Auburn RR

Damn, that was rough.
67 mile road race in a town just south of topeka. Not sure how many started with the 4's, but from team Colavita/Parisi we had a nice group. Joe, Steve, Dan and Matt. I was pumped to finally get the chance to ride with a big group of teammates.
Our happy group of five went down to 3 about 8-10 miles in. One rider in one direction and another the opposite. Joe got mixed up in a crash and that pretty much ended his day and Matt P. put in a superhero effort off the front with 2 Specs riders who I know were equally strong.
As matt was breaking away I found myself on the back of the pack that was chasing furiously. The pace was really fast and I was suffering. I had visions going through my oxygen deprived brain that I would get dropped. Managed to hang on and ride out the storm that was a hopeless chase attempt. Once I collected myself I liked my situation. Riding in the pack with a teammate off the front. Any work that was being done I wasn't part of it. Doesn't make other riders too happy, but thats racing. Tough day for bike shack and SKC though. First lap down and one more to go, was feeling pretty good and liked my chances for 4th place. We lost Steve V. due to a flat with about 10 miles to go. Too bad because he was doing well and was sitting in on the back keeping pace. Not sure how many riders got dropped during the race....had to be some. I was so focused on the front I never got much of a chance to look around. We did loose some to the crash that took joe out and there were a few that flatted. With about 8 miles to go we climbed a big hill and every pedal stroke caused my quads to cramp.
Well, aproaching the final stretch and was sitting pretty 2nd or 3rd from the front. Had Dan O. hovering right in front of me. One rider sprinted off the front to a huge white flag that he thought was the finish line. I assumed he knew what he was doing and jumped to his wheel. Overtook him with a couple riders around me only to find out that was the 200m line. Crap. I sat up thinking I was spent. Glanced back and saw that I was still in decent position and emptied the tank on a weak 2nd sprint. Crossed the line 3rd in our group, 6th overall. Dan was right next to me in 7th. Was dissappointed in the mix up. I wish I had that opportunity again. Was glad to be finished though. I've never hurt worse on a ride as I did after that. My legs were in agony.
Matt P. displayed some power in his breakaway. In a 2 against 1 situation he pulled out the win. Awesome. He said this is last week as a 4, he'll be riding with the 3's next time. Probably a good move. You can only bully the 4's for so long- just kidding. the guy just has raw power.

By the way, thanks to Britton over at Volker Bicycles, my race rig performed flawlessly. there is no comparison between aluminum and carbon.

Last years model xenith with SRAM Rival. Love the SRAM by the way. Glad to be working with something besides shimano for a change - My old seat: Specialized Toupe Carbon and Titatium Rails. My old wheels and tires-Schwalbe Ultremo R's have been great so far, they're a bit knicked up but no flats and no complaints. The FSA carbon cranks rock. So happy with everything. I thought I'd be contempt to ride my 2002 Aluminum Allez for the next year and a half but as soon I test rode the Jamis, I knew I had to make the move. Plus with the team discount there is no reason to wait.
The only way I could afford it was to sell my old bike and upgraded parts, I'm probably looking at selling my mtb also. Once it's all sold it's an even trade. Worth it when you've got a summer of road racing to do.
Thanks to teammate Phillip Wilkerson for the race photo - good stuff.