Pacific Raceways - 6/2 - Clockwise w/ escape route.It was about 84 degrees at when I got to the parking lot but it was better then the rain we've been getting on previous Tuesdays. I started warming up at about 6:40 and felt pretty good. It looked like there wasn't a lot of people in the lot but when we lined up to race we had about 40 guys. This course is my favorite as the clockwise route has a nice climb and the finish is right as you crest. At the start Rory announced that Ross (current leader) had been asked or maybe decided to move up to race with the 1/2's. He then asked who was sitting in 2nd and like a dork, I raised my hand. There were a few new guys from IJM and other teams and now they knew who to mark. There would be two primes.
We rolled out easy but some of the new guys decided to bolt out right away. I had to laugh as I knew they would kill themselves even before the first prime. I just sat in and by the climb we had caught them. We rolled up slow and everyone was checking to see what I was going to do. The first go around was easy and at the top when we all regrouped, Chris form 2nd Accent decided to mix it up and really picked up the pace. Guys were already starting to drop off the back. Once again, some of the new guys bolted on the climb and we just let them go. At the top the bell rang.....time for some pain. Phil Spensor, who I believe is a good time trialist took off and I knew if he got a good gap he could possibly hold on. It took some effort but we got on his wheel and we regrouped again before the descent. At the bottom of the climb everyone slowed to see what I would do. No one would make a move to on me. We got about a 1/3 of the way up and I realized they were still waiting for me so I just decided to go. I took the prime and as I rounded the corner I saw no one was even close. I wasn't going to try to go on a break but I was going to make them work to catch me. We dropped a ton of guys off the back. The next four laps were the same. Chris or Phil would go off the front and after they started to pull away we would slowly haul them in. Their efforts were really starting to hurt guys and I think we got down to about 8 or 10. I looked at my Garmin and started to shake my head. Rory was going to call for the final two laps and the 2nd to last lap would be a prime. Sure enough, that is what he did. He can be cruel sometimes. Two straight laps of hell. A guy who wasn't a climber took off and we let him go. He had a pretty good lead but I knew we would catch him on the climb. I was really surprised how hard some of the guys went out for the points. I just cruised up and let them have it. The guys that went for it were hurting I knew if would factor in on the finish. Just as we caught them and I was still at a 172 hr., Phil took off like a mad man. For a second I didn't know if I had the lungs or legs to pull him in but about half was down the back stretch we caught him. Other guys tried to make moves but I just sat in about 5th wheel and let them play. We the final climb and it was the same thing. Everyone was watching dumb ass mister 2nd place and were waiting for my move. I did the exact same thing. About a 1/3 the way up I put my head down and dropped the hammer. I soon realized that I went a little toooooo early and was starting to lose gas. I kept grinding but could tell there was at least one guy on my wheel. It was one of the IJM guys. He made a move and was coming up on me. I dug deep and tried to keep my composure. He moved along side but I think he was watching me instead of looking for the line and I seriously only beat him by a tire length as I threw my bike across the line. I could barely pedal around back to the finish. It was a good win and it was the most points I'd scored in a night. Both times I've won there this year Denise was there to watch.
Stats:
50 Minutes
18.73 miles
Ave Speed: 23
Max Speed: 41
Ave HR: 156
Max HR: 195
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