Racing 101

So, March 29, my first road race of the year. It was called "Piece of Cake". They should name it "Stay with the pack or have fun riding by yourself in the WIND!". It was fun and all but I probably wouldn't race with the Masters 40+ again. The category is deceiving. These are just fast guys that got old I think. I am definitely not one of those people. Race was slated for 3 laps of 17 miles. On the advice of coach, I tried to stay in the front of the group but each time there was a corner, the front people would accelerate and I couldn't hang onto a wheel so I would keep losing my place in the group. About 13 miles into the first lap, with our average speed ranging from 16-30 mph, I looked behind me and heard the guy next to me say, "yep, we're last, but don't worry, its only the first lap...." Um, OK. Then we turned right onto another road that had a short slight downhill. The group accelerated to over 40 mph and I lost the last wheel of that group and that was the end of my race. I looked behind me and saw one other guy 20 yards back but he was losing ground too. I chased by myself for 2-3km at over 50 km/h but somehow kept losing ground. I crossed the finish line for the start of lap #2 and kept putting out to try and catch the group. I waited for the one guy behind me to catch up in hopes he and I could work together, maybe get closer. I followed his wheel for about a mile then I took my turn..... no sooner did I start my pull when I looked back, he was already 100m back. I said screw it and just went out on my own.

It was a windy day, did I mention that? I was maxing out my HR and my legs were burning. I just kept going. AT one point, I could see the group but it was at the most windy spot that I saw them, maybe half a mile up the road. I also turned around once because I didn't think I was going the right direction and found the guy I lost back at the start of lap 2. He seemed to think we were going the proper direction so I turned around again. I then looked back and could see the women's field catching us. I told this guy I didn't want to be caught by the ladies before the finish of lap 2 so I took off, hoping I could stay away for 7 more miles. With about 4 miles to go, the Cat 1/2/3 women's leaders passed me. One of my friends, Lindsay Fox, was in the lead with one other gal and cheered me on. Their chase group passed me and I tried to latch onto them but realized I probably wasn't supposed to do that and even though i was going to DNF anyway (a third lap on my own wasn't going to happen), I didn't want a DQ. I stayed about 100m off the back of the group til the finish line, then I went back to my truck. I saw another one of my teammates and she DNF'd too. It was a good training experience. It proved I wasn't ready to race at that level just yet but I think I will give it another go at that race next year and with more training and more experience racing, I will do better.

Last Tuesday I did another race. It was at Portland International Raceway, our local auto race track, 1.9 miles long. This time I went with the regular Cat 5's (versus the Masters 40+ Cat 5's). Actually, it was a 4/5 race. My hope for this race was to finish with the group. The race was 6 laps and it was tough. I lined up at the start right at the front of the group. I looked back and there were maybe 40 other guys and a few women. I figured there were enough people that I could draft for the whole race and finish in the middle. Wow, was I wrong.

Right from the gun, I went from the front to mid pack in less than 100m. For the first 1K, I was just getting used to riding in a huge group and being very tentative. I tried to stay on a wheel at all times. After each corner, the group would accelerate and I would lose a few places. I had a lot of trouble with each acceleration and I struggled to get back on. My HR was spiked the whole time. I averaged 179 for 20km and it was over in 27 minutes. We were told we would get a bell to let us know we were on the last lap and I had lost track of laps and went to the front at the start/finish line when I though we were heading into lap 6.....I was wrong again.

When I got to the front of the group, I slowed right down, hoping others would follow suit and I could try and stay up there for the finish straight, 3km down the road. By the end of the front straightaway, I was already being spit out the back. I looked back and one more guy was behind me so I kept on my pace and rode the last lap and a half on my own. I finally finished a road race, learned a lot, and didn't come in last. I was going to race this week too but it wasn't in the cards.

It was fun and I am looking forward to doing much more racing at PIR over the next few months and I am having a track bike built. Even if they aren't able to give me a para cycling classification, I am still going to go balls out on the track. Speaking of classification, should CCA not get back to me soon, I'm looking into the British Cycling Federation. Maybe they can help a brother out, I am a dually you know. OK, ciao for now