RIR criterium 3/20/11

There’s nothing quite like racing on a Speedway.  This would be my second time racing here at Richmond International Raceway, the first being last year as a Cat 5, or 4, I don’t really remember.  It would be a pretty decent day for it high of 60, and mostly sunny.  The day started out with a head wind in the finishing straight and cross wind in turns 1 and 2.  This would make for a fast back stretch.  I was now going on the second weekend of having no computer do to my Garmin dying on me, and waiting for the warranty one to arrive.  I don’t like flying blind.  The original plan was to go out and do the 3/4 race as hard as possible.  If i did well then I would go out and do the 1,2,3 race.  This didn’t happen at all.  The 3/4 race was big, 93 people lining up, and 75 finishing; 60 minutes of circles.  I knew to have a chance at anything I would have to stay near the front.  I did this successfully for most of the race.  covering a break here and there.  The field was not letting anything get away, but then something happened.  With about 10 to go the field became very rambunctious.  Pushing each other, and elbows and handlebars connecting.  I knew, just knew, there would be a crash coming around towards the end.  So I stayed to the outside of the group, and decided I would take this route for the sprint.  Well, that crash never came, and I ended up sitting up for 36th crossing.  Most of the 3s agreed that the race was sketch to say the least.  Oh well. Nobody went down, and that’s a good thing.  The average speed of that race was 26.9mph.

Dan was already back at the car when I showed up tinkering with a malfunctioning powertap wheel.  I asked if he planned on doing the 1/2/3 race, and he did, so I went ahead and signed up.  I’m not going to hang out and watch a race I could be in.  This race was a little smaller, I think 40-50 ended up lining up.  i didn’t plan on doing much in this race, more or less I felt that I had just paid $20 to get 80 minutes of “race pace” riding in.  Some of the teams had some big numbers showing up CRC with 6 or 7, NCVC with 6, 3sports had 6, and Whole Foods had 3 or 4.  The race started off fast, and to my surprise I felt really good out there.  Attack after attack after attack was how the race went.  Our speed according to Dan, on the back stretch regularly broke the 30mph mark.  Breaks would get off the front hang for a few laps, and then be pulled back in.  I bridged to three of them, and went off the front once.  I would be dismayed when I got up to the break and didn’t see a CRC kit in it.  I knew Dan King and his cronies wouldn’t let a break walk away with none of his riders in it.  So when a haymarket rider went off the front and I went with I wasn’t too sure how it would go.  There was still 36 laps left, but I happened to look back and see about a quarter of a lap gap.  We swapped back and forth, but they slowly gained on us.  Then Bill Scanlon showed up with another rider.  We had four now, including a CRC rider….. awesome, or not.  We were caught the next lap.  Dan also made a couple breaks himself, including the one that looked the most promising, but as we came around for the two to go someone said let’s do it, and ramped it up.  It was the fastest two laps I have ever done. Shifting down to my 53/12 and then my 53/11 I have no idea what are speeds were for those 2 minutes or less.  I had a glimmer of hope.  i was sitting around 7th wheel, and was staying with the field, but as we came around the last turn my legs just didn’t have anymore, covering attack after attack did its number and I sat up crossing the finish as I drank from my water bottle.  Dan sat up as well, and came in right behind me.  I didn’t even take the time to look at the results.  We were so hungry that we finished, changed, and left on our long journey home, and by long I mean about an hour and a half.  Our avg speed for that race I think Dan said was around 27.2mph

Thanks to 3sports for putting this race on again.  It was a lot of fun.  Hope to see everyone next week as we travel to Charlottesville for the Waldon Park Crit on Saturday, and Jeff Cup on Sunday.