Bond Road Race Cat 3 Report

Bond Road lived up to all my expectations:
1. It's going to be hard
2. Seven times up that hill is going to suck
3. I will cramp before the finish

It was hard. One of, if not, the hardest road races I've done. It started the very first time up the hill. The 3's were combined with the 1/2/3's again so this made it really exciting. The spanish mountain goats blasted up the hill and had the entire field strung out immediately. I was somewhere in the middle when we started the climb and had to dig real deep to stay on a wheel that was still attached to the guys in front. I think the field split in half at that point but came back together after the descent a few miles later. The next time up the hill, another selection was made and I was feeling pretty good to be in it, along with Chris Anderson. The next time up the climb, the big boys got tired of the child's play and took off. Bye, Bye. A group of 8 or 10 of us decided we liked our own pace better and rolled on our own, content to still be out in front of the rest of the field. Things were going OK during the next couple laps, then with 3 laps to go the cramps had set in on the climb and I couldn't keep the pace. I yelled to Chris that I was out, and proceeded to race that 2nd to last lap solo. On the bell lap, another chase group swallowed me up and I integrated with them rotating through. This wasn't too bad as it was during the downhill and the flats leading up to the climb. When we hit the final climb, I stayed left and waved the others by, knowing I'd be keeping it slow to prevent a complete lock-up of the legs. I nursed it up the climb and managed to cross the line. That Sucked! But in a good way ;) Just checked the results and looks like I finished 13th. I'll take it. See you at Ault Park.