Maine Race Weekend - Aiyana Curry, June 3rd
Saturday:
Not much to add to Cathy’s report. I agree, desipite the rain, this was a great race – will want to do it again next year for sure! I was happy with my performance. I feel a lot stronger than last year, especially at this point in the season (the new bike helps, too! :)). I felt strong in the hills – I think the Wed night hill rides kicked in a bit!
My goal also was to stick with the lead pack, especially as they started to shake things up. One thing I did wrong – not sticking with Cathy on the final few miles. I think I needed to kick it up a notch at that point. Towards the end I rode with two other riders who were trying to catch up. I used them to draft a bit, but probably should have jumped earlier since I think I felt stronger than they did at that point. Other mistake – starting my final sprint too early and getting beat by the two riders, ending up closer to the bottom of the ‘standings’ than near middle, for which I had hoped.
Sunday:
Sally, Darcy (from Nerac) & another (unattached) rider (Morgan?) & I learneded before the race started that Portland Velo had a plan. We decided that we would work together to counter attack to try to get Sally the win. I told the girls my legs were still hurting from Saturday, but I would do my best to help. More on that below.
But, for the good news: Sally rocked. She jumped early on – I think lap 2 and ended up with a very close 2nd. She and the top-ranked Portland Velo rider were neck and neck the entire race. I heard the rest of the Portland Velo team apologize to their captain at the end for not being able to help more. Sally gave them a run for it!
As for me, well… Let’s just say that my legs were beat from Saturday. First lap – no prob. Second lap – attack by Sally & Portland Velo followed. The lap wasn’t quite finished when a few of us strung off the back. After that I basically felt my legs – not a happy place. I decided to keep riding and finish the race at a good steady pace, but by the 3rd or 4th lap, I wasn’t really in the race anymore.
To sum up – great two-day racing event, would recommend to anyone. Next time I’ll nap more on Saturday! :)
Aiyana