Derek Byrne, Copperopolis 35+ 4/5

Here goes,

They combined our 2 groups because the C group was so small. We rolled out at about 63 guys or so. Three of them being Me (Derek), Lorne, and Robin. Essentially, the three of us found ourselves toward the back at out pack just a bit into the first climb past the feed zone. On a flat narrow section, things seem to bottleneck, come to a grinding halt, and guys yelling, "whoa, whoa!" I was sure there was a crash so I dove for the side of the road and clicked one foot out. For a brief moment everything stopped, but then started right up again. No crash. The group took off, and the loss of momentum hurt. We were quickly 50 yards off the back, and falling back further as the pitch increased. I am sure we all would have been dropped regardless, but it would have been nice to have the chance to stay a little closer a little longer.

We agreed ahead of time to basically all get over the first climb at our own pace, and if we were near each other in the flats we would try to regroup. Didn't really work. Lorne and I left Robin, and then Lorne left me. He kindly offered to hang back for me. But I insisted that he race as hard as he could for as long as he could. Through the flats I could see Lorne a few hundred yards ahead, but couldn't catch him until the rollers leading up to the second climb. On the second climb, I left him, and none of us ever saw each other again until the finish.

Robin says he saw us on the list come in around 28, 32, 34, me, Lorne, Robin, respectively though a few minutes apart. I really hope that is the case, cuz I would love a mid pack finish in a race this painful. I/we passed quite a few people, but it was tough to tell what our number range was. We had some 600s and 700s mixed together. I would have guessed somewhere closer to the mid 40s. We'll find out soon enough.

Course definitely lived up to the hype. Some steep pitches! On the first climb I saw 2 guys walking for a moment. Killer descent! The whole way down, I am thinking, "Please don't Hincapie!" In reference to his broken headset in the 2006 Paris/Roubaix. Pavement was awful, but after a while you get used to it. Still, I don't think I need to do this for a couple years.

Seeing as how Lorne, Robin and I spent so much time alone, and yet only finished a few minutes apart, I wonder if we could have been better served to try to wait for each other after that first climb and each successive one? Any ideas guys? At least we would have had the team camaraderie. Maybe next time. Two or three years from now. Good luck to all at Brisbane. I will be in So. Cal at a wedding.

derek