So CJ talks me into this race (for once he's the one making us do stupid things) which was in Merrimac, MA. Tells me it's a "flat" race so we HAVE to do it...never mind the fact that the race STARTS at 8:15 AM, which means we are leaving my house at 6:15 am...ugh I am NOT a morning person!! Anyways, CJ, me and Shedd load into CJ's car and off we went.
We arrived at the venue in plenty of time, almost fully awake and semi-looking forward to the race. During our quick warm up spin we recon the finish of the race and duly note that it is going to be a downhill sprint finish for about 600 meters. Downhill finishes seem like a good idea, but trust me they aren't. What it typically means is a bunch of over stressed, over tired racers toss caution to the wind and ramp the speeds up well past the point of reason in a mad, gravity fueled dash to the finish. All this on roads that look like a 15 year old boys face.
The race was 5 laps of a 6 mile loop. It started out with a "neutral" roll out which sounded pleasant enough, until it became obvious to those of us that started towards the back of the pack that the race had actually begun without our knowing it. This led to a somewhat frantic chase to the pack up the only semi climb on the course. Maxing my HR within the first minute of racing is not a great start to the day.
Let me also say that while "just 200 feet of climbing per lap" sounds pretty mellow, it takes a little bit of a twist when the majority of that "just 200 feet of climbing per lap" occurs on the one climb that is immediately after a 90 degree right hand turn, which means that you aren't going to be carrying much momentum into that "just 200 feet of climbing per lap". good times.
Anyways, after that "start of the race" hiccup we settled in to racing on what can only be described as a 6 mile series of ruts and potholes. While the race promoters should be commended for the attention to detail with the race (awesome pace cars, motor cycles, directions, volunteers etc.) the town of Merrimac should be ashamed to call this collection of broken pavement a "road". It was virtually impossible for anyone in the field to maintain a steady line anywhere on the course. If you were to break down my $30 entry fee to .25 cents per pothole hit during the race, I would have come out ahead...by a fair margin!
We rolled around the course at a typically brisk 24+ mph with various people taking liberties with the "yellow line rule" and a few guys futilely trying to establish a break from the field. Of special note was one asshat that consistently passed vast portions of the pack well outside the yellow line, causing much bitterness and angst within the pack. Note to dumbass, we could ALL pass the pack by going over the yellow line...doing so makes you no superman. Try weaving your way through a pack of 60 guys to get to the front, then you have done something noteworthy (not to mention following the rules). His eventual DQ from the race was the ultimate in Street Justice (unfortunately not until after he took out one of our friends by driving him into a particularly nasty pothole and causing him to flat out of the race and then for an encore nearly killing everyone at the finish...but I digress).
Even though the roads were atrocious the race itself was mostly manageable. Other than a little panic on lap 3 where I swung the aforementioned 90 degree turn VERY wide and almost hit a car, leaving me well back, almost stopped and having to burn a few matches to chase back to the pack up that damned hill, it was going as planned. I knew that the pack was destined to stay together for bunch sprint at the end and was both excited for it and dreading it. The potential for carnage was unusually high on this one.
Coming around on lap 5 I started to work my way to the front. My gameplan was to be about 5-6 wheels back and on the far left (hugging the yellow line) so that when the road opened to the full 2 lanes within the last 200 Meters I could take advantage of the extra room and avoid the melee in the middle.
Coming into the last 800 meters all was well. Position was good, speed was good and the "plan" seemed to be working. Then of course all hell broke loose.
Asshat guy takes a huge flyer from the back of the pack as we start to go down the finishing hill. He's easily 5 feet outside the yellow line and flies past the entire pack. This causes a huge reaction from the field and it's basically game on. I look at the inside line where CJ is and see some guy run off the road next to him, come back onto the road, hit him squarely in the shoulders and then fly back off the road. CJ didn't look any worse for wear from having this guy bounce off him, but I am sure it didn't help his mental state any (Here's where being a Plus sized cyclist probably saved CJ from a nasty crash).
Seeing the race quickly disintegrating before my eyes I hit the gas and started my sprint well before I would have cared to. I did my best to weave around the various riders who seemed intent on killing me (and themselves) and got into a little clean air with about 75 meters to go.
A final out of the saddle kick got me past a few more riders and I rolled across the line in 11th place. Not quite the goal I had in mind before the start, but I was mostly happy to have both bike and body still in one piece. A quick glance at my computer had the final sprint at 45.3 mph (thanks to the downhill run up). A touch of wheels at that speed would have left a lot of skin and carbon fiber on the ground.
CJ rolled in just a few places behind me safe and sound and Shedd came in a little after that, torched but alive.
Overall we had a decent race, but not sure I'd like to temp fates by tackling that one a second time (unless they get rid of that downhill finish). I think my nerves were more shot than my legs for this one ;)
Off to the next one....
Monday, May 3, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
2010 Cycling Season (thus far)
Well, it has begun again. Another Winter of broken promises to "ride the trainer" left me with the same old task of burning off the 7-8 lbs of Winter excess and getting my body ready to ride my bike again.
It has been the usually painful process, trying to jump start the 'ol motor, keep up with the sick-o's who DID train all Winter and getting mentally prepared for another long race season. The first few weeks were the worst, as the Winter rust took a while to shake off. This year I am trying to move up in both riding ability and class of racing, so it's even harder than usual.
CJ and I have jumped in with both feet on the "A" race for the SIPC this year (I was booted from the "B" race after the series win last year and Chris has come along with me because he is sick in the head), as well as moving our training rides to the harder Saturday Morning hammer fest (the brutal PVC ride) and also training more with the guys of BASE-36.
