Stages 3 and 4: Lachine TT and Little Italy Crit

Rode the bike path the 3k TT. Did not invest too much in this event, given that I was feeling rather wrecked from the previous day, was 27 minutes down on gc, and that even when fresh I don't excel at this length of event. Time trial is done without aero bars or TT bikes given all the Euro teams having flown in, a short out-and-back on a spit of land in the Lachine Canal (maybe?). Scrubbed too much speed in the first set of corners but fine otherwise - 68th place and 29 seconds back. Others are just so much fitter. The winner averaged 53k an hour. Times like this I just realize that is a whole different league. After the TT, Cascade mechanic Gary identified and fixed my binding heatset - and suddenly the bike felt great - wahoo! Maybe I had not just been a freaked out scared rider these past few days, but my bike had actually been slightly unstable. Home for a nap and food. My teammates ate horse (pictured) but I passed... In the evening, we rode urban guerrilla through Montreal (past its bike-sharing stations!) to the Little Italy crit. Fast but non-technical four-corner crit. Riding on the outside you don't even have to stand up. Luckily missed a crash and was comfortable in the group for the first time all week. A bunch of riders caught behind the crash tried to chase rather than take a free lap, but it's nearly impossible to catch this field once gapped, and were sadly cut from the race. So hard to think clearly at times like these. Time gapped at the finish - silly as I had legs to have gotten myself up further. Cascades lost Joanie to the crash/chase escapade. Another got gapped when a plastic bag blew into her wheel and she needed to stop once free laps had ended. Today brings the big stage: 130k with a real hill, preceded by a 5k sprint/positioning war on a curvey path the width of one bike. Wish me luck. We've got one rider 26th on gc. Hope to position well and help her move up.