Fort Ord Road Race Elite 1,2,3 12th Place

This was my first road race as a Cat 3 after doing my first criterium as a 3 in San Rafael a couple weeks previous. To say I was feeling nervous and intimidated going into this race would be a huge understatement but at the same time I found the opportunity to go toe to toe with some of Norcal's best amateur roadies to be just a little too irresistable. I told myself that if I really aspire to be the best racer I can be then I should take advantage of the opportunity to toe the line with the likes of Paul Mach(Bissell), and Steve Reaney(Cal Strawberry) and if it meant swallowing my pride after getting dropped then so be it, I just wanted to see how I stacked up against these guys. At the start of this 105 mile, 10 lap race my goal was to finish with the main group, hence not get dropped. The first few laps were completed with a rather furious pace and by the 6th lap or so I was surprised to see how many racers had been chewed up and spit out the back of the peloton. After the 5th or 6th lap up the one short steep climb that seemed to shed a few competitors each time around I actually started feeling like I was having fun and I knew I was going to finish the race without getting dropped. On the last lap I actually came around half a dozen guys or so to finish in 12th place. Not great, but a solid start to competing in the upper echelons of Norcal road racing after surviving this 105 mile, 4 hour and 16 minute war of attrition. Next time I won't be quite so intimidated.