Balderdash for April 9, 2010

AND JUST LIKE THAT it’s time for Week 6 of NYC racing and the Tour of the Battenkill.

It’s the kid in me who wants to go do this race, the B-kill. It’s going to be painful and a shock to the system after just 60- and 90-minute city races. There’s lots of climbing and dirt roads in this near-3-hour ordeal that I’m paying 75 bucks for. Some 100 kilometers to the finish.

At this point, I’m pretty much just hoping to not flat a lot, or at all, and to get a top 10. Is that too much to ask? I ask myself.

By the way, if you’re serious about racing Bear Mountain this year, you might want to be on top of prereg when it opens at NOON TODAY, especially if you’re a Cat. 4. There are fewer fields this year because of a course change. Read all about that here.

Last week saw … Wait. The results have not been posted yet. Almost a week after. Now that’s just wrong. So much for Twitter.

Anyway, in the Cat. 3/4 in Prospect my teammate Michael Perlberg got away in the last lap and did an amazing job not listening to his aching, screaming body to hold off the pack to finish alone. I relished the morning spin because it was a hard race with lots of attacks, pretty much a handful every lap, but nothing could stay away.

In the end, I was happy to ride second wheel behind a chasing Luzzo’s rider, and he pretty much pulled the last solid half lap to try to catch Michael. I was not blocking really, just watching the scene up close in case Michael got caught, but he dangled just nicely and safely a good couple of hundred meters or so all the way to the line. I was surprised when no others came up to work to bring him back. Maybe guys didn’t realize there was a rider off the front.

As we approached the last few hundred meters, and just as the Luzzo’s guy was starting to fade, another Luzzo’s rider, I think, jumped over to the left side of the road and started sprinting, or at least started to wind up. Leszek was on his wheel instantly. I made my move then, thinking I could maybe grab a place and pat Michael on the back at the line.

The sprint didn’t seem that fast, but we started from pretty good speed, I guess, so I just stood up and pedaled harder and grabbed 6th, just in the money. It was my first place of the season so that was cool. But cooler still was Micheal staying away in a Fabian-style late attack to hold it for the win. He looked pretty toast at the finish but very happy.

I bought my girl some beers with the big winnings I earned and headed to Long Island for some skeet shootin’. Easter’s always good for that. Meanwhile, Gavi Epstein scored a nice win in Central next day, and Steve Marmo won again. That’s two for him in Central this year.

A better man would race Battenkill Saturday, then Central Park Sunday. But I think I’ll be happy to do just the one, thank you.

Enjoy the fine weather now.