Did the DeLeon Springs Road Race today, which will from now on be referred to as "go harder, dumbass" race. Edit: I probably cuss a few more times in this race report, so if that offends you, stop reading now. :)

I was involved in a crash yesterday in which a friend of mine went down hard at 30+ mph, broke his collarbone, and took off a bunch of skin. I didn't go down but I was seriously shaken and feeling bad. I debated even going down to race today, especially as it was raining here when I woke up. I decided I should HTFU, though, and I'm glad I did. I talked to Jose, the guy who crashed, on my way down and he told me to have a good race. He's too nice of a guy. :)

There were only 6 Pro123 women, so they decided to combine them with our Cat 5 35+ race, and do an extra lap, for 5 laps and 35 miles. I ride sometimes with one of the women, Katey DeGoursey, and I knew she was the favorite to win the women's race. It was sprinkling a tiny bit as we started, and feeling a little freaked out after yesterday, I decided to sit in and try and be safe.

The course featured probably a 1 mile or so stretch of bad pavement, with a couple of turns that were slightly sandy. This was a bit sketchy for the first lap or two, but then we pretty much shed all of the wobbly slow dudes. :)

So...I'm putzing around near the rear on the 2nd lap, and Katey managed to break away with a couple of guys. I didn't even see it until I rolled up a few places at the start of the 3rd lap. I debated trying to bridge, but we had a big bunch still and I figured that we'd bring them back. That was a mistake; I should've gone for broke.

I led a good chunk of the 3rd and 4th laps, trying to get a rotation going with a couple of the women who wanted to catch Katey. One woman kept yelling at the guys, trying to get them to work. It wasn't taking and I kept pulling through the front only to sit up there with no rotation. Finally I yell back as I hug the yellow line to force somebody to go around me, "Do you ever shut up?!" Another girl happened to be right behind me and she got an offended look on her face and said, "Go to hell! It wasn't even me!". :)

Anyway, Katey's group got out of sight, and I decided to sit in the 4th lap and rest for the bunch sprint, so I sat a few places back of some very strong and apparently very stupid guy who towed us around an entire lap. Bravo!

Final lap, we picked it up somewhat, and I rotated in front with the strong guy to make sure I was in position for the final set of turns and hill. I pushed it up the hill but didn't get any separation, so I soft pedaled it down to the last corner to rest for the sprint. A couple of the women jumped past me, and I got on about 4th wheel and sprinted for what I was worth, which wasn't all that much.

I think I might've been 5th or 6th guy in the bunch, which would've been good for 7th or 8th place. Something like that..not too worried about it. I had no computer again so no clue on speed, time, or any other geek details. I'll fill in the total time and a best lap speed once they post the results.

All in all, a good day of racing, the sun came out, and I went swimming at the beautiful DeLeon Springs afterward before heading home.

4/15/08 edit: Results are up, and I was 11th. Argh! :) I've been told you always score at least one place lower than you think, and I guess it's true. Less than 1.5 seconds separated 4th through 11th. Average speed was 25.92 mph for 35 miles, if the course was an accurate 7 miles.