A little wine and no whine....

Masters 4/5
Teammates- Dave, Paul S., Paul T., Xeno, Jim, Mike, Mo, Larry
Field- Full- at least 75
We had a loose plan of attacking but keeping a couple back for the bunch sprint, this is a tough course to get lost on, big loops and very wide.
The pack surged and moved a lot, it was always a work in progress to stay up on the front of the wave. I jumped and got the first preem, 10 velobucks for the track and a bottle of wine. I had a big gap after the preem and in hindsight should of kept going, I had to freewheel for about a half lap to get integrated again. Boy, that was fun, I'd go again, but bad position out of the turn left me out in the open too early. Also seeing a old buddy that we need to bring to the fold sprinting for same prize had me ease off.
Paul T. made a beautiful move that myself and one other guy blocked for a half lap or so, won him a prize as well and tired some folks out.
I'd like to mention Paul S., Jim, and Racer X all worked hard bringing myself and others up, blocking, and stringing things out, excellent teamwork, fellas!
5 to go and I'm on X-mans wheel about 6 back. Miguel is there, Mo is there, cool. Big acceleration from Eastside and a red guy, I follow/jump to it, look back and see a gap. Not much, I take a pull and peek, there is something there now, just me and Eastside. We try the 2-up move, but despite blocking from the team, after a little hesitation, the pack is in full mode. Honestly, neither of us had the 29-30 mph speed needed to win out of a move like that, we almost got some help, but he fell back. I gave it my all, you never know what can happen with two to go, but cracked with one to go, rolling out the back like I had the brakes on.
Final survey during my trip back- Mike on the front with a funny look on his face (I'll let him tell that story, but obviously not his plan), and Mo about 8 back with Jimmy V.
Mo did a great job getting 4th, missing 3rd by a centimeter according to the camera. I had a good time, raced aggressively and with the team's objectives in my mind, felt it was a good tactical move, even if it wasn't the highest percentage move personally. Every race is still a learning experience for me, I look back to this race two years ago, I rode on the outside in the wind and was tired halfway through, sprinting endlessly, etc. This year I was comfortable all the way through in the pack, big steps for me.
The team was present in every move yesterday, I look forward to our race in two weeks!
Johnny