April 3, 2016, State Criterium Championships 60-64
Mesa, AZ   35 minutes
Report from Lionel Space, Phoenix AZ

This was a 0.96 mile counter-clockwise course with 4 corners and a U-turn right after the start. The final stretch is fairly long at 280 meters and we had just a hint of a headwind on it this morning. Most of the corners were fairly safe with turn 3 entering into a narrow road and turn 5 also limited due to to only half the roadway being available. The weather was in the 70s and sunny. 11 riders were in our race and we'd be riding in a group of 14 as the 65 through 69 age class would be riding with us, but each 5 year category awarded championships.

David Bixby would be my main contender in the 60-64 age class and I'd be sure not to let him get away in a break without me. There were 2 primes awarded, but I planned to only contend them if it seemed relatively easy to snatch one. I was feeling better than last week after being ill for a month, but was still unsure as to where my strength and stamina was.

I was first to the first U-turn to make sure nobody crashed in front of me and took the lead for most of the first lap as well. Most of my race was focused on keeping Bixby in check. He and I would take the lead the majority of the time, with an occasional pull from some of the 65 plus class. None of the other 60-64 riders would ever contribute to pulling the pack.

With basically just the two of us doing the work and my not wanting to over-extend myself, the pace was usually fairly mild. It would seem unfair to force Bixby to do all the work, so I'd take turns where I could, but did notice that it was more taxing on me than it should have been.

At about 10 minutes into the race we got a bell for one of the two primes. I put myself in a good position and as we approached the line, it looked easy to take, so I did a quick punch to 31.9 mph and won some sunglasses. Bixby kept the pace up afterwards, but it was no problem to latch onto him.

At 15 minutes into the race I was doing OK, but not happy about having to do another 20 minutes, even at our relaxed pace. Bixby would occasionally pick the pace up pretty well and it was more work than it should have been to sit on his wheel. When the second prime was announced, I decided not to go for it and Bixby was able to take it with me on his wheel.

Still it was just Bixby and I doing all the work. We'd occasionally slow way down and pull over to the side, but nobody was willing to contribute. Bixby would relent and get us back to a reasonable speed and I'd also pull, but not to the extent he was. As we got down to the final laps, I was concerned about working too much, but I was still unwilling to just put Bixby out to dry.

With one to go, I glued myself to Bixby's wheel, knowing he'd end up in the lead and taking us down the final stretch. Since there was a bit of a headwind and I didn't feel I had full stamina, I decided to wait until the end to execute my sprint. We took the final turn at a non-threatening 30 mph and Bixby gradually picked it up. I waited until about 150 m to go to come around him on his right and was surprised that I didn't have my usual pop where I should be just flying by him. My legs felt like lead, but I was going faster than him and saw that I would beat him to the line. Unfortunately, Greg Barrett had taken my wheel and came around my right and was going faster than me, beating me to the line by about half a bike length.

This was the first time ever that Greg has beaten me in a race. I congratulated him on the win, but told him that he will pay for it down the road in that we will no longer let him just take a free ride to the finish in future races, which we have often done for many years.

Back at the car, I was a little woozey while packing up the bike, so I still had some more recovering to do from my illness. The following Thursday, the virus came back and worsened over the weekend, requiring a trip to Urgent Care the following Monday to get some antibiotics.

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Summary
Start
Time		 Distance
(Miles)		 Starters Duration Weather
(Deg F, mph)		 Speed avg
(MPH)		 Speed Max
(MPH)
8:36 am 13.5 11 33:50 75, N@4 23.9 34.6

Results

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