From first podium last week, to hanging off the back this week. That is the nature of this sport. Yesterday was the hardest day I've experienced on a bike. We raced 56 torturous miles on relatively flat, wind swept roads near Gettysburg, Oh. I have done well, very well, on this course in the past and was looking for a great result in this race. This would not be my week. In fact, with no hills on this course, I was shocked to be in the small ring during so many moments in this race than any other, more hilly races. It was that bloody hard.
The pace was hot, nearly from the start. My team, Team Abundance, applied the pressure from the gun. Accompanying us in our efforts to make the race hard from the gun was my friend's team Walker/Olympus. Our two teams were drilling it and keeping many in the field in the gutter on the cross wind sections. At about mile four, I had a mate up the road, Mike, with a Walker rider. I was hopeful the pack would relax a bit, but too early for that hope to be realized.
I was riding on the front, working to control the pace and ready for any chase. A Team Dayton rider, who is a great time trial guy, launched from the field. Jamie called to me to get on it, I did. Unfortunately, my Team Dayton wheel did not have the juice to bridge to the two off the front. The early warning signs for me were ringing. In order to follow the Team Dayton wheel, I had to burn a lot of matches and my heart rate was way high. Not a good sign. When the field caught us, I was summarily spit out the back and dropped. Dropped! I was crushed. I was giving it all I had and dropped at mile seven. This was gonna be a hard day.
I connected with a group of four, also dropped, and we worked together. at mile ten, there was about three miles of absolute torturous cross winds of twenty plus mph. You needed the draft to help pull you through this section. I was in the draft, not taking pulls. The the four with me simply rolled away, riding me off their wheel. This race was turning into a disaster. We made the right hander to yield only one mile to the finish of the FIRST lap of four! I was thinking hard about "D-ing" it. DID NOT FINISH (DNF)! I had not DNF'ed in two years. I may have been pulled from a race, but I not quit in more than two years. I connected with a couple of other riders and struggled on, starting lap two.
At this point, my mind set was one lap at a time. Get the next one down, keep rolling. My fear of embarrassment was getting lapped by my own group and was certain the P123 field would lap me. Head down and keep going. As I rolled, I noticed I was picking up guys from the lead group who had been spit out and quit. I kept rolling. I picked up my friend Doug from Walker. He also wanted to mail it in for the day. I pleaded with him to suffer with me. We did. And for the next 2.5 laps, we suffered. We did not lolly gag around. We were racing. We pushed as much pace as we could, hour heart rates were pegged as if we were in the lead, but alas, we were not.
This was a hard, hard race. My friend Dan, from Team Dayton, apparently ate his Wheaties this morning and crushed it. He got away from the field and held the field off on this wind swept course for more than two laps to win the day in a solo break. My team was decimated. We had three mates (Jamie, Nick and Mike) finish in the top ten. Stan was down a bit further, but made it with the leaders. Doug and I brought up the rear, I think we finished 19th and 20th. But, we did not DNF! And, no field lapped us, thank goodness!
Reminds me of the poem my wrestling coach gave us in high school. He had this poem on a small card, laminated. Some of us kept this poem in the head gear, laminated card, so protected from sweat. These words have helped me through some of my toughest challenges (competing as a young wrestler, getting into the AF Academy, graduating from the AF Academy, cycling and racing). The poem, entitled, "Don't Quit" provided below:
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Author unknown
Time to get back at it. Train, adjust, line it up again next week, and give it all I've got.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
First podium as a cat 3
Today was another hard day of racing; 56 miles on a windy day. Seven loops around an eight mile circuit. This course is near my home and I ride it often. However, I have never done well on this course. The course is mostly flat with some rollers, some false flats and one sprinter-type hill. This course is made for my style of riding, but I have always busted on this course.
Today would be different. My team and I toed the line with 40 or so other riders. With me today, were Jamie, Mike, Stan, Nick and Scott. Strong riders and great team riders. On the first loop, several teams attacked. I was feeling so-so after two hard days of farm work and the legs were a little shaky. I went with a couple of early attack, but none stuck. I was off the front with a former teammate and still good friend, Jeff. When we hit the back side of the course of three miles of crosswind, headwind, the field reeled us back. I burned a few matches on that effort and needed to find some shelter in the field.
As we rolled through the finish, which is on a slight uphill grade, into the wind, to complete lap one of seven, the attacks from the other teams and a few from my team continued. We took a right turn and fought a fierce cross wind as we approached the hill for the second time. I was feeling better and keeping pace with the attacks and assessing the other riders. We turned right again and rolled with the wind. The pace was hot, 33+ mph. Several teams took digs.
Cory, an 18 year-old from Team Turner put in a huge attack. Corey is a man child. He is tall, thin, but sports a huge engine in his lungs and legs. He is a good guy and I enjoy racing with him. He is a very mature young man and appears to have great character. Unfortunately for him, his attack did not produce the result he hoped.
As the field caught him, I was about six to seven riders back. I was rolling with a huge head of steam. I felt I wanted to attack and get a break established, but was nervous as we were near to the three miles of crosswind/headwind torture chamber. Inertia won the day and I attacked, hard. I immediately had a 100m gap on the field and was digging for my life. My hope was that one of my mates would bridge to join me, that the field would not catch me in the three mile torture chamber, and that we'd stay away.
Upon entering the torture chamber, I looked back several times in hopes to see a blue and white jersey coming on to help me. As I looked back, I saw green, white and black of Walker Homes with the field behind him. Damn! I had about 200m on the Walker guy and he had about 200m on the field. I was determined not to let the Walker guy catch me. So, I buried my head and drilled it. I was in desperate search for the finish line marking the end of lap two looking for the cross wind section. I felt I could keep my gap in the cross wind section and one of my mates would surely bridge up on the climb and we could work the downwind leg together to develop a larger gap.
