My first road race

"They" say better late than never. I have taken this to heart. During my week-long role as support/coach/parent/cycling-buddy for GeeVs, out here in Illinois, I took the opportunity to use my racing license to race in the Sharon Cycling Classic, on July 17, 2013. I registered in the Cat 4/5 race, to be safe, and joined/competed beside/contested with 70+ riders in a 45.6 mile (73 km) road race.

It was hot. It's been hot all week here. 95'F hot. That's 35' Canadian. The course was four laps of the 11.4 mile circuit. We did that in 2 hours and I managed to finished 12th in my category. Here are some pics:

The thing about road-racing in a pack/peloton of 70 riders, on narrow roads, is that you get close to people. And you have to stay on a line, follow the wheel in front of you, and take whatever the road gives you: potholes, gravel, cracks. It was a great experience. I'm not sure I'm up for criteriums out here yet, but I may try them next year, back home.

And how's GeeVs doing, you ask? Check out the next post, or check out her Facebook page.