Ontario crit

I was up in there air as too whether or not I was going to race in Ontario as of last night. There were several factors I had to take into account.
Factor number one: I had a commitment in Santa Barbara that was going to last up until and maybe after ten oclock in the am which meant a later start than I would've liked.
Factor number two: Traffic leaving SB and into LA.
Factor number three: I've been feeling a little under the weather and been having some trouble breathing.

Well It went down like this in the end. I NEED TO PUT IN MY TEN RACES. PERIOD. There is no real excuse as the only thing I need is ten mass starts. No pressure other than to register sit in and finish the race, and im not even sure THATS a requirment.

I got down to Ontario in plenty of time. I opened the car door and BINGO BLAMO BOINGO the heat hit me like two tons of bricks in the georgio country side. It was HOT and muggy. Good for me I suppose seeing how I grew up in Palm Springs (For those not in the "know" its not unusual in Palm Springs durring the summer months to see temperatures of up to 110 degrees).

But.... I digress

The race was fun. I felt pretty strong and won two preems (sp?) Brandon (ucsb team) and Cody (same team) were both there and had pretty good races! I got more confident through the corners as the race progessed. In the beginning I was loosing any where form 10 to 20 positions in the corners and by the end I was much more confident and realized that centrifical force and friction ARE actually my friends, dispite what some people would have you to believe. I was able to jump off the front a couple of times and win a couple laps holding pretty big gaps of the fields. My lack of confidence in cornering lead me to stay in the wind and up towards the front more than I should've. I was informed that there is really no excuse for being in the wind as much as I was unless I was working for someone. Again, I pulled the feild around that last lap into the sprint and was told I gave a "text book lead out" from a couple of riders. In my head I said "Damn. I know. What an idiot to make that mistake twice ". But outloud to the guys It went more like... "yeah, well, you know; I assesed the situation and marked a couple of riders I new I wouldnt really be able to contest in the sprint so I figured Id do what I could for my freinds in the field." Thats a laugh.

I think either:
A) I need a team or a team mate so that when I make this mistake again I am actually helping support someone else for a victory or;
B)I need to Knock it off!

All in all I felt like I had a really strong race and was proud of myself. It would be nice to be able to ride away from the field to a solo victory. I would be lying if I said I didnt have fleeting moments of fantasy thinking to myself what would happen if I just kept pulling after I won both those laps.
I think its possible; just not right now.

Train hard. Race harder. No excuses. Relentless focus... Imagine the possibilities!