Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 03-30-10

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a, and would'a turned out if it hadn't'a turned out the way it did...

Much of the MABRA peleton slugged it out with each other, the weather, and the potholes at the 20th edition of the Jefferson Cup in Charlottesville, VA.

•  Matthew Lester seems disappointed with his fitness, but he did catch a nice fish and that's got to count for something, right?
• With Badgers, Chickens, Goats (and a few others), the ladies of CAWES took 5 of the top-10 slots.  That's a team effort despite all the barnyard references.
• Chuck Hutch is a funny man, especially when he's laughing at all the guys who thought he'd do them a personal favor and drag them up to the breakaway group.  
• Shot selection was key for the Flamenco Chuckwagon.  Well, that and the willingness to go all in with the power to make it stick.
• StigOnABike swears off road races (until he gets some fitness) and wonders if he's a runner who bikes or a biker who runs.  Either way, he makes breakfast for supper and that's okay with me.
• UVA Cycling keeps it short and sweet: it was cold and wet and Marcos got a wad of cash.  Collegiate guys have to study; they can't be bothered to write silly little blogs just to entertain me.
• It's always fun to read the phrase "first bicycle race" in any race report, especially one with the course and conditions of the Jefferson Cup.  But that's exactly what it was for JayRay.  Congrats, dude!  You're a bike racer.
• Keeping with the "first race of the year" theme, there's Strap's Blog which explains that sometimes it's good to get dropped, like when it happens just before the carnage of Cat 4 field sprint in the rain.
• Another n00b Bike Racer got his first win!  You gotta read the poetry that is his description of a long leadout that turned into a long solo sprint.
• He's a John Mayer-like purple dinosaur who flatted out of the Jeff Cup and still got an upgrade.  Yes, Dirty White Bar Tape lives a rockstar's life.
• Want stream-of-consciousness?  Try Rude Siggy.  I recommend you skip all the stuff about his water bottles and just get to the part where he watches a bunch of grown men strip in a Middle School.  That's so pro.
• The ladies of Tradewinds Racing post photographic evidence of their secrets to racing fast and smart while still worrying about "who the new hotness is."  Who knew there was a book about such things?

Others made the journey up to Union Grove, PA for the Union Grove Road Race:

• "We didn't talk strategy.  We talked survival."  Gotta love when Team Bicycle Therapy and Friends keeps it real with a couple of Frenchmen from Canadia (and still finds a way to include two great tastes that taste great together: Beer and Nutella).
• ByDaNumbas wants a definition of "getting dropped."  I'm no expert, but if your blog includes the phrase "laying in the soft grass watching the field roll away," I'm guessing you got dropped.
• Danilla Ice has a Dickensian tale of two riders: mediocrity and strength, pack fill and podium.  Apparently it was the best of times, it was the worst of times as he asks himself "why did I pull for an entire lap?  What was I thinking?"
• The Sturdy Girl talks a bit about her fantasy and then a bit more about not losing focus.  
• "Some were on the fence, some got off the fence, and one just went through the fence."  HMB Cycling had a hard core weekend and has the medical photos to prove it.
• Let's see, when a non-morning person from California whose legs can't decide when it's time to race meets a 7:45 start time in 27 degree weather, is the result ever going to be good?  Velomatic says he thought about writing a "big bitchfest" but went to the bathroom and got it out of his system another way...
• The Long Ride found himself doing a trackstand in the middle of the climb.  Showoff.
• Where's My Trophy knows that it's not just beginner's luck when you get two top-5's in one weekend.  It's more like a beginner's habit at that point.

Know of any more great race reports from last weekend? Send them to me here.

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Gus Grissom races for Team GamJams Racing, teaches Greek and Latin at DeMatha Catholic High School, and writes a dissertation in his spare time.  He compiles this column strictly for fortune and glory.