The weather was hot, and the wind was present from the South. The course was wide and clean except for the mailboxes in the middle of the street between corners 3 and 4. The mailboxes weren't a problem; if you went left, you couldn't make it around the following corner. It was easy to ride the corners without slowing down. The bike really handled well. I slipped the back tire a couple times over bumps, but it's predictable and easy to compensate. That gave me enough confidence to 'think' I could stay away.
I had raced the district TT that morning, so I was wondering how much I had left. I could tell I was still in the TT mode. The race started off Jack Rabbit style with a BGI-Trane guy taking off. I quickly closed the gap and rode second wheel on his draft, still fresh. When he pulled off after a lap, I took over and pushed it a little harder. With a ~10s gap, I was trying to get the fast guys to bridge the gap. It didn't happen. The peloton formed a single file and caught me after the third lap. It seems that people just want to chase us down instead of work with us. As it turned out, I was using the last few splashes of gas left over from the TT that morning.
I started riding in the pack to rest. After about 1/3 of the race, the attacks really started as there was a $50 half way prime. I didn't play it right catching the attackers and then being too spent to contest the sprint.
Right after the prime, there was another attack which failed and I think the attack after that one finally succeeded with a group of 7. There were so many attacks, I can't keep it straight in my memory.
In the end, I finished very tired and with the peloton. Next race that pays this well, I'm going to be rested and I'm going to play it better.
