Double the fun Part 1: A second 2nd

This weekend was my first of two intended double race weekends on the season.  Here's the first of two race reports:

Saturday: Breast Cancer Awareness race in Hagerstown.  It was a relatively small Cat 4 field, but had some strong riders that I have gotten blown out by before. This was a course that I wouldn't say necessarily suits me.  Love the off camber turns, which are everywhere, but with no rest and only one reasonably steep hill and one dismount per lap, I guess it's one that doesn't not suit me either - I just like the really technical stuff better.  As a side note, it was one of the most minimally marked races I've ever ridden.  This wasn't a problem in our race, but I heard mumblings that there was some blurring of the lines in the elite men's race.  C'mon, guys, sportsmanship.

My race: I had a good start and was third wheel onto the grass. Three women passed me on the first straightaway (now I'm 6th).  This was about where I lost count, a feature that became funny afterwards.  On one of the tough off camber turns on the first lap, a rider crashed as did the girl behind her.  I moved up two spots.  And passed two more riders within the first half of the first lap.  According to my count, I was 5th.  I continued to believe this for the entirety of a 5 lap race.  I knew for a fact that Leann was off the front and the ladies behind me were pushing me to ride hard.  Karl and other teammates were yelling for me.... loudly.  And often.  The course gave no rest, but neither did my cheering sections.  At urging from the peanut gallery, I tried to run bigger gears and spin through the turns more than normal. 

About halfway through, I found myself rolling up behind a local elite rider who I practice with often - she was in the race that started 1 minute ahead of us.  She was having bike trouble (rolled tubie and dropped chain) and I was happy to hold her wheel for even a minute.  I 'battled' with her for a bit and made only one mental mistake - riding partway up a hill before dismounting.  Altogether, I held my position within my own race and finished 2nd.  It felt better than that, though.  I had a great, consistent race on a course that I didn't think was made for me and I lost to a woman who is a Cat 2 on the road.  But probably about 30 seconds.  Fun.  I scored some pink socks for the effort.

This was my second 2nd place finish on the young season. 

Up and coming: Part 2 of the weekend: A reality check.  And look for a post about goals for the cross season  later this week when I figure out what they are.