Nelson Frink, Panoche Valley RR, 45+ 4/5

Hey Guys,
Will and I had a great race and a fun time today down by Hollister. After getting humbled last weekend at Berkeley Hills, it was reassuring to see we could still be competitive and significant players in the action. I hope things went well for the team members at the Modesto Road Race today.
The field was full for our race, and the course was a 40 mile out-and-back which gained 2000 ft vertical going out and was mostly downhill to flat coming back. The pace was moderate until we hit the low rollers, and then went full tilt on the first major climb. Will was driving hard at the front for much of the way up and stayed at or near the front coming back down as well. After each climb the front group got smaller, and by the last significant climb I realized I better hold on at all costs as I was at the back. Fifteen of us turned around the marker at Panoche Pass, and some of us were trading pulls to gap the scattered chasing racers. There were a number of breakaway attempts on the way back, but a 6-8 mph headwind made it hard for them to stay away. There were two racers in the lead group from each of the major teams: Zteam, Six-Fifty, Synergy-Taleo, Team Bicycle Trip, SJBC and Eastside Velo. Will had offered to lead me out in the sprint as we were discussing strateg
y on the drive down, but I told him to go for the win himself if the opportunity developed. He went on a flyer at 1K, and for the first time the whole pack responded furiously with a full-adrenaline chase. I sat in the middle as the pack caught and passed Will with 200 with yards to go. His move took the sprint out of a few racers and helped soften things up for my sprint for 6th or so. The race atmosphere was friendly at the end, and we hung out and shot the breeze with the other teams while enjoying food and beverages provided by the organizers. It was one of my favorite races so far, and I had a great time carpooling down and racing with Will.

Nelson
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