So, this morning I had my first road race. Here are a few lists of what I learned and what went right or wrong.
Good:
Didn't panic when I found myself at the back of the group.
I took opportunities to move up to the front when they arose.
Early in the race I was coping well with the pace.
I wasn't intimidated by group racing.
Bad:
I tried to eat some of my energy bar but couldn't chew it before the climb, which meant I had to swallow it almost whole. I got gapped on the climb, couldn't breathe right then off the back of the group threw it up at the road side.
I joined another rider who had been dropped earlier, was going to carry on but he had already decided to head back to HQ and I followed him without any argument.
What I learnt:
Don't use energy bars in races. There isn't the time. It has to be either sports drink or gels.
I can 'do' road racing, the atmosphere has quite friendly and it was good to be in better company.
Don't take the easy way out, keep going as long as possible.
I feel a little disappointed because it was a mistake that ended my day rather than lack of legs but there are a lot of positives and I'm looking forward to my next race in a few weeks.
