LA Circuit Race

Ahhhh man. Today was LA Circuit. 72 miles. Fooooookin rocked out! Scroll down...to a couple entries ago. Regarding this race, I said: "gonna be aggressive, gonna be in every move, aggressive aggressive aggressive." That's just what happened. From the gun, a break went off and actually got a gap. It was early, still, but I wasn't having it. My legs felt terrific (as they have felt all throughout my meager February), so I went for it. Got brought back. Sat in for a bit, moved back to the front, went off the front, again. and again. and again. Total relentlessness. Finally, midway through the race, I bridged up to a promising break. It was small, had the right guys (not strong guys, per se, but guys from the right teams, who had teammates who could block). I drove the shite out of this break. Did more than my share of work, didn't care that "i wouldn't have anything left for the end." I would. We established a healthy gap. Then, the main field split, and hot-shots Thurlow Rogers, Karl Bordine, Jason Bausch, etc bridged up, and we had a giant group of about 20 in front of the race. 30 miles remained at this point. We worked poorly together, and some wanks didn't do a single turn out front. But somehow, it stuck. I attacked the break a couple times, but realized it'd be futile with so much strength in that lead group. After a bunch of really promising looking breaks (one which was Bordine, Rogers, TiaCreff, and me), the last lap comes. Karl Bordine took a solo flyer at some point on this lap. I missed it. Either I didn't see him accelerate, or didn't have the legs. I'd been aggressive the entire race, but during the last lap, I reluctantly shifted into conservative mode. That was my only mistake. Thurlow attacked a billion times, and was brought back each time, sometimes with me in tow. He's a marked rider, no matter what. Karl's gap grew, and the main group just really started bumming it. Couple dudes escaped off the front, and the chasers (myself included) just looked at each other. Gah. Ended up right in the wind for the 10-man final sprint with only 400 meters to go. The first 7 spots were up the road, and would stay there. We were sprinting for 8th. I did a sweet "fake sprint", and actually got some guys to get in front of me (enabling me to slip into their draft). Started the sprint behind Thurlow, who started coming off his line a bit. With 150 meters to go, I started the sprint on the right side, and desperately pleaded with Thurlow to let me by (I was almost run into the cones!). He did. I won the sprint for 8th, and was pretty psyched about how the race went. I busted my ass, maybe too much. I didn't win, but still got some cash. Absolutely no regrets, as it should always be. A good start to March, for sure.

Sidenote #2: Went to Poquito Mas after the race. Ahi Tostada, best post-race nourishment in the world!!!!!!!!! Diverse and plentiful (legumes, fish, and dairy) protiens, fiber from the black beans, amazing salsa galore, and the tostada shell to fill you up. If I finished 7th or better, I would have ordered a tall Horchata to go with it, but ah well...more motivation for next time.

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Oh, and Thank You: Dave. For getting me some much-needed tubes.