Yesterday was the first race of the season on the Wangaratta Cycling Club's Autumn calendar. I was expecting to see a few more people lining up for the first race of the season,although being a long weekend, I'm sure some were out of town. But my tally, looking at the results sheet, was 24 for all grades so that's reasonable.
A,B and C grades were all started together and it was suggested that we'd work our grading out as we went. I had been feeling unwell all morning (upset stomach) and thought of pulling out altogether. That's my excuse anyway for a pretty poor or should I say stupid performance. This is only my second serious year of racing (I entered in C grade) and I have so much to learn about pacing,tactics etc.
I found the pace too hot when we turned into Warby Range Road after James Boal went to the front and accelerated. I was following young Tomarsh Loki up the inside and really had to ride above my limit to get to the front. This happened again shortly after, I wasn't thinking about sitting on the back for a rest (the sensible option) and just went bang,off the back. Not a great feeling in any race.
At the same time I got dropped my Garmin 500 also died which was really disappointing as I was racing with my new powertap rear wheel and it would have been interesting to see the power data before the blow up occurred. Luckily I wasn't the only one who was dropped and I was joined by John Myles and together we hammered out the rest of the race.It was one of those beautiful North East Victorian days,late summer, early Autumn,sunny,hardly a cloud in the sky. But, I don't know about everyone else but the wind always seemed to be against us,was this just my mindset or real??
I managed to get my Garmin back online as we rode through Glenrowan on the out leg,turning right, out Boweya Road to the Lake Mokoan turn off before returning via the same course. I enjoyed riding with John and I thought we rode very well together and averaged about 35 kmh for the remainder of the race.I kept thinking I could see riders ahead and if we rode well maybe we could catch somebody. Always the eternal optimist as this was pretty unlikely but there is always the hope in the back of your mind. I remember saying to John at one stage, "why did I give up golf?", when I was feeling a little ordinary.
It's great to get that first club race under the belt and I learned plenty from the experience. Don't get your ability confused with your hopes for one( I know there is a good quote for what I'm trying to say). Below is the entry list which also includes the results. I'm leaving you all to work it out for yourselves. A little brain work is good for the mind. The only hint you'll get is Rhys Lyster won A grade and I think we'll be seeing Rhys' name on the results sheet quite a bit this year. Here is a link to Wangaratta Cycling Club for more club info.
A,B and C grades were all started together and it was suggested that we'd work our grading out as we went. I had been feeling unwell all morning (upset stomach) and thought of pulling out altogether. That's my excuse anyway for a pretty poor or should I say stupid performance. This is only my second serious year of racing (I entered in C grade) and I have so much to learn about pacing,tactics etc.
I found the pace too hot when we turned into Warby Range Road after James Boal went to the front and accelerated. I was following young Tomarsh Loki up the inside and really had to ride above my limit to get to the front. This happened again shortly after, I wasn't thinking about sitting on the back for a rest (the sensible option) and just went bang,off the back. Not a great feeling in any race.
At the same time I got dropped my Garmin 500 also died which was really disappointing as I was racing with my new powertap rear wheel and it would have been interesting to see the power data before the blow up occurred. Luckily I wasn't the only one who was dropped and I was joined by John Myles and together we hammered out the rest of the race.It was one of those beautiful North East Victorian days,late summer, early Autumn,sunny,hardly a cloud in the sky. But, I don't know about everyone else but the wind always seemed to be against us,was this just my mindset or real??
I managed to get my Garmin back online as we rode through Glenrowan on the out leg,turning right, out Boweya Road to the Lake Mokoan turn off before returning via the same course. I enjoyed riding with John and I thought we rode very well together and averaged about 35 kmh for the remainder of the race.I kept thinking I could see riders ahead and if we rode well maybe we could catch somebody. Always the eternal optimist as this was pretty unlikely but there is always the hope in the back of your mind. I remember saying to John at one stage, "why did I give up golf?", when I was feeling a little ordinary.
It's great to get that first club race under the belt and I learned plenty from the experience. Don't get your ability confused with your hopes for one( I know there is a good quote for what I'm trying to say). Below is the entry list which also includes the results. I'm leaving you all to work it out for yourselves. A little brain work is good for the mind. The only hint you'll get is Rhys Lyster won A grade and I think we'll be seeing Rhys' name on the results sheet quite a bit this year. Here is a link to Wangaratta Cycling Club for more club info.
Also my photography has added to the challenge as I cut off the left hand side of the page.
Rhys Lyster,Tully Lyster and Gavin Frawley after the race.
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