Monsters and Madison

So the Monsters/Wheels on Willy Weekend started out well enough. John went from the gun, I covered 3 guys bridging and sat on it until we got to John, and then Josh did the same. Three guys out of 8 or 9, with one Josh Carter and one John Meyers, is like having twice that many guys, particularly in a local race like this. John can take it from a long way out, and Josh can smoke the field if it comes back together.

Well, as it turns out, people decided to stop working smoothly, efficiently, and most importantly, quickly when Josh arrived. Apparently nobody wants to drag him around, even if he's working. And, I can't say I blame them.Unless you manage to get away clean, odds are certainly against you beating him in a heads up sprint.

So, when people stopped cooperating, John, now semi-fresh, took off again, solo. Josh and I resumed our places at the rear of the chase group, although I was obligated to monitor the front to keep Clark Priebe from sneaking off with other would-be miscreants.

Eventually, we were caught by the chasing field, and it was time to block and chase. Brett, Josh, Rob and I did this well enough for John to not only stay away, but to keep pulling away for the duration of the race. Obviously John was the main factor in that, but we did a damn good job of preventing an organized chase from forming.

The last couple of laps were painful. Lots, and I mean many + Priebe, tried to take fliers. My race was effectively finished when Priebe launched a last ditch effort at the start of the last lap, and I not only caught him, but put a lot of other would-be attackers in the hurt box, simply by making them chase me down. Josh, Brett and Rob, meanwhile, were safe in the field, ready for the field sprint.

End results, John and Josh, 1st and 2nd, as Mr. Carter blew the doors off the field in the last 150m. I rolled it in for something in the mid-40s.

Madison didn't turn out so well for me. Technically, I ended up with a better result, but in terms of the work I was able to do for the team, it was a bad day. I lost a contact right when I was in a position to help, and as such, had to give ground through every corner, and fight my way back up, every time up the home stretch hill.

There were some wrecks I managed to dodge, and lap traffic (what were they still doing out there???) I was able to avoid, but otherwise, it was a pretty boring race for me. Pretty hard, but lacking in action. Sprinted home in a not-so-stellar 28th place.

John got 2nd out of the break, and Josh took 2nd in the sprint for 7th, a pretty good day. I opted out of the money, as my performance was both ineffective and not deserving of any reward. I quite literally did nothing but ride a bike in a rectangle for an hour.

Next up: Winfield Twilight. I'm going for the V in the Cat2/3 race, then working for the big boys in the Pro/1/2 race.