I finally did it, entered and finished a race, and it was a blast.
It was the biggest women's field they've ever seen with 14 riders in all combined categories. The course was 5 laps of a 4 mile circuit with a rolling backstretch, several tightish turns, and at least one significant hill (see the elevation profile at http://pdqcleveland.org/CCRRprofile.gif).
I hung with the lead group for several laps, but after an attack on that hill pulled away I was left with a chase group that I proceeded to pull around the next lap, but again on the hill I got dropped -- I think I blew up at that point because I had NOTHING at the top, and the finish was almost immediately after the hill: I placed 8th, 19 seconds behind the rider ahead of me. There were 11 finishers, so I didn't place dead last. ;)
For the curious (from the "what speed does well" thread), I averaged just under 18 mph over rolling to hilly terrain. The leaders weren't much ahead of me and I didn't feel outclassed on anything but the climbs -- and there I felt pretty average for the group. I average in the high-mid 16s on solo training rides of ~30 miles over similar terrain, I can cruise at ~22-23 for long periods on the flat and my top-end speed in a sprint is about 28.
I highly recommend that anyone who enjoys riding hard and fast try it out -- it wasn't nearly as intimidating as I'd feared, and dare I say it, I'm looking forward to my next race! :D
