bike racing is like childbirth...

...after a few months, you forget the pain and think it'd be worth doing again.

In my particular case, I decided to make further use of my annual USAC license and enter not one, but TWO criteriums this weekend. I'm fairly certain I'm going to get killed in both of them, but they're local so at least I won't have to travel to get my ass kicked. :)

I'm not sure whether I'm looking forward to the weekend or dreading it...on the one hand, our team is well represented in both races, and they're both women's open fields (meaning all categories are in one race). So I'll be racing with/near people I know, and that will be kind of fun. Also, both courses are pretty flat, so I don't need to worry about any climbing. On the other hand, see paragraph above.

My goals in these races are the same as my goals at Pace Bend, and in every fast training ride--stay with the pack as long as I can, don't quit, don't crash, and don't be last. My sources say they won't pull anyone, so I should plan to be in for the whole hour regardless of how far out of contention I am. They also don't think I'll be that far back, which is encouraging. I'm hoping to stay with the pack for at least 2-3 laps, and then finish out the race either by myself or working with other dropped riders. We'll see.