Originally Posted by
mattm
Been a great season so far; the outline of my 2021 story
- did Elite Nationals in FL back in June - goal was to survive and learn a thing or two; got top 20 in both races (RR & crit)
- RR was 105 mi on flat terrain - we averaged 29 mph.. I was stupid and tried to go otf a few times lol
- Crit was 30 mph avg, thanks to Best Buddies team (they won)
- got 3rd at the Bariani RR, a not-totally-flat Norcal classic RR. Current pro crit champ won
- did some races at Intelligentisia in the p/1/2 field
- crashed myself out the first four minutes in our first day (South Chicago).. wanted to quit bike racing, teammates talked me out of it luckily
- the next day at Elgin I just wanted to survive - and I did. Which was saying a lot because only ~30 out of 100 finished, and I was one of 'em!
- on the last day I lined up in the front and really raced; it was hard, and I was in the winning break for about one lap until Tyler Williams attacked.. note to self: don't bridge up to Tyler's break and immediately pull through
- a highlight of that race was being close to a big crash and jamming my shifter into someone's ass and staying upright/not stopping and carrying on like nothing happened
- got 3rd at Masters Nats in the crit from a break - a decent result, but frustrating bc should/woulda/coulda..
- WON the Suisun P1/2 crit, a race I won back in 2017. Was in every break of the day including the winning one
- I'm leading the p/1/2 BAR for NorCal, a few more races left in our season
Some ups, some downs, but overall I'm glad to still be riding a bike!
Post more Matt! We need your no-nonsense NorCal elite content!
Who are you riding with? MIke's Bike's? Terun still a thing? Where's Chris Evans? Are you training any differently?
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste