Regarding the East canyon road race

My goal: Start a race. Mission accomplished.

Here are some pictures of the race team
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130010073 - Steve M, Stephen H
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130030245 - Steve M
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130030246 - Steve M
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130030247 - Steve M
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130030250 - Stephen H
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130010183 - Stephen H

Here are some pictures of me posing as a racer - but really out for a club ride
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130030083
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130030084
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130010027
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130030464
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/130030465

The plan was to ride with Steve M and Stephen H. Didn't happen cause I never saw them at the start. Turns out they had a different start time than I did. Lesson learned: The whole team may want to register together.

I secretly thought I could do well climbing and was happy this race had a few decent climbs. First thing I'm told: one of the climbs is taken away; we're not going to Lost Creek. Race starts, goes for a few miles before the only real climb. The pack is lurching, weird tempo. Makes the start of the climb really odd and makes me lose touch of the front group. I don't feel I need to push too hard since I have 50+ miles to go; I'll catch up. Where is this pack of Cat 5 racers going? Bah, there's a slower pack behind me, I'll wait for them. Where's the slower pack at? Good thing this was an out-and- back, otherwise I would have never seen either packs again. At the turnaround point the faster pack was approximately 4 miles in front of me, and I was probably 5-6 miles ahead of the slower pack. I was pretty much on a solo mission. Lesson learned: Maybe try harder to stick with the pack, it may help for the 50+ miles later.