Sunday was my USCF PA debut.  The race was the w1/2/3 Lower Providence Crit, an hourish-mostly-flat-four-corners-with-a-bit-of-wind bchan kind of race. 30+ ladies at the start line, and I was really effing scared going into it  because there were lots of legit fast girls that showed up from local pro/semi pro teams and I just had no idea what to expect from the fields out here in general.  I had 3 teammates, which made me feel a LOT better, and we had a brief team meeting before the race to talk about who to mark etc.
So, I  spent some time dicking around in the pack, bridged to one early break  with fast girls that didn't stick.  With about 8 laps to go and sitting mid  pack, I saw two girls go who were joined by two more.  I was sitting a bit too far back in the pack, but I ejected myself and bridged to the break while my teammates blocked things up in the pack.  We dropped one of the girls, but the break stuck!!! With 1 to go in the last corner, a 2 person chase caught us, and one  girl flew by me and scared the crap out of me.  I lost focus just long  enough for another girl to jump. But I was able to close enough to end  up 3rd!!!!! With legit fast people!!!!!
So things learned/to work on:  I botched the sprint, for sure.  My handling is getting a lot better, but I also have to learn how to  move through the pack without forcing it.  I burnt a lot of matches  doing that, and it needs to stop. Also, having multiple teammates to work with and to block and counter things in the pack is really fun :)
In collegiate news, the fair ladies and gents of PENN CYCLING are going to take a run at the ECCC omnium this weekend.  60+ mile road race, crit and a nasty hill climb TTT for me.  It's going to be a brutal weekend, and I can't wait!!! RAR!!!
Okay, time to go do the skool thang....