Lincoln Road Race, Arkansas

I've got a beautiful baby girl sleeping in my arms right now. While it makes for a wonderful daddy moment, it cramps one's typing style in a major way. This race report might be short.

My first couple of category 3 races have been fun, and interesting in a new sensation sort of way. A couple of Wednesday nights ago was my first, a category 1/2/3 criterium here in the good ole Oklahoma City. My goal was to hang on to the pack and not get dropped. Yes, that was my goal.

This was to be a 35-45 minute crit, so I expected the pace to be quick. Almost from the gun we had Erin off the front with Jeremy Miller the behemoth from Team Undiscovered. Either I was in a fog of fatigue or I just wasn't paying enough attention to notice, but Jeremy somehow shook off Erin 1-2 laps into it and was off the front solo. Mark, Phillip and I needed to pull Jer back. After twice on the front I realized that one more pull would pop me off the back, so I sat in and tried to just hold on. Mark did quite a bit of work on his own, and God bless him, he was already hurt from a fall he had taken earlier in the race. In the end, Jeremy soloed for the win while we had approximately an 8-9 man sprint up Fire Hill for the finish. I'm not sure on the exact placing, but I passed a few and did not finish last in the sprint. I settled for satisfied with the top 10 finish.

Unfortunately Mark ended up with a broken collarbone from the earlier crash in the race and finished 4th with that injury, which is pretty amazing.

This past Sunday marked my first road race as a 3 and I wanted to do well. I knew that if I could race smart I figured a top 5 wasn't out of the question. Boy was I wrong. About 3 miles into the race we drop a 56 mph technical descent into a bottom, followed by a 1/2 mile climb that all but popped me for the day. You know when you are in trouble when you are scrambling to catch the field after the first climb. Well, I caught back on. By that time there was a break up the road and DNA wanted to bring it back. We all moved to the front and proceeded to reel it back. We swallowed the break up about 1/4 mile before the second climb of the day. Wow. I was popped again. So was Chad. And if my mind wasn't playing tricks on me, so was Zach. Again, the stragglers form a group on my wheel and we promptly (a mile up the road) catch the pack.

First lap done. I realize that I've done way too much work in the first lap and the second will be reserved to sit in and recover. Here is where I'll sound like a broken record. First climb of the second lap. I get dropped. I take a mile to catch back on. I sit in and recover. Second climb of the second lap. I get dropped. This time it's more serious. The pack is well up the road and has picked up the pace. Looks like someone attacked at the top of the climb. I swallow up Chad and a guy from BOT named Raton Parmain. I yell them to get on my wheel, we're gonna catch them again. I'm burning match after match trying to catch the pack, and Raton is taking pulls with me. We pass through the start/finish and I realize Chad's not on my wheel anymore. Raton and I still have quite a bit of ground to make up and we finally do somewhere 2-3 miles into the 3rd lap. We are back at the huge, technical descent. Then the first climb of the 3rd lap. I'm dropped. Many are dropped. Many quit. Some walk their bikes up the climb.

The lead pack is small, maybe 8 guys. At this point Raton and I are working together just trying to make it through the 3rd lap. We swallow many stragglers who have been dropped in the lead pack. Some suck our wheels, some can't hang on. I "hang on" for 13th on a day when almost half the field DNF'd. Not being satisfied with that finish, I take solace in the fact that I am no climber. I could also use to lose 10 lbs.

All in all it was a good day for DNA Racing. Erin Elliott took on 2 guys working together against him and came in 2nd place. Zach Perkins climbed well, and took home 8th, I nabbed 13th and Chad Hodges right behind me in 15th.

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