was a well organized all day event. The .7 mile loop had an uphill and a pretty fast downhill with right hand turns. The route went by the west side of the capital and down through the east village. I warmed up with Mike Shumway completing a few laps. The Cat 5 race had 70 riders so it was a bit crowded. I started near the back of the pack and that ended up being a mistake. It was a 30 minute and 2 lap race. I was really gassed about the third lap as my heart rate spiked. I found myself about two blocks behind the leaders and in the middle of the race and was feeling pretty good. I tried to close the gap on the lead group of 10 by myself for about 3 laps. I could not close the gap so I waited for some others behind me to perhaps help close this gap. In the end, I finished around 8th and basically lost by the distance the leaders put on me on the first corner (because I was so far back in the crowded start). So not bad for my first crit, and I had fun! Mike Shumway (pictured in front of me with the zoom gear on) and Joel Rinderknecht joined me that day.
That wraps up a 2009 race season where I did not race over 2:25 minutes. It was a refreshing break from spending so much time training. I enjoyed the newness of the mountain biking, road racing and the crit. As a rookie I learned a few things so maybe next time I will fair better. It was still a fun year, and actually rode my Orbea road bike more miles than my tri bike. Will see what next year my bring, stay tuned…
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