Coming to an end, snowy times are nigh.

The last couple of days of our sunshine trip culminated in a couple of days of racing. One discipline in which we were absolutely novice in, and one that was familiar, but our last experiences were a ways off in the past of our collective memories.
The first was Saturday's team time trial. This, as I think we've all come to find out, is an interesting experiment in team dynamics. The variables are many, and seem to multiply with the amount of people participating. I would say our initial attempt at this sort of race was enlightening, if not a bit dis-organized at times. That said, we rolled in in 5th place. I for one have only desire more to do a race like this again, it's complexities are many and that makes it all the more compelling. I wish I had photos, but as we all raced, alas, we had no one to take them.
Our bikes all aero-ed out for the Saturday's time trial.

Cages came off given the short times of both races.

As soon as we finished the TTT we hurried to get the aero bars off our bikes, the race left a bad taste in our mouths and shedding any superfluous equipment possible seemed an act to salvage a bit of our collective morale.
Thanks for nothing!

Saturday night was a quiet one for us in comparison to the week's previous socializing. We stayed in for the night with our gracious hosts, Niles and Ernie, and were joined by friends Stephen and Lily coming up from Tampa to race in Sunday's criterium.
Even at a decidedly low point, the night was fantastic, we enjoyed wine and other libations and ate some incredible food made by both of our hosts.
Ernie serves it up right!
Sunday found us with rejuvenated spirits, but not without a bit of nervous energy regarding the task for the day. It was the day for the Gainesville downtown crit, a fun, bumpy course with more than its fair share of brick and torn asphalt. If being nervous wasn't enough, it was our last day down south. The sinking feelings crept in as we began to realize the inevitability of our long drive towards the awful, though somewhat characteristic, wintery conditions at home.
That aside, we were treated to a parting gift of dessert for breakfast and coffee by a good friend at a cafe.
Pre-race desserts get us in the mood.

We had four riders riding in three different races. Ansel was going to mix it up in the cat. 5 race, Brendan in the 4's, and Gerry and I in the 3's. Ansel held court at the front of his very short race, being the sole person chasing down a rider with a rapidly diminishing lead off the front. By the last lap though, Ansel decided to set himself up for the bunch sprint and let some others resume chasing the leader whose gap had come down to 10 seconds. Apparently everyone else had the same idea and let the leader go. Ansel more than handily won the field sprint for second.
An unmistakable Ansel powers to the front of the field.
On the bricks, on the hunt.
Brendan's race was almost a cookie cutter crit. One breakaway attempt saw Brendy lead a chase to shut it down, but that was pretty much all the excitement of his race. He played it smart by sitting towards the back and let others dictate the pace, which saw rider after rider shed off the back of the pack lap after lap. In the sprint Brendan could only guess whose wheel to follow towards the line, and finished a respectable 12th for the day. None of us really targeted this weekend of racing as an important one for our season. The goal was a modest one; it's purpose to really flesh out what level of fitness we were at and get comfortable racing again. We weren't not hoping for a win, but I won't say it was the total goal.
Brendy cutting it in over the bricks and looking good.
Looking for a wheel in the sprint.

Gerry and I lined up for our race with a plan to look for, or initiate some breaks to try to get away. Our original plan of going off at the gun got a bit messed up as I missed my pedal and found myself too far from him at the first turn. I did get a chance to start an early attack and 3 others came with me. We held out only for two laps or so before getting caught. I went toward the back of the field as Gerry moved to the front to keep his eye open for other attacks. Thanks to our gorgeous kits for being so standout that I could locate Gerry anywhere he was in the field, and for making our team the absolute best-dressed at the race.
Looking good on the start line.

Gerry got one off with one other rider. I moved to the front to block a bit, but the pack was just surging to get the two of them back. Once together, I took an opportunity to take the race's only cash prime. Handily winning that, I amused myself by completing the lap solo, getting caught at the third and fourth turn.
Gerry going with a promising attack.
On my way to a cash prize.
With four laps to go in the race, it was all but decided that no attack would result in a winning break. Everyone seemed to want it to come down to a field sprint. Gerry and I had a talk, I was to lead him out for the finish. With two to go, we got our way into a good position and by the last turns we were ten wheels back or so. Turning onto the finishing straight I saw a good line with a few wheels to follow, and started ramping it up nice and early to give Gerry a nice launch. A bit of sketchyness at 300 meters caused a blip of hesitation and we had to ramp it up again, only a bit further back than we were. Gerry came around, timing it right, but the best we could pull out was 12th. I sat back down after he launched and rolled in at 19th. Not our best results, but I still feel the race was a success. We rode it the right way, being as dominant and active as we could. When it came down to the finish, we were able to find each other easily and comfortably enact our plan. In the pass-fail nature of crits and bunch sprints, The stars really need to align for a stellar finish. Given a bit of trouble in the finish added to not knowing who to stick to coming into the final run, I feel we did it right. Especially if you think of our whole team finishing top 20 in each of our races, top 12 if you count my lead out as a sacrifice.
One of the watering holes we frequented, Boca Fiesta, is located on the race course. One of the owners, a dear friend Geoff, was offering up what he was calling a "consolation prize" to racers. The "prize" was a shot of tequila followed by a beer. After picking up my ten buck for the prime and checking results, we headed over for adequate consoling.
In looking for the podium, we found the bar.
The team indulging in some true consoling.
The team, thoroughly consoled, and looking great.