Introduction to Bike Racing

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I saw this bike race meandering around my block last year and it looked like it would be cool to ride around the city without having to stop for red lights or even think about where I'm going.
Oh yeah, and ride really fast.

So I signed up this year with a racing bike from a friend of mine and road my heart out. It was exhilarating but I don't think I ate enough for breakfast. I was shooting for the first hour and a half but then the single bowl of musli I had eaten was depleted and I was not quite prepared to have a 3-course meal while puffing up a hill at 25 mph. The Clif Bar I managed to bite into was a bit difficult to chew and swallow.
I also probably pushed myself too hard and didn't conserve any energy for the end. The last 15 miles were pretty grueling and I lost of a lot of speed. But I was happy with my time and even pleased with coming in 3417th place! I'll probably do better on my next one. I have a month of touring with 30 pounds attached to my bike to train my legs.

Next to the watermark (which did not have a better time than me) I finished the race!
The start of the race with all the thousands of bikers streaming out of Potsdamer Platz. I'm probably way in the back.

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