Thursday Night World Championships

Evesham group shot

Yesterday my schedule lined up so that I could go to the Greentree executive park for the Thursday night ride.  The group there is really incredible... it's everything from category 1 and 2 racers, to the occasional pro, to cat 4s and 5s, and guys who have probably never raced. 

Last night was probably my fifth or sixth time at Greentree on a Thursday.  Often I take a lot of crap from some of the people who take the whole thing way too seriously... as if it were the world championships.  You're going too fast, you're pulling too strong, hold your line, all this stuff.  And indeed, I need some work in a lot of these areas. 

Last night I got through relatively unscathed, even though I did manage to screw a few people up, I'm sure.  Last night was really one of my worst nights, though.  I was all over the place on the course, didn't corner well, didn't really hold a steady speed. 

Still, I don't despair.  I was thinking about it afterward, and chatting with one of my friends about it...  In a way, it's actually rather nice that I have so much to learn.  I'm still fascinated by bicycling in general and racing in particular.  I have some really good friends and teammates, and I feel lucky that I can learn from them.  Hopefully I can avoid knocking anybody over while I'm learning...