No Shows

I was really looking forward to writing another post-race-post, but the Allegheny Cycling Association decided to cancel tonight's Tuesday night criterium race. Now last year, as incentive to make Cat 4s race the "B" (cat 3/4) race on Wednesday nights, they shortened the "C" (cat 4/5) to under 15 miles so that there could be no points awarded to Cat 4 racers' licenses (for upgrading their license category to a 3) if they place well during the event. Thus, the Tuesday Night C race would not give me much beyond a fun opportunity to work my legs and hopefully get new racers into the swing of things.

Tonight, David and I made the trip citing no thunderstorms on the radar and just a bit (okay... a lot) of rain. That shouldn't stop the races! When we got there around 5:30 pm for an early sign in and warm-up, the rain was falling and there was little action going on. Our fears were realized when I rolled down my window to a guy sitting in his truck next to me in the parking lot waving to tell me that the ACA cancelled the race.

Upon hearing the news and me rolling up my window, David quickly blurted out that the ACA needed to "harden the f*ck up!"Not to make a waste of a trip or to think twice about riding, David and I  got ready for our ride at the Oval. It was a cold, rainy, windy ride. We did about 15 miles (yes, a touch more than what the aforementioned C race would have been anyway) and worked together pace-lining efforts that ramped up to some nice race-intensity work. We were accompanied by two others who had made the trip not anticipating a cancellation or refusal to race anyway, due to the weather.

It was a beautiful day, yesterday.

In full Belgian stride, David and I both refused to wear leg-warmers, (would have been soaked through and cold anyway) jackets, or warming gels. It was on par with some of our more interesting weather related rides. Anyway, we're made it back to Indiana and I whipped up some spaghetti for our efforts. We are looking forward to racing the Hollidaysburg Spring Classics' Telpower race Saturday and then the Steel City Showdown on Sunday. Please let me know if you would be interested in joining us at the Steel City race on Sunday. I know it will be a once in a year kind of event and IUP would really enjoy some fans. Thanks for reading.