Merced

Hi.

Monday...blog day...why is it that my weekly off days always coincide with the nicest day of the week? It's just one of those unexplained phenomenons. Or it means that I need to switch up the off day. Anyhow, did a jam packed NRC opening weekend of racing, report follows. I'm limited on photos, but will try to come up with something nice before this comes to a close.

Some Beaters We Saw Unattended on a Curb in Merced

Saturday: Merced NRC Criterium 90k

I finished 79th. Usually, this means that I either nearly crashed at the end, broke a bike part, or some other catastrophic happening. Nope, I got nothing. No excuses, no stories. Just felt flat and pegged the whole time. It felt like everyone was really hurting throughout this crit. Weird. The course wasn't to my liking (except the biggest dots i'd ever seen in my life, i liked those lots), but i've done far better on worse courses, so that wasn't it, either. Just need to prepare a bit different for these two-day race weekends....

Sunday: Snelling NRC Road Race 200k

26th here. A really nice contrast, in all regards, to yesterday's race. It's nice to reaffirm the fitness levels after an uncharacteristic lull in power. Yep. Race report? Hmmm. Like the previous day, all the big-name pro guys were out, as they should be. The weather was tip-top, (TIP top...mid 70s, zero wind), full road closure on really lush vineyard backdrops...and the easiest course ever. So it was fast, yes, but not difficult. After the first two laps, I settled in, and was at the front for the remaining 3. top 20-30, every time. Fun story: At one point while up there, a guy from the new Kelly Benefits Strategies teams says [translation has a bit more eloquence than what was actually said]: "You don't belong up here...you've got no teammates...get to the back". Expletives were exchanged, and I kept my position...not to spite him, no, but because it's much calmer up front, and less hectic. There's a nice ironic twist to this tale...which I'll get to in a bit.

Lunch Truck That Takes Credit Card? Really?

One tangent...I was riding near Ivan a couple times while funneling back and forth [can't miss the jersey with "DOMINGUEZ" across the back] in the peleton. Nicest guy. Maybe "nicest" isn't the right word, but he's considerate, and honestly, if you're that fast, you don't have to be, but he is. JJ was the same way. Not being a jerk goes a long way in being a successful sprinter...nothing glaringly obvious, but that consideration you give out, comes back at some junction....and it's such a contrast to these guys on the 2-bit teams yelling and cussing and making an unnecessary scene. Eh. C'est la vie?

So back to the race. Garret Peltonen put in a huge solo move. Good on him. It's a long course, so he was eventually caught by the collective efforts of Kodak and Toyota (mostly Kodak). It wasn't difficult to bring back...I think he was pretty bonked by the time we got him. So at 10k to go, i'm sitting in a nice position, but it means nothing...the entire pack was fresh...I could swear the pack was still 120 strong. after 110+ miles of racing! That's how easy the course/conditions were. Anyhow, each lap, at the 5k to go mark, the course gets twisty, a bit hilly, and I knew it'd be a messy finale. I stayed to the outside of the pack, on the inside of most turns, when I had the choice. Right at the 5K to go, there's a sharp and narrow left hander. Teams were jockeying, and it was dicey, as expected. I couldn't help but notice that the same Kelly Benefits guy who I had a chat with wound up taking this left turn too hot and too wide, driving himself and his entire team off course and out of the race. In bike racing...it all comes around, man...the racing spirits see all...

Post-Race Calorie Session. What? It's Comfy. Get Over It.

Anyhow, the next 4k were a maze of crashes, gutter riding, sprrrrrrrrrrints to close gaps, all that. I felt good, but after closing one gap too many, I had nothing left for the sprint. Should have been further up when the madness started, but easier said than done, right? Happy to be upright, of course. But a bit of sprint juice might have given me enough to make the 6 spots and get that $200 20th place spot. Ah well. Good to see Menzies take the win...it was JUST his scene.

Other tidbits:

1 year blog birthday was on February 28th. Yeahhh. A year. Dig it.

My host family from wisconsin sent me cheese curds a couple weeks ago!!!!!!

So good! They were BEST the second I opened the box up. Fresh and soft as marshmallows...and a grrrrreat audible squeak with each bite. Thanks Mary and Phil! These were the best i'd ever had. California's got nothing on the Wisconsin curd scene...hate to say it.

And.....that's it for now. Murietta Omnium this next weekend. The TIME boys will be out in full force, so I'm ecstatic to be racing with a team again. In time. Also, might be some things in the mix next time I write though...just need to figure out how to word it all. Au Revoir...