Not Being Dropped

Numbers can be deceiving, and one would think that by looking at my results for last Sunday's race I would be disappointed. If you look I placed 49th out of 65 I believe. With this being my fourth season. What that number 49 doesn't convey is that I accomplished my most important set goal ever since I started racing bicycles. I even managed to podium twice and have a top ten finish in all but one race in my last Cyclo-Cross season. But with all those things out of the way, this one no matter how minimal it may seem for some, eluded me since the beginning. You  see, I wanted to become a "roadie", my first bike was a road bike, my first race was a road race, that is all I did. CX was something that I started off doing to keep from sitting on the couch all winter long. I enjoy speeding down the smooth pavement with very little sound other than the wind, like I imagine sailing might feel like. But no matter how much I trained it felt like I was always in over my head, like I bit off more than I could chew. I would line up for a road race and I felt like I had put in the work and inevitably the peleton would drop me. Oh of course I would get really close to finishing with the group sometimes like Sunflower state games a couple of years back when I got dropped only a few miles from the finish line. But no doubt about it I would get dropped. That is what makes this last weekends feat such an important milestone. Just so you know what I am talking about I raced this weekend in a Mens cat 4 crit race and I did not get dropped. Granted I finished in 49th place but if you had been there you would have seen me finish with the group. What is really deceiving is that I probably finished only a few seconds behind the winner. So after participating in a sport that seems to do nothing but keep you humble I gained a ton of confidence. Just so you kow I am celebrating quietly and only after reflecting on the importance of my accomplishment.