Road "Racing" in Leland

I've always wanted a road bike, and so this winter I purchased a relatively inexpensive one to see how I liked it. I enjoy mountain biking and frequently take my mountain bike on long road rides since we live 13 miles from the closest single track around. Seeing as how I had been on the road bike 3 times, not including the start of the Flatlandia Kermesse, a race seemed like a good idea to get to know my bike. The route was nice and flat, as the name implies. The wind was terrible, and being a totally inexperienced road biker I was already shaky on the bike without the wind gusts from the side and head wind. I also missed the instructions about the neutral roll out and soon found myself starting DFL. Yep, heard the neutral support vehicle behind me and thought, time to go! I ended up riding the whole race (75KM) alone. There were a couple gravel sections that proved to be a lot of fun. The race volunteers were great! I will be back next year, hopefully by then I am more comfortable in the pack. Its all good since it was time on the bike and more training for this coming weekend, which is Trans Iowa, which I am very excited about!