Not my favorite riding conditions....

The 2011 ABRA road race series finally got underway this weekend with the Morgantown Road Race. I was a little nervous about racing when I awoke; since this would be my first CAT 4/5 start in my second season of road racing. Once I arrived at Mason-Dixon Park, the nervousness had passed…until the BB30-sized snowflakes began falling.

The race started off with a large pack rolling along from the park to Waynesburg, PA. This was something I was a bit unfamiliar with from Cat 5 experiences last year. My goal was to stay in the top half of racers, watch how the race would unfold, and help fellow teammates Todd Latocha and James Braswell. Twenty-five miles in I would see my younger, faster teammates pull away up the first climb.

This racecourse seemed to have it all...several long, steep climbs with fast flowing rollers between. I felt like I was riding fairly well, cruising along with a few small groups, until it happened. My legs quickly let me know that I hadn’t taken time to refuel and I was dropped with 10 miles to go. Left alone spinning my legs over the next few rollers, I finally crossed the finish line.

Not my best finish and not my favorite riding conditions with the cold and snow, but definitely a fun epic race to remember. Looking forward to the second race of the 2011 season.

By Chris Jones!

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My first road race!

This was my first road race! The weather never made me think twice about doing it. I know I would have felt guilty for not racing it, so why not? At the start of the race, I felt very strong. Probably too much so. I went out a bit too fast. I probabaly should have stayed more conservative and let the race unfold that way. This kind of racing is nothing like running racing like I'm used to. Usually in running races, the gun goes off and you just go, if you're in front, there's not much aof a draft, so it's not going to waste all of your energy. But I've quickly learned (hopefull) that this is not so with bike races. Drafting is huge and 50 miles is a long way. After about mile 25, I did the rest of the ride solo. So that hurt by the end, especially because it was so windy. But as JR and everyone else said this race is a huge learning experience for me and I am looking forward to racing many more. I had a lot of fun and I hope i learned what I needed to learn. Thanks everyone!

By Nicole Dorinzi