Sanford/Lake Mary Race Weekend

The first thing that stands out this year is the WEATHER. Last year we had winds blowing at 10-15 mph and temps in the 40's. This year was more like Spring than mid winter! The early morning temps were in the high 40's to low 50's but by the time the races started we were in the 60's and the temps rose quickly to level out in the 70's. Most of the people I talked to all commented how great the weather was so I now I wasn’t the only one who noticed. The second thing that made the weekend great was the attendance numbers. All categories had large fields with teams from as far away as Kentucky. It sure was fun to be apart of something so well attended. We made some new friends and did some catching up with some olds friends from last year. I have give a hand to all of the folks who put these events on, if these are any indication of what our year of racing is going to be like hold on guys cause we are going to have a blast!

Saturday's races were held in "Old" downtown Sanford right on the lake. The course was a tight one and I'm not exaggerating here. The course was shortened from last year because the cobbles on one section were getting pretty beat up and the transitions were pretty nasty too. The course was about 1/4 a mile long, the short side was about 100 yards and the long side was about 200 yards.

Juniors 10-14:

Justin's race started second after the 15-18 juniors. He was really excited about getting the season going so the start couldn’t come soon enough! The race started in normal fashion with the older kids attacking hard from the bell. This always makes it hard for the younger kids because they usually get strung out all over the course. Justin was able to hold on in the lead group for about one lap and then he was on his own. Holding on for one lap doesn't sound like much of an advantage but when you consider most of the other 10-12 are off after the first corner it's a big help. There were 7 kids in Justin's class, two of which are 12 this year and are really very good racers so it's always a challenge to try and get Justin to hang with those two as long as he can. Justin rode a great race and was basically on a time trial for the whole race. He lapped all but the two strongest kids in his class, they were able to lap him. He was a little bummed about that but in the end we talked about his race and considering the age difference between him and the winners of his class he was happy with his results. I was very proud of his performance as he never eased up and rode hard the whole race.

Masters 35+:

Did I mention this was a "TIGHT" course, I just wanted to get this on the record before I talk about a performance I would just as soon forget! There are 3 bits of advice I would like to give to everyone who races a bike:

1. Don't start at the back of the group!
2. Don't start at the back of the group!!
3. Don't start at the back of the group!!!

So as you guessed it I started at the back of the group, I thought "I'll just move up once we get going", ha! that didn't work. As soon as the race started a group of 3 or 4 was off the front and as is usual this group does not let anyone get very far away. It was a sprint from the start to keep up and as I was at the back it was like being on the end of a whip all I did was stand up and sprint out of EVERY corner, did I mention this was as tight course. Needless to say I got popped out with about 5 minutes left in the race not something I am proud of but hey sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield. I have to thank Paul allot for letting me vent on the phone Saturday night when he called to see how things went, Thanks Paul! The best thing I can say about Saturday for me was that I learned a valuable lesson about staking out your territory on the start line!

Sunday's races were held in Lake Mary which was just a short drive from the previous day's races. This course unlike Saturdays was wide and smooth with 3 corners that made a triangle with 1 short side about 100 yards long and two sides that were about 3-400 yards long. This course was also closed so we didn't have to worry about any stray cars on the course.

Masters 35+

Sunday was my day to go first; I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about the race after the previous day's debacle. I did however learn from my mistake of the first race, will wonders never cease. I made sure I got a good starting position at the line so I would be able to react in case it was hard from the start. My second mission for the day was to hold my ground in the group and be conscious of my place in the group. Paul and I talked about this after the race and we both agree about finding the "Sweet Spot" and trying to hold it throughout the race. Once the race started I was able to settle in to a good rhythm and was able stay in the front 25% of the group throughout the race. This really helped to alleviate that yoyo effect that I suffered through the day before. It seems when you're in the front everyone just flows through the corners with no braking or very little at the worst. Just like the day before no breaks were allowed to form and we finished in a bunch sprint at the line. I am happy to report that I actually finished well enough to have my name recorded for posterity 25 out of 60, I just made the cut off for "Recorded" finishers. In all seriousness I hope that I take to heart the lessons I learned over the weekend and apply them to my future races. I want to again thank Paul for helping me through the weekend; he came out to cheer us on Sunday morning.

Juniors 10-14

Justin was warming up on the trainer when I finished my race and we had a chance to talk about what his strategy would be for the day, stay with the group for as long as possible. I decided not to watch the race start but instead take up a position on the back side of the course from where I could see how things were unfolding back there. When the group came around for the first time I was please to see Justin tucked nicely inside the group. On the next lap he was still tucked neatly in the now dwindling group. I thought to myself wow that's two laps with the big kids. So you can imagine my surprise when he came around for a third lap with the group, I had heard the announcer yell a prime for this lap so I was wondering were he would be the next go around. Unfortunately the sprint for the prime was enough to take him out of the group, but he had accomplished allot of damage against his age group so now all I was hoping was that he wasn't going to drop like a rock. To my surprise he was down in the drops going like he had a mission.
He was again all by himself working to put time on the kids behind him. He rode a great race and even had one of his friends, Jon Carlo, he lapped grab onto his wheel as he went by. He came by with him in tow for one lap and was trying to make him drop by zigg zagging back and forth. But Jon was tenacious and hung in there like a little trooper. The next lap I noticed he wasn't there, after the race I asked Justin what happened and he said that when he wouldn't drop he just attacked him as hard as he could to drop him. Justin rode a great race and was able to finish in second place.

I can see quite a difference from last year to this year with his ability if he keeps this up I think he will have a great year racing. It is so exciting watching him learn new things and have a good time while doing it. That is one nice thing about all of the Juniors in Justin's group, they are all great kids and they have fun together before and after the races.


So to Recap:
Saturday

Scott-Finished the race but not with the group.
Justin-3rd place

Sunday

Scott-25th
Justin-2nd place

Scott Pfaff
Cycle Logic