So the vernal equinox is upon us tomorrow yet there's 3 inches of snow pasted against my fence outside and a bitter wind howling through the trees. Spring is a time of change and unpredictability so a late snow storm in Utah is nothing world-ending. It does make for challenging riding conditions, however.
Saturday's RMR crit was held in 40 mph winds. The winds forced us to race on the somewhat protected 1/8 mile oval rather the dragstrip and pit areas. I get dizzy racing around that oval but its usually fast and over with before you know it. Eventually 4 broke away and each had teammates in the peloton. I was one of only a few willing to work to get them back so I burnt some matches. There were 2 spots on the course with wicked winds so when it came time for the bunch sprint, I mistimed the sprint and ended up midpack.
I rode with some friends and sponsors, Jody Harris and Denis Porter, out to the raceway from Bountiful. Its a 20 mile ride. Into the wind on the way out it took a good hour and a half. After racing, we made it back in less than an hour with the tailwind. 30 mph and 80 watts at times!
I was satisfied with the day. I seemed to have more gas in the tank than last week but I still feel rusty. Crit racing takes some balls and I'm having to build them up a bit to be competitive. I'm looking forward to the crit at Tour del Sol. Racing like this also motivates me to make sure my workouts are that much better, that I'm really giving my time on the bike all that I have. The threshold intervals waiting for me today are going to get it! So what if I'm in the pain cave!
My weekend wasn't all riding though. A cyclist has to rest, so it was great weekend to enjoy some live streaming action on the interweb. There was some great pro cycling, sailing and autoracing happening...
Mercury sponsored teams took the San Dimas Stage Race and Old Pueblo Crit in Tucson.
The 60th running of 12 hrs of Seabring saw Audi continue its decade long dominance in endurance racing. But the most exciting class was the street car looking GT class, with only 6 seconds separating the winning BMW and second place Corvette!
And finally, the Kiwis are showing their mettle in the final stages of the Volvo Ocean Race.
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