Hoping for a respectable ride

There are a couple crits coming up that I put on my calendar this winter.  Friday night's Health Net Criterium, followed by Saturday's Sunset Criterium. 

Friday night's race a big party.  Downtown Portland at twilight, beer garden, loud music and tons of spectators.  Wether you're racing or watching, It's really fun to be there.

Saturday's race is just a mile away from my house, and some of my neighbors might even come out and watch.  I'm very excited to race so close to home; it's like racing in my back yard or something.

Crits are normally what I'm good at.  They are fairly short and very intense races.  The courses are usually flat, fast, and very technical.  It's chaos, which I like.

However, I haven't raced since Father's Day, way back in June.  I'm still (probably) in okay shape, but not riding at race intensity for so long is probably going to hurt me.  Badly.  I'm hoping for a respectable ride on both days...Forget winning, I just don't want to get dropped and look like a fool.

So here's hoping for a good showing and staying out of the crashes.  I'll let you know how it turns out on Saturday.

Meanwhile, if you're up for some entertainment, these are the fun kind of races to watch!