Salem

I used to live in Salem and don't remember many good things about it. However, the first week of collegiate racing made me anxious to go back. I've been looking forward to it for a long time. Although training had not gone particularly well this winter (due to sickness, travel, sickness, and travel) I managed to scrape together three good weeks before this first race. My goals were modified: stay on, stay up. I wanted to make sure that I was always connected with the main group and didn't fall off the back and wanted to stay " Rubber side down."

Traveling down to the race we had to detour away from Baker City because I-84 was closed due to snow. It's a regular occurrence for some part of spring break to be ruined by snow, this year was no exception. This meant that our route would be through Central Oregon, Burns, and Bend. We made good time but hit deep snow somewhere near the pass over that final mountain range before entering the Willamette Valley. It put us in pretty late.

When we arrived at our home stay, they greeted us with beer pong. We didn't drink or play but cleaned bikes and quickly went to sleep.

The morning of the race we arrived later than I would've liked. I was able to get a 30 minute warm-up anyway. After scrambling to get my number, I arrived at the start line for the criterium. This is usually reserved for Sunday races in the college style omnium but in Salem it was the first race. I didn't mind because it was short. I was surprised to learn that I was not only the oldest racer in the D category but the oldest by more than 10 years. The majority of racers in my category are in their early 20s.

The road was wet which slowed the pace at first. Eventually though, things picked up, riders became confident, and the pace quickened. I hung on the back of the group in the safest spot I could find. As always, I look for competent racers and bike handlers and stick to their wheel. With two laps to go, the race exploded and several of us hung back to watch the finish. My goal for this first event was not to sprint it out but to stay with the group and learn as much about the other racers as they could. I did exactly that. I was pleased to finish 27 of 39 racers. A good first start.

I had the opportunity to go out to wonderful IHOP breakfast with Ali, mom, and the kids. Since it was spring break for us, we decided to make it a full family trip. Although I did not spend the first night with them in an effort to stay close to the race, I did hang out with them for most of the remaining days.

We drove about 20 minutes south to the start of the team time trial. Joe, Jackson, and I were racing in the B category. We discussed early on the tactic of leaving me behind at some point after I had contributed as much as possible. It rained consistently for the first 30 minutes of the race and I took some long pulls on the front. I dropped off the back about 8 miles into the 13 mile course on a long hill. I enjoyed my solo ride the remainder of the race up through some hilly country and was actually able to pass a couple of groups. Our team took sixth in the TTT and it was a fun start.

The rest of the guys raced Sunday but I did not. I've elected to not race Sunday's this year. It was a fun Easter at the farm with everyone instead.

Despite my age, he was a successful weekend of racing against some young talented riders. I'm looking forward to more of these types of events.