Last weekend was the first real weekend of racing for me. A weekend that had four races in three days. The first race was Saturday at Cantua Creek, a not too hard out and back road race. The weather wasn't too bad, a sunny morning, with a bit of a chill in the air. Took the line with about 30 other riders. The whistle blew and we were off for two laps. Things were going okay until about 10 miles into the first lap when the attacks started, why these guys decide to take off on a charge at the start of a race with no help is beyond me. So with these idiots off the front, the main group starts to get jumpy, and the speed starts to ramp up. I found myself in the middle of the group with a sketchy guy in front of me, so I tried to find my way out of his wheel. But unfortunatley he was half wheeling the spaz in front of him, who decides to make a jerky move to the right and takes out 8 guys, me being one of them. With the crash, my hanger broken and a bruise/raspberry on my left hip, my day was done. Bummer.

Thankfully my friend Barrett also rides a Scott and had an extra hanger for me, and also worked on my bike while I relaxed and rested from the crash. The following day was tough, a 62 mile race that finished up grades of up to 13%. I was doing well in there until the climbs at the end. I was really sore and had to let the main group go, but still finished mid pack becasue the climb killed the rest of the field. 

Monday was a day of redemtion for me. A crit race in Dinuba, 30 laps of pure speed. To make it a bit precarious the rain came in to the valley and made the streets a bit wet. Barrett, Rick, Ben, and I lined up for the 4/5's and worked the race as best we could. Barrett was the captain, giving orders to us to make sure no one got away. If someone did try to get away, I or Barrett would shut them down. With about 3 laps to go I got out front and pushed it hard to try to break the will of those behind me. It worked, beause Barrett gave Ben a great lead out that ended up givng Ben and the team a win. 

Road racing is completely different than mtn. bike racing, but I think I'm getting the hang of it now.