Tom Rice's Pesky RR 45+ Cat 4

Tom Rice's Pescadero RR report
45+ Cat 4

So... my first road race in almost 25 years, first race with CoreTechs and my first Pescadero Classic: I'd forgotten how much fun road racing is!
Mark Foster and I, racing in the Cat4 45+ race had talked quite a bit about the race but honestly I was just getting my feet wet again and I'm not gonna tell you I had any real tactical plan. I'm not a great climber so I "planned" to see how it went and adjust on the fly.

Mistake 1: I was too far back at the start and got stuck behind some of the slower climbers going over the first climb on Stage Road but I was able to get around these guys on the climb. The pack was close so I charged the descent to re-join the peloton at the bottom, right before the tree shaded bridge. I used way more energy in this section of the race than I should have.

Goal 1 achieved! I stayed with the pack through the first climb and descent.

The flats between Stage and Haskins were uneventful and I made my way closer to the front of the pack. The pace here was comfortable.

The first ascent of Haskins was going much better until about 1/2 way up. It seems like the pace of the front runners picked up and I didn't have the legs to keep up. The front of the pack was out of sight but not out of mind as I crested the climb. Again, I charged the descent and passed quite a few guys and settled in for the chase.

After a kilometer or so a group of 8 developed. We weren't working well together so I tried to encourage a smooth, quick paceline but most of the guys didn't have the horsepower or didn't have the good paceline skills required to pull this off. In a paceline like this, the front rider needs to make 6 to 10 very strong pedal strokes and pull off for the next rider in order to maximize speed.

So, a rider (in red kit - I didn't get his team) and I did a bunch of monster pulls and the small remaining front pack came into sight before the Butano Cut-off. Everyone else in our group just hung on. One more huge pull by Red Kit guy and one more huge pull by yours truly (this is what I'm good at) and we were back in the pack a klick or two before town.

Goal 2 Achieved: I went through Pescadero town in the front pack on lap 2.

I was baked for the second climb over Stage Road. One acceleration by "someone" (turns out it was Mark!) about 1/2 way up and I got dropped for good this time. A small "groupetto" collected together and we cruised through the flats up La Honda Road. Four of us were stronger than the rest and this smaller group stayed together to the finish line. I think we were among the first of the remaining riders after the main pack crossed the finish line.

Mistake 2: After a rest on La Honda Road the second time, I realized I was quite a bit stronger than the others in my groupetto. I should have ridden away from the group and I would have finished closer to the top 25 instead of 33rd.

Goal 3 Achieved: I finished respectably and I had a really good time. I finished 33rd and made an impact in the race. Mark and I rewarded ourselves with a healthy (read "big") lunch at Dewart's after.

I'm psych'ed to do the CCCX on Saturday!

Thanks for having me on the team!

Tom Rice