Last Week, this Week

I am now entering an important part of my race season. I'm currently in a big block of big racing. Last weekend I went to the San Dimas Stage Race in California (road), and this coming weekend I'm going to Phoenix for the Nova Desert Classic national (mountain). Two weeks after that is the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA (road and mountain), and two weeks after that is the Tour of the Gila stage race (road) in Silver City, NM.

The trip to San Dimas had to be done on the cheap as I was going by myself. Therefore, I tried a few cost saving things that I've never done before (at least when a bike race was involved). I rode Amtrak to Fullerton, CA, as the ticket was cheaper than flying and driving, and only cost $5 extra to bring my bike. The added benefit of the train over driving, is that the trip is over night, and you can sleep on the train, as well as not having to make food/bathroom/gas stops. From Fullerton, instead of renting a car or paying a taxi, I rode my bike, with all my gear strapped to my back, the 20 miles to San Dimas. Luckily, I could do this because all the stages of the race were within a couple of miles from my hotel.
I got in to my hotel with enough time to relax for a hour before I had to suit up and ride to the start of the first stage (uphill time trial). Given that I was probably a little tired from my trip, I finished a respectable 29th (out of 100 in my category). My buddy Matt won this stage last year, so I had a little higher expectations for myself, but there were plenty of opportunities to make up time in the coming stages, so I was optimistic.
Stage 2 became a day of infamy for me. The stage was a short road race with one notable climb and descent each lap. I was feeling good, and during the first part of the race, I spent some time towards the front of the group in the effort to get in a break. At the half way point in the race, I was at the front of the group when we hit the short climb. I slipped back a little in the group on the climb, and on the descent, the group became pretty strung out and the pace was high. A few guys in front of me were having trouble holding the pace, and were allowing small gaps to open. In a split second decision, I paused to let some guys sprint by me. Thinking the guy in front of me would follow them, I stayed on his wheel. He didn't, and in the second it took me to figure out that he was giving up, the gap had already grown to a distance that I could not close by myself. I glanced behind me, expecting to see other guys behind me that I could work with to get back to the group, but instead saw no one. As it turns out, we had already lost about 30 guys from our group by that point. This is the first time I had looked back during the race, and I was thinking that I was somewhere near the middle of the group, instead of at the back. I wasn't paying attention, and it caused me to get dropped from the main group for the first time in a stage race. It was an error in judgement that I will not let happen again.
Unlike most guys, I chose not to drop out, and instead finish the race. I was hoping to make the time cut so I could race the final stage the next day, but it was not meant to be. I watched part of the race the next day, and then got an early start on my ride back to the train station.
I'll probably race San Dimas again, as I had a good time and it is a well run race, but I don't think I'll travel the way I did this trip. I don't think I showed up to the first stage at 100%.