Today I witnessed and was the victim of a perfectly
executed race by Wells Fargo. They had about 20 guys
in the race today and controlled from the whistle to
the bell lap (more on the latter...later) and went
1-2-3. It was a fast course and I was feeling pretty
good right off. First prime - ramped up and stayed
within a stones throw of the lead guys. Breathe...
Speed hovered around 27 or so for a few laps, sat in,
stayed within the top 10. 2nd prime - dropped back a
bit after turn 1, a bit more after turn 2, then along
the back straight away I launch. Took the inside from
about 15 back and was able to get a pretty good gap on
the field. Hit turn 3 hard...almost too hard.
Cranking into turn 4, hurling myself so hard into it
that my head felt like it weight 20 pounds. It took my
eyes a second to adjust coming out of it as I glance
back to see two guys chasing. No way am I letting them
catch me. I grit my teeth
and..."Hello"..."hello"...
home"..."any body home"...my echo mocks me as I take
my first step into the pain cave. Good thing is...I've
got plenty of batteries...for now.
I hold on for the 2nd prime of my DBC racing career.
The strangest thing happened after that...well, at
least it seemed strange at the time. I was greeted by
about seven Wells Fargo guys and 4 or so Synergy guys
who were full of smiles and compliments, a few of them
patting me on the back as they passed right before
turn 1. By the time we hit turn 2 I realized what was
happening and it was already too late. 3 Wells Fargo
guys broke with 1 Synergy guy on their wheel. The rest
spread across the road from curb to cone blocking and
neutralizing any and all attempts to bridge all along
the back stretch. I tried to solo up but my effort was
futile having just burned a few matches for the prime.
Throughout the rest of the race I spent most of the
time at or around the front of the pack trying to
convince those who, like myself, didn't have
teammates, to help chase and was able, on two separate
occasions to attempt a bridge with two different guys.
Both times they just weren't able to take pulls after
only a few minutes leaving me to do all the work.
Wells Fargo stayed on my wheel throughout. Every time
it was a different guy who would pseudo pull through
then proceed to sit up. I sparked up a conversation
with a few of them in between my efforts, aggravated,
but knowing that they were just doing their job.
Having raced with almost all of them now, they all
seemed to recognize me and most had a sort of
apologetic disposition when acknowledging me as I
drifted back to recover. They did their job to
perfection. I even tried to convince a few of the
synergy guys to help bridge up telling them that their
teammate would need help at the front against the
three Wells Fargo guys...but to no avail. They would
just give me that, "Yeah, ok" nod and a blank stare. I
got so frustrated that I perpetrated what is surely my
biggest "DUMAS'" maneuver to date.
Now I wish I could say that I bonked, or that I
cramped up, or flatted, or even that I'd "missed a
turn"...but...I DIDN'T NOTICE OR PAY ATTENTION TO
THOSE BIG 12" X 8" NUMBERS THAT TELL YOU HOW MANY LAPS
ARE LEFT!!! After the race, I was talking to AJ and he
said, "Yeah, I was wondering why you were sitting up
taking a swig form your water bottle coming out of the
last turn." "I was going to yell at you to get up and
go, but it was too late by then."
You see...in my frustration, I thought, as we passed
by the start finish line for the "FINAL" lap, that it
was just another Field Prime so I figured I let
everyone sprint and take a breather and save a little
for the sprint...what a "DUMAS!" So...there I
was...with one last sprint in my legs and nowhere to
spend it...
"31st" overall...damn...
Guess that's what happens when you come from such a
strong team...other teams jump at the opportunity to
open a can of WHOOP-ASS on you when you've no
reinforcements.
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