I didn’t manage to line up for as much as a Tuesday night at Fischers before moving. So, in order to make up for lost time I registered for both the 35+ and the 45+ races at the Saco Bay Criterium.

The 16 mile ride down to the start was a good warm-up for the legs, but my head wasn’t quite ready for a tricky course that included a unique zig-zag through a school parking lot .  I started near the back and burned a lot of matches figuring out the lines as I worked my way up past gapped riders.  By the time I got myself sorted out there were five guys up the road with 25 seconds on the field, and I had very little left in the tank.  With three laps to go it seemed like a done deal, but a PVC rider put in a solid attack and closed a third of the gap down.  When he went again it occurred to me that I should try to follow him- either we’d bridge or close and either way I’d be near the front. But, with one to go we were all together and I was still hiding out.  Sometimes everyone will sit up for a look and reshuffle, but this was not one of those times and I was not going to get a second chance.  I would have an hour to set up Plan B for the 35+m race.

To be honest, Plan B didn’t show much promise-- it assumed that the McCormack brothers would be racing in Binghamton, but there they were in Saco lined up along with Ciaran Mangan and Paul Richard of CCB. OK then, Plan C.  I managed to follow Frank McCormack’s wheel until with 10 laps to go the announcer set up 3 primes with a lap between each one. The first bell put what was left of the field into single file.  After the second one it had gone all to pieces and I was in one of the pieces towards the back.  In the end I had to accept the truth that I could only follow Frank McCormack’s wheel until he decided he needed to go fast.

Plan F: the 5 and under race.  Fiona could still redeem the family name and plant the Team ROG flag.  Her instructions were:  Start fast, ride straight, and eyes on the prize.  She thought the last part sounded funny (I thought it was catchy). We’ll never know if if was my half of her genes or the fact that she had me remove the tassels from her grips so she could go faster, but she rode away from the other kids and took home a gold medal.

P.S.  With some of the heavy hitters tapering down before the Green Mountain Stage Race, I finally finished with the front group of the Tuesday night PVC ride, narrowly missing the podium in the final fire hydrant sprint.