Brea Old Course Criterium

I made a late decision to race in the Brea Old Course Criterium. Normally I am one of the first people that register for the race. I want to make sure that we have no plans and so that I can be mentally prepared for the race. This time I wanted to prove to myself that I was actually getting better. The race was on May 23, and back at the usual time of 715am. I was a little nervous about the course because there was some climbing on the back of the course but there was a nice downhill to the finish line. I warmed up on the course with a couple other riders. One ride stopped me and told me that I didnt need to have my tire pump on the bike because it was a criterium, if I had a flat and didnt have a spare tire my race was pretty much over. He also told me that I didnt need 2 water bottle because it wasnt that hot and I probably wouldnt have time to drink one hole one. It was the first time that anyone had actually given me advice at a race. I really wasnt sure what to do, so I rode over to Anne and gave her one of the water bottles, my pump, spare tube, and the tire peeler.

The race started and I went towards the front. I stayed about 4th wheel in the race and was feeling pretty good. On around the 4th lap I was sitting second wheel and the leader pulled off to the side. As a rookie I did what I thought I was supposed to do and I took the lead for almost a full lap. As soon as I was about to pull off and let the person behind me lead, he jumped out and sprinted ahead. I had used a lot of energy pulling the field and couldnt keep up with the move. I fell to the back of the field but stayed in. I tried recovering in the back but started falling off a little bit each lap. I ended up in a small group just behind the main field and we started working together. We picked up riders one at a time that had fallen out of the main field but most didnt stay with us very long. I thought that we would be able to catch up with the main field but we never did. There were two riders in the group who would not take a pull at the front. I initially thought that they may have been too tired but on the hill of the course they would ride next to the person pulling the group in no ones draft. They obviously had no intention of catching the field or helping our group. I was able to finish the race enough though we did get lapped by the field. I rode the extra lap so that I we could finish on the same number as the field. I was excited to actually finish a race. I was even more excited when I found out that there were actually people who were pulled out of the race. I thought that maybe they didnt pull anyone out and that is why we survived after being lapped. I could finally say that I finished a criterium.

After the race I knew that the training was working. I had also started to lose weight from the challenge I took on Mothers day and knew that it helped some to be a little lighter. I knew that if I kept training like I was that I would be finishing with the pack in no time. I went home happy and once again rode on the next day as soon as I got home from work. I was excited because now I knew I would be able to compete in this sport. It took me 6 races to finally finish and I was ready to do better than just survive off the back.