DNF

Well, so much for coming out swinging.
I lined up for the start of my very first Cat1/2 race the other day, to compete in the second Mason Lake event - one of the traditional season-starters up here in Washington. Due to the early season, and the location, this race always attracts big fields of racers looking to start their racing season. We also get a good amount of Oregon riders who make the trip up to compete as well. We also had some of the locally-based Pros racing for some early-season fitness as well.
The Mason Lake course basically consists of two parts - wide-open main road (where you typically fight the wind) and a narrower, winding road around the lake. The key is to move up during the open section, since the narrower road makes things a little more difficult (especially when it is a little damp, which is a majority of these races). The finish is a slight uphill grade, roughly 350m after a sharp 90 corner (where there is usually at least one crash during the day). This uphill finish can make for a very difficult and long sprint if you don't time it right.
I felt great during the warm-up and even during the first lap and half. Moving around through the field, trying to be of assistance to the team. As we turned onto the back stretch along the lake during lap 2, I started to realize that my legs were feeling a bit tired - probably my fault for not eating enough, but I think it was just not being used to the race-pace of the field (one of my teammates mentioned after the race that the Mason races this year were the fastest for the last few years). I sunk back into the field for the remainder of lap 2 to try to recuperate. Lap 3 was an effort to rest as much as possible, but I was definitely starting to notice the lack of power in my legs.
I made it through about a quarter of lap 4 before I just couldn't hang on and fell into the no-mans land off the back. I figured that the main reason I wasn't able to hang was just the fitness side, so I continued to ride along on my own. Just before the turn onto the back stretch I caught onto a rider who had fallen of the back as well and we worked together, switching turns pulling for the next lap and half. This completed 60 of the 72 miles in the race, and I figured it was time to call it quits and catch the finish of the field. I found another member of my team who had blown up early as well and we rode back to the finish line to watch. About 2 minutes later the leaders came through - riders from Oregon taking the top 2 spots. Our best finish was in the top 10, so not terrible, but I really felt that I needed to improve my condition to be of help to the team. At least I got some good miles into the legs and hope to be of more use in the next race.

On a good note - first race on the new bike, and it performed as well as could be hoped with me dragging it down. I will post a write-up with photos shortly.