Cheers to Guiness!!

The Crit on Saturday was one of the most intense rides I've had in a long time. It was my second Crit in 3 years(since Canada Games crit) so needless to say I suck at working the pack. Riding Crits are one of those things you need to get use to, and the only way to do it is to keep riding them. If I knew what the hell I was doing, my average HR would have probably dropped from 177bpm to like 160. It just takes time to get to know that stuff.

My biggest accomplishment was that I finished the bastard. I can remember looking down at the Garmin and having a HR of like 190 and thinking.."This is so intense, this is too much" then looking down at the clock and seeing I've only raced for 16minutes, of 60. I managed to hold on to finish, but I pretty much wore out the nose of my saddle. I held on, even though guys were dropping like flies.

The road race was a different story. I was feeling decent and rode the first lap fine, but it was when there was $100 KOM on the top of the climb that the pack went to shit. After the second lap a break had gone, and I worked my ass off to try to bridge it back. By the time we caught back on we hit the climbs again and my legs were toast. I rode for a bit and managed to do about 5 laps before pulling the plug. I got to the point where the legs just weren't working. Being the first bit of intensity of the year, I think the Crit killed me more than I realized.

These races aren't Joe Blow races either. The thing about Arizona is that everyone has been racing since Dec/January, and come mid May most guys pack it up, as its too hot to ride. So essentially this is their peak season. Not to mention at the 'local' race there were guys from the Pro teams Health Net, BMC, Colivita Oil, and Todd Wells(#2 ranked MTB'er in the States.)

I noticed more than a few former American National Champion bands around the shoulders as well. Not to mention a former World Champion band(no Joke). Again, these guys don't joke around. The legs will come, and the pack form as well. Its just takes time for this mountain biker to adapt to these little things.

Enough about the bad showing on the weekend. You people had your way and for the second tine in 6 weeks the weather went to shit. We're talking crazy weather. 2 inches of hail and 5-10degree temps. Not nice. I hear its suppose to be 27 on Wednesday though.

I'm counting down the days until I head back up North. I'm really looking foreword to getting rid of the sickness and putting in a solid week before joining my team for the first Canadian race of the year. In the meantime we had a Canadian Pancake day here at the house. There were 7 of us cyclists all eating too much and procrastinating about riding in the rain. Its a tough life.