CoreTechs Staffing Cycling Team

Race date 6-18-11

Race: Pescadero Coastal Classic

Class: Masters 45+ Cat 4

Riders: 92 Entered

So I knew Pescadero was going to be hard. But being a classic, it was a venue I had to try. Our race started at 8:05 and they weren’t kidding about the 92 riders. It was a mob. Tom, Mike and I were relegated to the back at the start, but we had 47 miles to catch up. I was concerned that there might be a break on that first climb up stage, so I was going to make sure I was in position to not get gapped there. Sure enough, we couldn’t move up in the pack until stage. Tom and I maybe made it up to the top 60 or so, but it was ridiculously crowded. As we went up stage for the first time, there were holes forming so that I made it to the top 30 or so by the first hump of stage. I bombed the downhill between the humps and must have been in the top 15 or so by the time we started up the second hump. The pace was comfortable and I was feeling confident but realized I was overly dressed….oops. The descent back to 84 was tame by my standards and I would guess there were 50 or so heading up 84 to Haskins. I saw Tom and Mike and they both appeared to be fine. The first time up Haskins was pretty brisk, but I was in no pain at this point and crested with the top 5 riders. We hammered the descent and formed a paceline as it flattened out (which is why it made it harder for Tom to catch back on). I had no idea where Tom and Mike were, but I’ve climbed with Tom before and knew that if he was having a good day, he’d have no problem hanging in. Then I saw him as we rolled through Pescadero…he looked fried. He told me he and another dude just pulled 15 guys back up to the front group. I know he’s capable of recovering, but there wasn’t much time between there and stage. He was going to suffer again soon. There were about 40 now that Tom brought 15 guys back to the group. We hit stage for the second time and the pace quickened. I felt really good so I took the lead and hammered up and over the first hump of stage road. I bombed the gnarly downhill on the other side. When I looked back at the bridge at the base of the second hump I had over one hundred yards on the front group, so I slowed down until the group caught me, and then we hammered up the second hump. Again the next descent was tame…. then we were on 84 heading up the last eight miles or so, to the base of Haskins. I felt great, so being the moron that I am, I pulled the group for a couple of miles with no help. Finally realizing that the “noon ride elbow flick” wasn’t going to get me any help, nor would asking for help; I just backed way off and melted into the top five. There were 20 riders left at this point. Literally 2 minutes after I let myself fade back to get some help, an attack of six riders broke off the front from the outside line. I’m boxed in and screaming at the guys in front of me, “Go! Go! Frigging Go! Damn it!” They wouldn’t move. I was screwed, but didn’t panic, because they always chase in Cat 4…right? Well they didn’t chase. I moved back to the front and pulled like heck for a couple miles….begging for help. They said, “sorry dude, we have team mates in the break”. Now the break was about 200 yards ahead and as I was pulling the group, two guys sprint past me to try and bridge. I sprint and caught them, thinking, “right-on”. Then the guy I was behind started to fade and get gapped by the rider in front of him. I yell for him to go or move. Then the bridging rider sensing he had a gap, hammered really hard and was going over 30mph and I elected not to burn a couple matches. So I was in between the two groups and faded back to the chase group. As I got back to the chase group, I saw the bridging rider make it….damn. So I pulled the chase group for a while more, head hung low, knowing I screwed up. I should have buried myself to catch on….oh well. With about two miles before Haskins, and the lead group now out of sight, I gave up. Then….. I finally got some help. Maybe there was hope? We picked up the pace, and I sat in and tried to recover as much as possible before the hill. As we turned right on Haskins(Pescadero Creek trail) I could see the lead group about 200 yards up. It was game on. I was about 6th in our group entering the hill, so about 12th overall. Three guys took off in pursuit of the lead group and I battled with about five other guys for the first mile up Haskins. By halfway up the hill, a few guys in the lead group were coming back to me and I had finally dropped the guys I was battling against. Two of the three that took off at the base of the climb were starting to come to me as well. I twisted myself as hard as I could. I passed three guys in the last 400 meters and caught three more, but didn’t get them by the finish line. I finished 7th over all. Not bad, but I wasn’t happy with how it turned out. I made three mistakes:1.Dropping Tom the second time up Stage(he can pull like a diesel on the flat and could have helped me bridge). 2.After a monster pull, getting boxed in, causing me to miss the break.3. Thinking the group would