Race one in the Hamptons

So race number three. Saturday afternoon. Southampton, NY. After a relaxing morning with plenty of time to spare, I meandered over to the course a little after noon for the 3:30pm start. This was my first trip down to the Long Island UCI events, so I left a little extra time to walk around and take in the whole course. It was a moderately fast middle distance course that featured a fair share of climbing, two mandatory dismounts, and sharp ride up that forced all the non-pro categories to dismount and hoof there way up the grassy slope. Skip ahead to the start line. All the names made it out for this one. The twin towers, the shark, ½ of the J-M duo, the Canadian, The Jam boys, the Chocolate Factory boys, Leach, Timmy J, Rudy Bear, J Anthony, Mr. 100, Noah T and the Richard Sachs experience, the Millionaire, AHM and the NERAC contingent, Tyler J, a few foreigners, and then me. With its UCI C1 status there was big money on the line and no one was there to play around. From the gun wick nasty and pork chop took turns making there moves until Ryan finally got away solo for the rest if the day. I had a good start coming off the pavement and through the first half of lap one coming into that sharp ride up made run up by the fluster cluck that is the first lap of a cross race. I let a little gap open coming into and way able to carry enough speed to ride that pitch and make up a couple spots coming into the single track top section. I held this position down the off camber S turns and through the beer tent, which, oddly contained no beer what so ever. Things stayed pretty consistently painful from that point on. Holding off a few while the real racing took place a quarter, and then a half, and then three fourths of a lap ahead. Id catch the random road pro here and there as they sat on the side of the trail pulling the course tape out of there cassettes, but for the most part, it was a long day of suffering alone OTB. (off the back). With a bit left in the race I heard the tell tale, Trebon is about to lap you sound, which is the crack of a dropped chain and a belting of profanity. After watching him lacklusterly fix his chain and ride off into the sunset, I turned on the afterburners and gave it everything to the line to make for a decent day in the saddle. Ended up on the proverbial U23 podium, but it’s hard to get psyched sometimes about ending the day in the second half of the second half of the field. It takes some serious reminding of who “they” are, who “you” are, and “what” you are trying to achieve, to keep a positive perspective on your days efforts at one of these international affairs. Post race festivities and Sundays C2 next. ( If your reading this after the fact, pictures can be found under “September 2006” in the Archives. )