Fitchburg Longsjo Classic Stage Race
Stage 3: Wachussett Mountain road race, 69mi

Uf! That was a killer stage. At the same time, it was also the most fun. I feel good about the fact that I pushed myself right up to my limits, wondering if I would make it to the finish before collapsing in exhaustion. But then I also can't help but kicking myself for not going with a 2-person break on about mile 15, that somehow lasted for the 54 miles to the finish line. I had even started to go with the girl who attacked, but then I thought she wouldn't be a strong enough breakaway partner (not on a big team, didn't know who she was) and that it would just be wasted energy when there were still SO many miles left to go. So I let myself drop back to the pack to get back into a protected draft. Anyway, I think that the big teams there raced really stupidly, because none of them really attempted to chase, and the break actually stayed for the remaining 54 miles to the finish. And all the big teams with girls in contest for the GC (general classification, overall win) lost their leads as a result of unintelligent racing. That's the cool thing about bike racing - if I had gone with that break, I would have placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd - but since I didn't, it came down to just pure ability on the final climb to the summit, which put me in at 22nd. It's cool that there are so many tactics playing out, that by putting yourself in the right move at the right time, sometimes you have the chance to beat people who are actually stronger. So I am bummed that I missed my chance to do that in this stage!
Well, it was a really fun race, nonetheless. I don't know why I get such a sick pleasure from the pain of climbing. It really hurt. It was about 6400 ft of climbing. But then you also get the fun descents to balance it out - we were going over 50 mph on the downhills - FUN!