End of the Road

Season that is.
The Morgan Monroe State Forest Road Race (MMSFRR) was Sunday and marked what effectively is the end of my road racing season. I will still do time trials, MTB racing and maybe the odd RR that pops up, but nothing else on the schedule.
I had several good races, none particularly bad, but no wins either.A few 2nds and 3rds that were close, but no W's.
I fully intended to win the MMSFRR. The race organizer turned the pre-race planning into a cluster coitus of no support, no police on the course and no sanctioning body. All the confusion left our team w/ just two players, down from four.
On lap 1 (of 4, a hilly 14mile loop w/ a 2mile climb at the end) my other team mate took off up the road. I immediately went to the front of the group to shut down any organization from the field to chase him down. It wasn't exactly what we had planned, but a win for the team's a win. So as he got up the road, I stayed back and chased down every single move that went to make sure 1) he wasn't caught and 2) his gap could grow as much as possible. It turns out chasing down move after move is probably even more work than being off the front, where you can get a good hard (but steady) rhythm going and motor. Hard, but steady. In the field it's hard, but a bunch of hard bursts, no real rhythm at all. Anywho, my blocking (and Ryan's strength) worked well and he got ~4-5minutes on the field and won. I had ambitions of breaking on the last lap and taking second, but I had done too much work and was dead at the end. Our last ascent of the 2mile climb, I was in survival mode, not race mode. I think I crossed the line 8th, but was rewarded by Ryan form his winnings w/ cash for my efforts (which I DO NOT expect, but appreciate).
Overall, it was a hot, hard day. I rode well and we got team win, so good day.
And as I mentioned I'm basically done road racing, so I'll keep "maintenance training" through July, then start thinking about cyclocross. I'm going to have to take a week or so off in a few weeks though; I need a break before CX training/season begins. But the State TT and National TT races are coming up too, so I have to balance all that.
This weekend is MTB racing at Muskatatuck Park in North Vernon. Saturday is STXC (Short Track Cross Country), and Sunday is regular XC. If I can swing getting out of work Sat, I'll do STXC and I'll do Sunday regardless.