Prime + 2nd place!

I was stoked to get out and race the new bike at PR last night. We had a fairly large turnout with 8 beginners and about the same in the Cat 4s. We did one neutral lap through the escape route then one more racing lap through the escape route before staying on the flats. After the hillclimb on the second lap I shot off the front with another girl and we ended up way ahead of the rest of the field. We slowed a bit to let the rest of the pack catch back on. I felt like I was pushing the pace most of the race and stayed up front much longer than usual.

I'm not normally a contender for primes, but when the bell rang I decided I was going out for this one. I made sure to stay with the strong riders and once everyone took off I turned on the after burners and snagged my first prime! I can't believe how much more sprinting power I have on the Ruby -- it's amazing!

Usually on the final lap of the race I sit in the pack and wait for the sprint to unfold but I felt very strong last night and figured I would test my legs and my new bike and try something new. As soon as we rounded the last corner I attacked and much to my amazement when I turned around I had opened a huge gap! The only problem is that I might have been just a tad eager and about 200m from the finish my legs started to fade. The pack was closing in so I tried to dig but another girl bridged up to me and got the win by a matter of inches. Dang! I think if I had waited about 2-3 seconds before I launched the attack I would gotten the win as well.

Hey, I can't complain about a prime and 2nd place. This is the strongest race I've had yet! It's official now that I've clinched 1st place in the beginner's group! I feel thrilled with my improvements since I could barely hang onto the pack the first few weeks. Last night I felt like I was pulling everyone around and a few girls asked why I wasn't racing with the Cat 4s. I swear I really did suck when I first started.

I'm looking forward to the Velo circuit race tomorrow. New bike, stronger legs, more determination! I swear I'm getting a damn pack finish this time!