Tuesday I took off from the bike, and went to the urgent care at night. Wednesday I went for a nice ride, started slow and took me a while to get out of town, and I ended up doing the Thursday Night Old Mill ride and it got much faster once I got North of town. Once I got back to Kzoo, a couple friends from Pedal were having a drink at Gonzo's and I stopped and joined!
On the TNR we rode up to Old Mill in Plainwell. It was a good ride up, and once there I had three beers. Drinking beer tastes especially good after/during riding bikes, it also works much better if you know what I'm sayin'. After the very fast and punchy ride back down to Kzoo, I went to dinner with J'son and some other friends to Gonzo's again. I had two more drinks then rode home in the dark. It was fun riding slow in the dark, as long as the lights on your bike are decent, it was a fun experience.
I then took Friday and Saturday off the bike, trying to make the ankle feel a little better as it is still pretty sore. Ice helped quite a bit, and I'm not too concerned with the ankle going forwards. Sunday I drove over to Ann Arbor for the last race of the Spring Training series and it went very well. I had a bit more confidence this time; I knew the course, I was feeling fresh, the ankle didn't hurt too much. The race started slow, just as I thought it would, and just as I thought, there were a couple moves that came back within the same lap. The race continued like this and I was with the front group until the last lap. After the first 90 degree turn, a guy made a move and he actually won the race solo, with a bunch sprint for the next positions. I feel like I positioned myself well coming into the final turn, about 8th or 9th and on the inside. I was thinking to myself, "I'm going around these cats on the inside and lets see if something happens."
So again, I got the positioning part down, I just need to work on the sprint. I still don't have that killer-instinct that I think it takes to win a race. I need to start going all out on the sprint, maybe even using a harder gear, I think I was spinning out a little bit. Keep the weight back so the back wheel doesn't come off the ground as much, and just go. I'm not good at it yet, but I'm sure all these races will help. I was also told by two different people at the race how to pin and place my number. Good things to know, a little embarrassing, but looking forward to getting it right next time!
I'm very happy today, as I think I got around 6th place (results haven't been posted yet). Very much looking forward to these busy next couple of weeks as far as bike racing goes. It will be important to watch the diet and make sure I'm riding every day but taking time off when I need it. I'm very hopeful and very happy.
4/14 Eagle Creek Crit, Indianapolis, IN 12th Cat 4/5 (29)
4/22 Notre Dame Crit, South Bend, IN 12th Cat 4/5 (29)
4/29 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series Ann Arbor, MI 22nd Cat 4/5 (40)
5/6 Kalamazoo Half Marathon Kalamazoo, MI 13th (27) AG (M 19-24) / 249th (1392) Overall
5/7 131 Racing Series, Martin, MI 1st "B race" (9)
5/12 Tiger Lane Crit, Memphis, TN DNF Cat 3/4
5/20 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series Ann Arbor, MI 6th Cat 4/5 (25)
5/28 Waterford Hills Circuit Race, Clarkston, MI
6/3 Cobb Park Crit, Kankakee, IL
6/9 BTR Crit, Kalamazoo, MI
6/10 Race for Wishes, Lawton, MI
6/15 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI
7/15 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
Also big things are happening in my life and I'm very excited about that as well. We are still in very early days, but I think big things might change soon, and I'm very excited for a new chapter! Stay tuned!
Cheers! CE
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