circuit race, four times on a 6-mile loop.

the race was really weird.  we were either going 14 mph or all out.  i was 
scared to shift into my little ring because there were so many attacks, so i 
spent a lot of time grinding in my 53x23, thinking about how i was wearing out
my cogs.  

the average speed was still in the low 20s despite the weird pace.  a lot of 
different riders tried to attack, but always rather half-heartedly.  i know i 
shouldn't say anything because i pretty much never do it, but that's because i 
don't think i can make it stick, so i don't try.  three girls from ccb, who are 
4s but are upgrading, were controlling the whole race.  they kept attacking and 
did a good job of sticking together.

at one point the masters passed us.  i was content to let them go--nothing good 
ever happens trying to pass a field of men that have  just passed a field of 
women.  but of course someone attacked so to chase her we had to basically ride 
though the men's field, which they weren't very happy about.

second and third laps were good for Queen of the Mountain points.  i was third 
once but don't think i got enough points to show up in the overall rankings.

there were still a dozen or so of us left from the original 20+ as we came 
around the last corner.  the 1k sign passed, then we were at 200 meters.  i knew 
it was time to stand up but dawdled a bit.  i passed a few people on the uphill 
sprint and finished fourth.  no hardware.

afterwards a woman asked me where i finished and said "i'm going to be keeping 
an eye on you."  i thought it was a pretty obnoxious thing to say.  and dammit, 
she should be keeping an eye on me because i beat her three times in five days.  
sorry, that was the fighter-pilot ego there for a second.

my teammate, kerry, got 10th, which was great.  and it was a lot of fun to have 
someone to warm up and cool down and rehash the race with.

next is a points race on a quarter-mile car race track.  scary.