Wednesday Night Crit #1(cat 4):

Frank Karbarz

So I decided to take a break from studying for the CFA exam this Saturday and go ride my bike at the Wednesday crits.   Besides, I didn't go to Dallas for the state crit because of this three stage, three year, once a weekend exam, but I figured the local diversion would be ok.   At the start I looked around for my teammates and saw that Carmi,Jose and Erick(sp?) were in.  It felt good to see some GCCA in the field.  We talked some strategy and were ready for a safe race.   Looking around I saw a twice as many Sun and Ski riders, and a few familiar race faces from last year.  Overall, a pretty good turnout of about 40 riders.  I also noted the jersey with "2004 State Criterium Champion" and wondered one last time what I had actually missed over the weekend.    Then Hans himself sets the tone and pleads that we ride a safe race.    At the gun the field felt suprisingly calm, smooth, maybe a bit slower than I remember last year.  Were Hans' comments were sinking in?

I looked at the front and there was Carmi setting the tempo right from the gun.  At least he was safe on the front!  After two laps three riders kicked it up and started an early break, and then I saw Mr. Crit Champ bridge up and I followed.  It wasn't long before the five of us became just Mr. Crit Champ and I.   He turned to me and called it a truce. "It's just me an' you Bro" were his foreboding words, and we were back in the fold.  We both stayed very near the front for the rest of the race and just chased the rest of the field.

The prime bells were ringing and I was chasing the bait. I didn't need the socks, but what the heck and I ended up winning two primes and Mr. Crit took the other two. The cool part was right after the third prime, Jose countered.  It was enough teamwork to make more than a few get tired and set up for a finish.   There was a final prime bell with four laps to go and as a result of not chasing that one, I was deep in the field.  On the final lap, at the Concrete turn, the field was spread across the road and I found myself way back and needing both elbows out to keep from getting pinched. It took until the carousel for a line to form and some space to open up, and at that point I pulled up to fourth.  Before the 90' turn a First Colony guy and another racer both jumped and they created a three bike gap.  At that point it was do or die and I didn't let up until after I crossed the line, fearing that Mr. Crit Champ would try to defend his honor.   Turned out, Mr. Crit Champ was way back and got seventh overall.   We'll see what happens next week.

Later, before the ambulance came, I saw a rider's front wheel being carted away, with the skewer still firmly holding the lower half of a carbon fork like a double broken chicken wishbone and I thought again how much more fun it is to be off the front. 

Well, it's back to studying the intricacies of foreign currency translation.


Frank Karbarz