Father's Day HHRR 50+ - Dig Deep?

Nobody should be nervous racing their 'home' course ... well, I was. It was the CT State Champs, and there was lots of strong 50+ Masters on the start line. I am starting to feel the wear-and-tear from all the racing earlier in the season, so I was unsure about my mental fitness. Climbing-wise, I was feel good. The question was: can I dig deep when there's a strong move going up the road? And there's a hand full of riders I had to watch ... Gerry Clapper is one of them.
Gerry and I made eye connect at the start-line. We both said hello, but it was a different kind of 'hello' ... there was a message behind it: 'Let's say 'goodbye' to this field' ... meaning, let's breakaway. Once the race got started, nothing really happened until the KOM hill ... Gerry attacked and he attacked HARD. My eyes almost popped-out when he did make that move: It was time to dig deep ... Do I have what it takes to dig deep? About halfway up the climb, I found the 'force': "That little fu#ker, I know how to ride this hill!". So, I attacked and caught him before the top. He looked back and said, 'nice'. I put eyes back in my head and rolled ahead ... chasing after two loose riders. We pushed it, but we did kill it. A smaller field caught all four of us at the feed zone. After the feed, Gerry was back up front pushing the pace. Hmmm ... not smart from my point-of-view. He pushed the pace, most of the way, to the KOM hill. I see it coming ... Gerry was going to attack, again, at the bottom of the KOM hill, and he did! And his move was even harder than last time. I said to myself, 'don't panic, just attack this hill up and over ... just like a cross-country skier'. I stayed posed and caught Gerry half way up and motored passed him. He jumped on my wheel and we rode over the top together. THIS IS THE RACE ... I said to myself. I swear I rode down the backside of the KOM hill over 50 mph ... but to my surprise, four other riders bridged on. Whoa! Time for the mad dash to the line. The closer we got the stronger I felt. Yea ... I'm ready for the sprint. I also knew who was weak in the group of 6 of us while peddling downhill to the finish. The sprint for the finish started just before we turned off the main road by David K. (Arc) I was third in line thinking ... go, but start your sprint at 200m. I did ... coming around one last rider (CCB) for the win. Whew! Done! Spring racing season is over. Today is the first day of summer ... Go celebrate!