First race of the year on Saturday - the Burnham Racing Super Spring Crit. I raced this last year and really liked the course, a moto speedway about two miles long. Flat with wide turns and serious wind.

I got there early to watch the women's cat 4 race. Leah from Flatlandia won it for the second year in a row (Congrats, Leah!) and an up-and-comer from Cuttin' Crew took second. Then I warmed up for the women's open with a bunch of the other racers. There were ten of us at the line: Beth and me from xXx, a couple Kenda Tire girls, Pascale of Project 5, Leah of Flatlandia, Sue and Jessie from ABD, a woman from Cafe Hollander and a woman from Wolverine.

I have to admit, I've been a bit apprehensive about racing in the women's open. A bit intimidated. This is a bad mindset to bring into a race - it makes you tentative when you should be aggressive.

We start. No one wants to pull into the wind. I'm trying to get a feel for the group - I figure I have a couple laps to see who has what, a couple laps to settle into the course. I'm sitting near the back trying to get comfortable in the group - when Jessie attacks. I see her go by me and my first thought is to stand up and do everything I can to grab her wheel. But that millisecond passes and I'm boxed in. I shout out to Beth - and everyone else - that there's an attack. Its the first lap, I don't really expect this to go anywhere. But it's Jessie Prinner, so it breaks up the field and I'm on the wrong side of the break.

Such a dumb mistake. I watch four women ride away and feel like a chump.

I try to organize the five women in my group into a viable chase. But riders start dropping off one by one. After three laps, its just Leah and me, and she - tired from her efforts in the cat 4 race - is fading. So I drop her with four to go. Occasionally I get a glimpse of the race ahead of me. I time trial through the rest of the race. I enjoy it. I like the course, I like riding hard, giving my all. But its sad and bitter trailing the leaders.

Jessie wins (congratulations, Jessie!), Pascale takes second and a Kenda cat one takes third. I'm fifth of ten.

Moral: the women's open is not a cat 4 race. As expected, its faster and harder and filled with strong women itching to animate the race. But its not anything to be afraid of - I'm up to this challenge. Its better to try something grand and fail than to regret your caution. What would Jens do? Everything he possibly could. Time to start racing like Jens.

Big kudos to the xXx men, bringing home first and second place in both the 4/5 and the 30+ 4/5!