Masters 45+ open and 35+1/2/3's
This race was a big crit in downtown Lafayette, ca. They did a great job and had good prizes! Peets coffee cards to mention one and cold hard cash.
La Reno Wheelmen arrived with two, count em, -2- hitters from east of the border! Sr. Paul Gossi and the Marshal himself! GONDA! chose to stay home and rest as he has just been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome due to overtraining.
We showed up with JLane, Sven and I, making 5 in the 45+ race!!
The crowd went wild - never have they seen such an assembly of TRW in one race riding together!
..and it was hot.
The course is super fun. Slight uphill start / finish straight about 300 yards with a headwind, left turn downhill of 40 yards, left turn another 300 yards flat to a super fast uphill U-turn - repeat.
The 45+ race had large teams from Morgan Stanley, VOS, Webcor etc... It was fast and the announcer went crazy when he credited me with the course record for the fastest lap - TRW!
We had a plan and stuck to it - mark um all and in the end drill it to the finish. Attacks came n went and John M. was on it! JLaine was out there from time to time (but he had other plans for later in the day) Sr. Paul knew he could hold for two laps, so at 4 to go he came up beside me as I was in about 3rd position and I head a little voice - piss... gregg... game on!
Sr. Paul drills it and we string it out. Caldwell crashes in on me in the ft straight between the barriers and my bars and try's to take Sr.'s wheel - BULLLLLL-SHIT! He got the shutdown hard and never tried that again. We get a little gap but have Kevin Metcalf w/ us - At two to go, Metcalf attacks and Sr. Paul's job is done (perfect timing Kevin!)
I went after him and did a slow close over half the course of a lap - we trade pulls thru the next lap -
In back of us John slows the pack - pissing off Caldwell (good job on 2 fronts John)!
Kevin jumps at the U-turn, and I was able to drop him in the sprint-
The boys worked hard and we all won it together!
And then........ Gather round children and you will hear the story of the little doctor who could. Could what you ask...? Win? Well we'll see. This really is a story of how a bike rider becomes a racer, loosing his racing virginity in front of his friends, children, even his Mother!
35+3/4 JLaine listens carefully as we talk about how to win this race alone - no teammates. No sirens. No Sven (who was entered, but disappeared). We hung on the fences...
He lined up to start
He thought motley a few
I'll race n I'll race and attack at the queue
As the gun had gone off
He drilled it a bit
but thought to himself
By the end I'll be shit
Then he slid thru the pack. Not much of a pain.But if Gregg could do it, then so could J-Laine.He got stuck only once, for a moment or two.Then he stuck his head out of the peloton flueWhere the little VOS racers all hung in a row."These VOS guys," he grinned, "are the first things to go!" 
And what happened then...?Well...in San Fran they sayThat JLaine's little lungs
Grew 6 sizes that day!And the minute his lungs didn't feel quite so tight,He whizzed through the pack in the bright morning lightAnd he brought back the break, and attacked all the while
as he won the damn race with that slight JLaine smile!
Great job buddy!
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