Dis weekend

So this weekend is the first of many upcoming full racing weekends. First was the Hillsboro Roubaix and second the Tilles Park Criterium. I have never really liked either race, but at the same time I still wanted to race. I just made the registration for Hillsboro, which I kind of regret. It sounds like I could have had a better training ride had I just stayed here. The 1/2 race at Hillsboro was honestly the most dangerous road race that I have ever been in, more so than any cat 3 or 4 race I remember. Major accelerations followed by dead stops. In the first 3 miles or so a big crash happened behind me and knocked my wheel out of alignment or something, so I was hammering for the next 15 minutes and going nowhere but backwards until I opened my brake. I was having a pretty easy time sitting on, but I was definitely feeling the effects of being in the red for the first 15 minutes. All was good until we hit that climb into town after the feedzone climb. I dropped my chain, when I guess I didn't really even need the little ring. It was weird cause I had been in the little ring in the feedzone climb, and all winter I never dropped it. Oh well. The field rode away as I tried to fix it and eventually had to get off and fix it. I got to the top of the stupid descent and saw the field turning the corner. 1 minute back. I chased through town and didn't gain, but I wasn't about to head off for 60 miles alone in the wind. I pulled off in the feedzone and found Matt Brandt who had done the same. I really don't think I will go back to Hillsboro. It completely felt like a waste of 45$. The race needs to be a rolling enclosure first, and second, I don't really think it's the course at all that makes it hard. The cobbled section is nice compared to some of the bs roads that are out in the other part of the course. I really dont think the course is hard enough. The rough roads aren't enough to make a separation like they are in europe, and there is no climb that separates the pack or anything. It's really just the size of the race, and the size of the roads that makes things hard, and a lot of bad luck that seems to happen there.
Tilles was surprisingly fun. Matt Brandt got off with 6(?) other guys, pretty early in the race. I followed a few attacks and was ready to take a free ride up to the break if anyone wanted to go, but nobody had the legs. About 40 minutes in, we came ripping around the final corner, and were forced to slam on our brakes because an ambulance was there to get onto the course. I almost crashed in the process and was forced to ride the grass (the second time in the race). Honestly, an ambulance on the course isn't something to be upset about, it just sucks having to stop a race, and also so abruptly. They could have let us roll through and just said the field was neutralized or something. So the race started with 20 min and 5 laps to go. The break probably got a bigger head start than they had, but whatever Matt was up there. At like 5 to go the break was getting close to lapping us, and a mercy guy had attacked the break and tried to bridge up to the pack. We quickly went to the front and DROVE the race for the next 3 laps. He apparently popped and fell back to the break, allowing Matt to attack and get caught, and then Justin to attack and hangon for the win. Matt handily cleaned up the sprint in the break. We rode really strong and it payed off. Excited for more crits...and Hermann. I guess I need to register.