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 :)