Perry-Roubaix Race Report

Well, the first mass start races for this season are in the books. On Saturday was the circuit race. It was a short course with a couple of small climbs. The class I was in was scheduled for 15 laps of the course, which they said would be 21 miles. The pace was fast from the beginning. The pack was staying together & the pace was comfortable for me. A couple of times other riders tried getting away, but the pack chased down each & every attempt. I even tried my hand at getting away with another rider. One of the Aaron riders said he was going to try a break on the back side of the course & wanted to know if anyone would go with him. I said I would give it a go & one other rider said the same. He went up the right side of the pack with both of us in tow, but we really didn't get much of a gap before we were caught. The pace was high enough not to allow anyone much of a gap. We stayed together until the last turn, I was in a good position for a top ten finish, but coming out of the final corner, I was cut off & had to let up a bit & finished 13th out of 31 riders. I was quite pleased with being able to stay with the pack the entire race. The workouts Mike has me doing are helping for sure. On Sunday was the road race. I know the course well, but it's not really my forte. There is just too much climbing on it. The first climb up Elko Rd was a bit fast for me but I managed to catch the pack on Gilbert, just as I got back on, someone up front must have attacked, because the pack picked up the pace. My legs started to cramp up & I knew that if I tried to catch the break, I'd never finish. I just settled into a fast pace that was comfortable for me to finish the race. The dirt section of the course was packed pretty good, so I was able to keep a good pace on it. Each time up Elko Rd hurt a bit more than before. I was able to catch up to a couple of other riders from my class & we rode together for the rest of the second lap. On the third lap, I thought I wasn't going to be able to get up the climbs, but I just dug deep & gave it my best, knowing I could recover a bit on the back side of the course. I rode with another rider who came up from Florida for the race & we worked well together. We both decided that we were going to finish the race, no matter what. On the finaly lap, he got a gap on me going up Elko, but I just kept a steady pace for me. I even managed to pass another rider from the other Competitive class. I kept up a steady pace on the dirt & gave it all I had on the back part of the course. I managed to finish 29th & made the finish list. I'm just happy that I finished 4 laps of that course. All in all it was a fun weekend of racing & now it's time to get ready for my next races. Stay tuned for more.....