6 1/2 Steps Forward, NO Steps Back

Well, It was time to show them, ( I mean myself) time to prove what I got. I know I'm not what I used to be, but I am getting there. The race today was the Sherman Park Criterium, Chicago, IL. A 1 mile loop of fast & furious. I had committed to it after the Exploratory Committee decided last week that I should, and would. If I did not, they said they would flog me with a wet noodle, ouch.

Dr. Mike & I drove up this am, and did the category 3/4's race. 48 minutes of pure fast racing. We get to the line, with 60 racers, a pretty big field for a Saturday/smaller venue. I have not raced in two years, last being (the same) Sherman Park in 2005. I look around, and there are not too many racers who look like me, ie: it looks like they have raced the usual schedule of about 40 races so far this year. I tried to find the guy with even love handles, not happening, they were all in shape, w/ exception of me?

Oh well, The Turtle is ready for action. I have set a goal, and regardless, I am going to achieve it. The goal you ask? To finish the race, that's it. I am happy with that.

The race starts out fast, 28-32 miles per hour. I am OK with that. For the first 4 laps or so, I could not believe how fast we were going. Everybody was attacking, again & again.

I somehow decided at the start line to abandon my original plan to suck wheel, and started attacking, looking for a break off of the front! HUH? Yes, I know, but I did.

I went with three breaks that went nowhere, primarily because the teammates of the guys in the break chased it down, and the other because the race was too darn fast for anything to work.

Halfway through there was a crash, which means jump out of the saddle & go even faster.

I covered every move I wanted, and stayed in the top 10-15% of the field the entire race, working really hard.

Realizing that no break off the front was going to stick, I decided to play defense. I stayed in the field, at the front, avoiding crashes etc. It would come down to a field sprint at the end, I believed.

I had burned every match in my book, so when I sat up to start the sprint, a "rejection letter" was sent from my legs. I sat down & rode it in the best I could, knowing I accomplished a LOT more than I would have I could have imagined at this point. I finished 25th out of 60 cyclists.

Needless to say, this was a HUGE mental doughnut for me, and as far as I am concerned, it's good enough to be a personal victory!