Summit Series #1 race report

So there were two goals for this race. First was to ride conservatively and try to hang on to the combined 3-4-5 field. Second was to try out doing two races in one night, with the first being something of a warm-up for the second.
__The first goal was executed well. No primes, ninja or otherwise. Just hang on. I felt good, was able to handle the accelerations, keep the rubber side down and make it in the group all the way to the finish. This was the Masters 3-4-5, and everyone seemed to ride pretty conservatively and safely. I ended up exactly in the middle - 13 out of 26, but at the back of the remnants of the field.
__The second goal didn't work out so well. I figured with a race in between the Masters 3-4-5 and the 'regular' 3-4-5 I'd have just enough time to recover. I pedaled around the parking lot a bit, and did a lap just before my race. But this field took off right from the gun, and my legs were all full of lactate. I figure I sat around in the shade watching the women's and beginner's race too long. Or maybe I'm just an old geezer and can't handle two races back to back. I'm sure someone will agree with that theory. Anyway, could just be a fluke, especially with a race going hard from the gun - that was a bit odd, even though it was short. I dropped out after the first lap after getting passed by everyone.
__Some interesting notes: the beginner race went down just like my first crit last year. SPBRC does a beginner class, and apparently this beginner race is the culmination of the class. I didn't know this last year, as I just wanted to do a beginner race as my first crit, and was wondering why they looked at me funny when I registered. I figured it out when almost everyone around me was wearing SPBRC/Grand Performance jerseys. So this year a Birchwood guy was the odd man out and, like me last year, he won the race. Like me, he stayed around 3rd to 5th wheel for the whole race, and saved his energy for the final sprint. Not sure if this was his first ever crit, but he rode smart.
__Teammate Drew tried to make it down, but learned the hard way that you can't get over on the Cedar Ave. bridge anymore. He even had cookies and beer, er, recovery drink! It was sad racing without my team - I got spoiled at Opus! We met up at my place afterward anyway, enjoyed the cooler evening air and recapped the weekend's adventures - can't let beer and cookies go to waste! Hopefully next week he and some others will come out to race and have fun.
__That is all.