practice laps in between other races, which i think was more than most. legs were pretty heavy during warmup, and heartrate was noticably lower, but i figured that was to be expected on the second day. my head was in the right place today, so i wasn't too concerned.
good spot at the start with joe right behind the ritchey/lapierre guys in the front row on their trainers. got stuck in traffic a little off the line. tried to work my way to the outside so i could get around people, but got boxed in a bit. eventually managed to get out and around some people before the big crunch at the bottleneck.
felt pretty good throughout the race. moved up pretty well most of the race thanks to the help of my hometown cheering section. rode with and even beat a few people who beat me at the first two pilarcitos races. had pretty good luck finding wheels in the open sections, or at least making sure i wasn't giving anyone else a free ride. basically felt more like a racer. was reeling people in more easily, and looking ahead more instead of behind. i was even gaining on jeremy sarrow at the end, who i've never been able to touch in a race before. if i had another minute of race, i maybe could have caught him.
had a great time on the course today. i like this kind of woodsy stuff with fast open sections but no extended runups or climbs to recover from. just gotta keep laying the power on, good and steady like. thanks to all my peeps who came out just to watch: julie, ariel, dave, deb, katy, jay, marissa, chris. and to all the other voices i heard out there cheering for me including (but not limited to) jessica, sasha, jeremy, mikeo, beav, negley, and all the rest of the sycippers.
really enjoyed the rest of the day wandering around the course watching the elites showing us how it's done. some mountain bikey friends, rayner and dambrov, came out to spectate with us. the vibe was pretty cool throughout, especially by the pond where the pink rabbit and orange jumpsuited hecklers made the pros work for their living.
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