i was a little caution and under-confident when i started, so i sat in the back at the start. since this is basically the beginners/sport category most of the guys are not particularly strong with the technical skills. because i was on a single speed i had two concerns; one, i needed momentum for the little hills, and two i would really have to spin to pass anyone on the flats. i was getting kind of frustrated at first because these guys in front of me were braking all the time and putting me further and further in back of the race. this course was like a roller coaster single track, short steep descents followed by short climbs. if you went all out on the descents you could make it to the top of the other side with hardly even pedaling. unfortunately the guys in front of me were always breaking on the descent and killing everyone’s momentum.
i eventually learned how to race and soon found myself passing at will. not exactly at will, but good enough that i could slowly move up in the race. i learned to back off just a bit on the descent so i didn’t have to break on the way down, and once or twice i timed it so well i passed right at the top of the climb. i passed a couple of guys on the flats, while spinning about 150 rpms (that was tough to recover from). i ended up about 10th out of 22, which is not horrible. i felt great and not one person passed me.
why is the ex-cyclist racing?