A steady rain covered this nice little race in our backyard this past Saturday, making it a gritty effort for all participants.  Mark Bissell & I the only reps from ECV for the Cat 4 race - 28 miles via 6 laps over a very nice rolling circuit - nice views & pavement, well-run by CCB, and it was really  nice that the road was closed for us.  About 25-30 starters I think braved the bad weather; Mark and I stayed on or near the front; I wound up on the front more than planned, chasing down some attacks throughout.  The small field & closed road resulted in a strung-out group, very safe.  That guy I met on my lonely Spank'om the other night, Gerry Harris, was in it, and I marked him every time he took a flyer - except the last lap early, we let him go.  He was out of sight for quite a while, but he came back to us just before the last stretch to the final turn; guys noting how strong he was. 
 
So, it came down to the final turn to the 400m up hill finish.  Mark & I were positioned well - Mark just ahead of me, we were both top 10 at the final left-hand turn.  The first 200m are the steepest, Mark went wide right, while I cut inside and hit it hard, jumped the group and was all alone.  Despite a hearty "Go Dan!" from Mark and with thoughts of glory for a few brief seconds, my legs screamed, I felt over-geared and so I down-shifted w/200 meters to go (don't know if I could have held that higher gear to the end, but as soon as I did it, I wished I'd at least have tried . . . ).  The group flew by me to the finish - Mark deftly running the gutter on the right side to a second place finish; another excellent result for the ever-consistent Mr. Bissell.  I wound up 7th.  There's really nothing quite like the moments of a sprint finish; gotta love it.