Ariel Classic

Since Toona ive done less than 10 min of intensity training in 2 weeks, so i was a little nervous about my form, within 1 lap i knew i was feeling ok.

Todays course was AWESOME, 7 turns, a brick section, slight hill and a chicane...with big crowds, couldnt ask for more.

Sav-Hill was rep'ed by Rish and I, we had about 6 Torelli to deal with, namingly Jeff, and Paul Martin....given the course and the field needless to say the field was shattered within 3 laps.....Rish Paul Jeff and I lapped the remains of the field twice

turning onto the brick section 15 min into the race i was using a really good but sketchy line that i had been riding thus far into the race that nobody seemed to be using despite the fact that i was usually gapping people there, i found out why: I rolled my clincher and flatted, thank God for free laps!

Ive cracked a frame and rolled a clincher in the last 2 weeks, i feel like billybadass.

it came down to the 4 of us at the end after a TON of cat and mouse (seriously like a half hour of it, i was actually getting boerd of it) with aig time torelli leadout for jeff, i had pauls wheel at 4th position in the last lap, i was a bike length behind Paul who one at the end, Jeff got me by a wheel for 2nd.....I landed in third, Rish in 4th

Props:
* Rish is riding awesome, hes gonna go great at crit nats and the rest of the season
* Kurt and the Westerville shoppe for helping with the million things ive needed in the last few weeks
* Grimm for showing up to the race taking pics, all in good spirits despite the bruised tailbone, his new baby is supercool, i dont want one though for a loooooooooong time

After the race they had a nice podium set up and i even had to give a (what i think was) TV interview.....I dont like public speaking, so that added with finishing a race 2 min before I was baffeled by the simple questions they were asking me....i hope nobody ever sees it

John Minturn was at the race today, finished in a strong 10th....for those of you who dont know him, hes living in Pittsburg now for grad school and went was at Miami my first year there, hes one of the coolest guys around and along with Dave Wenger are responsible for most of the memoriable moments (of lack there of) my Junior year

Wow! What a race, what a course, and what a beat down. The big guns were present, including Paul Martin, more Torelli's than you could shake a stick at, and our own Ryans Gamm and Rish.

A great course--far and away the best crit course I've raced. Whereas the course in Upper Arlington was forgiving, this one was merciless. The entire time you were either hammering hard as you could up and down the little hill, getting hammered by the cobbles, or turning as hard as you could. There just wasn't any let up in the course. We were single file from the gun and the field exploded on virtually the first lap. From there it was find a group, nose on stem, hang on for dear life and suffer. No kidding: it was 46 minutes into the race before I had a chance to take a drink.

I was happy to watch Rish and Gamm make the break with Paul and Jeff B. I say "watch" because that, basically, was what I was: a spectator. Not that I wasn't trying, but on this course there was nowhere to hide. Ultimately my group was lapped three times by the lead break. It got so bad near the end that I felt like the guys in a NASCAR race who drive around almost on the infield with no hoods on their cars just trying to turn laps. At least I didn't wait intentionally so I could get involved in the leadout train--as some of the Torelli's did.

It is a truism that the racing we do is subject to what is known in the business world as the "Peter Principle"--the idea that individuals are promoted to the level of their incompetence. Meaning that good performances are rewarded with promotion till the level of difficulty exceeds an individual's capability and they are no longer capable of good performance. Well, I have found my level of incompetence.

Hmmm. Any more cat III races the rest of the year?