Deer Trail

I raced the Deer Trail RR yesterday. I went to the start line very mentally distracted. My grandmother is in the Intensive Care Unit in the hospital trying to recover from a stroke and complications from said stroke. I thought about not racing but my family insisted that I lined up. I started half way back of the 80 man field, I felt that I wasn't attentive, and I was not holding wheels. I fell further and further back into the group. When the main contenders lifted the pace I was no where near the front nor could have I moved up because of the field congestion. I was dropped! I wedged my head out of my ass and finally started to race. It sucks be brought back into the moment in about 70th place. So I chased and I fought. I tried to organize a small group of guys and well actually worked together for a while. After the second turn around guys started sitting in and not working, this just pisses me off. Why enter a bike race and refuse to work? I just don't get it. So I raise the pace on a small climb, and spit off the hangers on, my chase group is now down to 4, but guys are taking shorter and shorter pulls and soon 2 of the 3 fall off. Mean while we are catching remnants of the main field and just blow by them. At the 1 KM left to go sign we catch a guy that looks like a football player and he jumps the other guys wheel (who at this point isn't working at all), I attack again dropping my chase partner but "football dude" nips me on the line. I finished 34th, about 4 minutes behind the winners.

The mind being primary lesson was hammered home again. A bike race with a large field size, narrow roads and crazy wind is not were one should be if you are not fully present in the moment. If I was in the moment from the start whose to say what might have been, it just sucks to learn some of the say lessons over and over again.
Thanx Ross for the pics.