Bear Lake

Bear Lake was quite the experience for many reasons. As a Cat 4 I was set back in awe once again at the turn out. I knew from the get go that 70 plus riders on a flat 50 mile course would not be my ideal race. Most of the Cat 4's have anxiety separation, so any type of movement at all the whole pack panics which results in several yo-yoing surges. I tried three or four times to follow attempted attacks, but at about mile 40 of 52 the pack realized that there would be no break aways. So needless to say it came down to a very dangerous left hand turn with about 60 riders to a sprint finish. Nothing to my surprise, there was crash on the left hand turn which I was able to avoid, but took in the rear of the lead sprint and came in 25th place. Here is Jake's experience with the Cat 3's......................

I definitely got a little frustrated with how things played out on Saturday. Much of myfrustration was in the inability of any break to stick. Then the one time I happened to be sitting ¾ back in the field the most dangerous breakaway of the day took off. Drew was my marked man and I knew that he was dangerous. By the time I had gotten up to the front he, Lance and Spencer were too far gone and I knew that if I tried to bridge solo I would actually just end up dragging everyone with me… maybe. That is just how the day seemed to be going. I was mostly mad that I wasn't in the break because I had told myself that I needed to watch Drew. So much of my frustration was my own.

I definitely could have sat in and just let the race unfold, but everything seemed to just slow to a halt, like everyone was just saving it. So I figured that if nothing else we should make people finish with very little left for the sprint.

Ultimately the chase group that I helped to organize would have caught the breakaway. The BS tactics that some teams called "blocking" were a) dangerous b) immature c) bad etiquette. I mean what they should have done and that which is proper would be to sit in the front of the pack and not contribute to the chase. I mentioned what they did to several of my more
experienced racing friends and they all said that king of behavior should not have been allowed; pulling into the chase groups pace line then sitting up is not safe or respectable. When was the last time you saw something like this in a pro race… Truth be told, you'll get your #%! reprimanded if you do that in a pro race.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day and it was good to be on the bike. Many lessons learned and I definitely have gained some respect for a few riders and lost a substantial amount for others. I want out of the 3's….

Oh, and John, it would've been nice to have you there on Sat...

Jake finished a strong 7th place!