No Mas

The last Pacific of the year was held on August 30th. I had to do it if I wanted to qualify for the goodie give-away afterwards (killer cupcakes too). It was a 40 minute affair held on the flat course. I have been struggling mentally for the last 4 weeks (won't go into details but it is the toughest challenge I have faced, and it is all my fault), and my training really has been nil. I have ridden almost every day, but only easy stuff.
As the 4/5s rolled out, Rory, the director and a friend, looked at me and said "and I wanna see you out front." Our start was so pedestrian I took him up on the challenge and got to the front of the pack on the back stretch and then attacked. I never attack there. One guy joined me but said he was covering attacks for a teammate and couldn't work with me. We had a nice laugh and rode a steady tempo waiting to get caught. Well another guy went off the front and my companion joined him. I was caught between those two and the pack so went all out to catch the break. We were caught just before the start/finish and I attacked again even though I was way in over my head and my legs and lungs were screaming.. I knew I could not keep it but was way off the front as I passed Rory. I pointed to him and yelled "This is for you!" I was soon caught as the pack was flying as the 2nd lap was a prime lap.
My friend Tom helped me catch the back of the pack, but as we turned onto the home stretch I got caught behind a much slower rider and lost contact with the group. I was so shot from my two attacks I could not join them and this was only on the 2nd lap! I had never dropped that fast before. I resigned myself to riding the rest in tt/solo mode. After 3 or 4 laps I got caught by the Masters and rode the last 2 laps with them. It turned out there were 3 other riders from the 4/5s with me. The only negative was a female on the Cucina Fresca team who was riding at the back. She yelled at me a couple of times to make holes for her and to get out of her way and let her race. Funny thing was I was not in front of her and was not impeding her in any way. We both were at the back of the group. The other 4/5s just looked at me like she was crazy and shook their heads. Oh well...
I ended up getting a 1/2 season pass for 2012 for volunteering at a recent triathlon managed by Rory and his wife. I also got 2 new tubes, a lot of GU, and a nice pair of Axley sunglasses. Not bad for only doing 10 races.
I CANNOT wait for 2012.
All the best to my teammates:)
Ty