Poor College Kid's RR

This is a thiry-four mile out-and-back course near Los Olivos. It's a nice bike ride, but kind of a so-so road racing course. There are two real problems with it. One is the start/finish area generally. The course is totally open to traffic, parking area is dirt and so is the staging area for the racers. The other issue is the fact that the road is just too narrow, period. You start with about six miles mostly uphill, culminating in a minor climb. Even in the 55+ pack there were enough riders that moving up was nearly impossible during this phase. This is followed by a fast descent with a bumpy right-hand bend.

I'd be happier if not for that fact that I flatted at about mile eight. I was under no pressure and felt much better than last week until I sensed a certain softness in my rear tire. I had wheels in the follow vehicle so I raised my hand and pulled over. I have to say the guys did as well as could be expected. Here's a tip: don't be the first guy to put your wheels in the follow car. It took about a minute to fish them out. At this point I made the decision to chase. Since this was not the TdF, the follow car didn't let me draft and no teammates (since I had none in the event) slammed on their brakes to come back and help. I was chasing because this race was part of my training. I could have removed my number and cruised back, saving energy for the Mothballs Criterium the next day. I felt that I needed the work and I also wanted to gauge how well I could do in a crit the day after a road race.

Of course I couldn't catch back on and after about ten minutes I relaxed and waited for a group of six chasers which formed behind. Two of them helped and we made good time, but at the turnaround it was clear we weren't going to catch. The fast downhill is a nasty, if short, climb on the return. Only one guy stayed with me going up that and he fell off the pace on the way in. I went over the finish steering around a semi which was essentially parked there. Still I was eighteenth, which made me think others had mechanicals as well.

I have to say I wonder if I'll do this one next year. On the plus side the UCSB club which puts this on does a terrific job organizing and running the event. But the fact that there is only one lane available, including at the finish, makes this really dicey for any sizable pack. In particular the 3s had a nasty crash at their finish. I saw a video taken from a bike around tenth place and really didn't see anywhere he could have improved his position from about three miles out! Since my flat was really a slow leak I don't think I'd park in the main area, but rather find a place off the road coming into the general area.