The SIPC "A" race is open to category 1-4 riders and is chock full of guys who can rip legs off at will. We even have a semi-retired professional rider in the mix who routinely punishes the pack. There are also some fairly large Teams represented, so keeping tabs on everyone during the race is as challenging mentally, as the pace is physically (average speeds are typically in the 25+ mph range). The flow of the race is also quite different than the "B" race, as there are a ton more attacks to cover and spurts in speed to contend with, as well as a much larger field of racers in general (35+ racers, or more). It is, however, a much "smoother" race, as the racers are typically more skilled and experienced (with the exception of one, or two who seem to be clueless). So far CJ and I have held our own. My placings for the first 3 races have been:
Race 1: 10th
Race 2: 9th
Race 3: 9th (7th in the pack sprint after the pro and one other guy got off the front)
CJ has been right there in the mix as well, just a wheel or so back but coming on strong. The final lap and subsequent sprint have been a learning experience, as guys are far more aggressive to move me off the wheel I am following. So far I have relented and let it happen (the whole "live to fight another day" concept) but it has meant that my sprint is either starting late, or too far back to get to the front in time. At 35+/- MPH it's a tough call to make on how hard I want to bang elbows with these guys, but I think it's coming ;) Either way my top end speed is slowly creeping back into form (week 1: 32 mph, week 2: 33.7 mph, week 3: 35.3 mph). If I can just keep from getting bumped, or boxed in for the last 300 meters I will try and find some clean air to open it up.
On the plus side, when I first started this series I was hoping just to not get dropped. After 3 weeks I am now hoping to get into the points (top 8 placing). The harder training regimen seems to be paying off, even if it has hurt like hell so far.
We have a lot of races on the schedule for this year. Some pretty tough one's (Battenkill just wrapped up and I am yet again swearing it off for another year) and some very fun ones (Southwest Harbor Ride). With any luck the new training will pay off and I might sneak out a win or two along the way.
Our team (Colavita Racing Inc) is looking good again for this year with some strong riders, so hopefully CJ and I will get some support (or be able to lend some support) as the season moves on. Either way, the new Kits look awesome, so even if we aren't fast, we'll look good ;)
Miles to date (since March): 632
Times thrown up: 2 (both on the ride up Mt. Kankamangus after partying into the wee hours the night before)
Flats: 1
Miles walked after flat occurred: 2.3
Races completed: 4
ok, back to the riding. Keep the rubber side down :)
It has been the usually painful process, trying to jump start the 'ol motor, keep up with the sick-o's who DID train all Winter and getting mentally prepared for another long race season. The first few weeks were the worst, as the Winter rust took a while to shake off. This year I am trying to move up in both riding ability and class of racing, so it's even harder than usual.
CJ and I have jumped in with both feet on the "A" race for the SIPC this year (I was booted from the "B" race after the series win last year and Chris has come along with me because he is sick in the head), as well as moving our training rides to the harder Saturday Morning hammer fest (the brutal PVC ride) and also training more with the guys of BASE-36.
The SIPC "A" race is open to category 1-4 riders and is chock full of guys who can rip legs off at will. We even have a semi-retired professional rider in the mix who routinely punishes the pack. There are also some fairly large Teams represented, so keeping tabs on everyone during the race is as challenging mentally, as the pace is physically (average speeds are typically in the 25+ mph range). The flow of the race is also quite different than the "B" race, as there are a ton more attacks to cover and spurts in speed to contend with, as well as a much larger field of racers in general (35+ racers, or more). It is, however, a much "smoother" race, as the racers are typically more skilled and experienced (with the exception of one, or two who seem to be clueless). So far CJ and I have held our own. My placings for the first 3 races have been:
Race 1: 10th
Race 2: 9th
Race 3: 9th (7th in the pack sprint after the pro and one other guy got off the front)
CJ has been right there in the mix as well, just a wheel or so back but coming on strong. The final lap and subsequent sprint have been a learning experience, as guys are far more aggressive to move me off the wheel I am following. So far I have relented and let it happen (the whole "live to fight another day" concept) but it has meant that my sprint is either starting late, or too far back to get to the front in time. At 35+/- MPH it's a tough call to make on how hard I want to bang elbows with these guys, but I think it's coming ;) Either way my top end speed is slowly creeping back into form (week 1: 32 mph, week 2: 33.7 mph, week 3: 35.3 mph). If I can just keep from getting bumped, or boxed in for the last 300 meters I will try and find some clean air to open it up.
On the plus side, when I first started this series I was hoping just to not get dropped. After 3 weeks I am now hoping to get into the points (top 8 placing). The harder training regimen seems to be paying off, even if it has hurt like hell so far.
We have a lot of races on the schedule for this year. Some pretty tough one's (Battenkill just wrapped up and I am yet again swearing it off for another year) and some very fun ones (Southwest Harbor Ride). With any luck the new training will pay off and I might sneak out a win or two along the way.
Our team (Colavita Racing Inc) is looking good again for this year with some strong riders, so hopefully CJ and I will get some support (or be able to lend some support) as the season moves on. Either way, the new Kits look awesome, so even if we aren't fast, we'll look good ;)
Miles to date (since March): 632
Times thrown up: 2 (both on the ride up Mt. Kankamangus after partying into the wee hours the night before)
Flats: 1
Miles walked after flat occurred: 2.3
Races completed: 4
ok, back to the riding. Keep the rubber side down :)
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