Justin's story: Meteor Pace Bend Weekend

BaseCamp athlete Justin Hersom shared his experience at the 2025 Meteor Pace Bend Weekend USA Masters Cup Series in Spicewood, Texas.

My goal for this race was to continue to learn how to pace well, but also to eat and drink adequately during the race while doing hard efforts. This became even more important as I woke up midweek with what felt like tendonitis in my right knee, and though I was able to mostly cool it off by Saturday, my knee was still affected Saturday morning.

The race was only a 31-mile race, and appeared to be treated more like a crit. I started out in the front pack for the first few miles, and was maintaining the pace, but during a short kicker, I backed off, and unfortunately, I lost the group. I rode the rest of the race alone, knee aching, but I reminded myself that I would complete the race. Without power numbers, I am not fully able to evaluate my pacing, however, looking at lap times, I can see that my pacing was very reasonable. I rode by RPE most of the race, only realizing during the 3rd (out of 5 laps) that my power meter wasn’t connected to my computer.

Overall, I was pleased with my process and accomplishing the goals I set out to complete. This was my first official road race and USAC race, I didn’t place, I lost the peloton early, but I was able to refocus on my process goals, as nutrition on the bike is a big Achillies heel for me. This was a learning opportunity.