Bow Road Race - men's cat 4 - 8-4-08
(4 laps, about 44 miles)
13 Ed Ting
20 Colby Ricker
28 Ian Whittle
29 Andrew Tucker
38 Geoff Martin
We were lucky enough to get in our race in its entirety before the rain set in. At the start, they called all NEBC members to the front to lead us out during the neutral start. This turned out to be a HUGE benefit, as Colby, Ian, and the rest of us were able to get halfway up the first hill at a pace that was comfortable to us. Luckily, we were relatively evenly matched. I was able to get good and warmed up without having to worry about immediate attacks. As I was well warmed up, I felt strong and comfortable the entire race and had no fears on any of the climbs.
Two small groups got away at the top of the first climb. As there was an NEBC member in the break, we sat up. It must have worked because at one point some unattached rider shouted, “Why the f*** are we going so slow?”
Lap 2 was somewhat faster. I was in a small 4 man breakaway at the KOM hill, but we got caught on the ensuing descent.
I told myself that I was going to conserve energy in Lap 3, but it didn’t matter. The pack seemed to have lost interest by then. Two guys had gotten away and there was little hope of catching them. Lap 3 was the slowest I have ever gone in this race, ever. We started the lap 1:15 behind the two leaders, and by the start of the 4th lap we were 3 minutes behind.
Things picked up on Lap 4. We gained about a minute on the leaders. We were all bunched up at the finish. I had plenty of gas left in the tank and sprinted to the finish, getting 13th. If my position had been better I think I could have done better.
As I drove off, the rain really started coming down. I felt bad for the Cat 3 racers – only 7 riders finished the race!
-Ed Ting