As I made the right hander after the finish line on lap two, I looked back. I was happy to see the field had reeled the Walker guy back and that I still had a pretty good gap. Up the hill and onto the downwind section, I resumed the hardest pace I could push. As I neared the place where I had initially attacked, three colleagues joined me, one was my friend/mentor/coach/teammate Jamie (Capt InsaneO). To my delight he brought two other strong fellas with him Doug and Dan. Doug, who rides for Walker, is a former teammate and great friend. He and I are riding together in France this coming summer. Dan is super strong, also a friend and rides for Team Dayton. So, in this break of four, my team has two (great odds for us) and we have two great, strong riders with whom we all get along. Even better.
As the four of us turned into the torture chamber, we had only a modest gap. I asked to take a spell from pulling a few rotations as the solo lap really took a lot out of the legs. The crew obliged. From the back I was encouraging my break to drill it as we were all race age 40 and over and putting the rest of the field in great difficulty. Jamie loved it and put in several monster pulls. For the next four laps, the four of us worked together and wound up putting several minutes on the field. We four over 40 had smiles in our heart and grimaces on our faces. Meanwhile, in the field, my mates were disrupting the chase and killing any attempt by competing teams to reel back my break.
Nearing the end of lap six and heading into the bell lap, Jamie rolled back to set up an attack for us to separate from Doug and Dan. I said, I'd love to, but I have nothing. Dropping Doug and Dan was the right thing to do, because Doug has a huge sprint and is a big risk to both Jamie and me. As we approached the base of the final time up the hill, Jamie attacked. Doug was right on his wheel. We are all smart racers and I believe Doug and Dan knew what was coming as well as I did. Doug was the only one with legs to respond. At the top of the hill, I took position behind Dan. There was no way I was taking a pull to help bring Dan back up to Jamie. Dan knew this and the gentleman that he is, never even thought to ask.
Dan has a tremendous engine. He pulled me for nearly five miles and nearly pulled Doug and Jamie back single handedly. Jamie then dropped the hammer on Doug and separated himself from Doug. Dan and I, well, let's face it, Dan, caught Doug and the three of us rolled along with two miles remaining with Jamie about 300m up the road. I was still in the comfy position of drafting Dan. I wanted to be in a better position and draft Doug and Dan, but Doug is too smart for that. He knows and he knows that I know that he can beat me in a sprint. So, Doug would allow the gaps to open between Dan and me, knowing that he could not only beat me in a sprint, but likely bridge any gap I allowed to open and catch Dan as well. Doug is a strong man.
As we neared the finish, Doug leaped with about 500m to go. I thought this was too soon and tried to jump to his wheel as he zoomed past. Dan shouted "Good move!" to Doug and I tried like hell to catch Doug. I thought I would pull him back with 200m to go and had visions of second. I jumped out of the saddle and almost as quickly sat back down as my legs would have none of it. Jamie finished first, Doug took second, I was third and Dan finished fourth. After the race, I stopped by to thank Dan for his efforts on the last lap and explain/justify my behavior. Before I could get a word out, he congratulated me on a good race and complemented Jamie and me on our tactics on the last lap. What more can I say, a true gentleman. I can’t wait to mix it up with these guys again.
It was a crazy hard day. A thrilling victory for me, albeit third, to do so well on a course on which I had bombed so miserably in the past. The day was made all the better for three other really great outcomes. One, some good friends finished first and second. Two, four forty year-olds beat the ever living pants off the field. Three, my other teammates finished fifth and tenth. We had four guys in the top ten! What a day for our team.
Today would be different. My team and I toed the line with 40 or so other riders. With me today, were Jamie, Mike, Stan, Nick and Scott. Strong riders and great team riders. On the first loop, several teams attacked. I was feeling so-so after two hard days of farm work and the legs were a little shaky. I went with a couple of early attack, but none stuck. I was off the front with a former teammate and still good friend, Jeff. When we hit the back side of the course of three miles of crosswind, headwind, the field reeled us back. I burned a few matches on that effort and needed to find some shelter in the field.
As we rolled through the finish, which is on a slight uphill grade, into the wind, to complete lap one of seven, the attacks from the other teams and a few from my team continued. We took a right turn and fought a fierce cross wind as we approached the hill for the second time. I was feeling better and keeping pace with the attacks and assessing the other riders. We turned right again and rolled with the wind. The pace was hot, 33+ mph. Several teams took digs.
Cory, an 18 year-old from Team Turner put in a huge attack. Corey is a man child. He is tall, thin, but sports a huge engine in his lungs and legs. He is a good guy and I enjoy racing with him. He is a very mature young man and appears to have great character. Unfortunately for him, his attack did not produce the result he hoped.
As the field caught him, I was about six to seven riders back. I was rolling with a huge head of steam. I felt I wanted to attack and get a break established, but was nervous as we were near to the three miles of crosswind/headwind torture chamber. Inertia won the day and I attacked, hard. I immediately had a 100m gap on the field and was digging for my life. My hope was that one of my mates would bridge to join me, that the field would not catch me in the three mile torture chamber, and that we'd stay away.
Upon entering the torture chamber, I looked back several times in hopes to see a blue and white jersey coming on to help me. As I looked back, I saw green, white and black of Walker Homes with the field behind him. Damn! I had about 200m on the Walker guy and he had about 200m on the field. I was determined not to let the Walker guy catch me. So, I buried my head and drilled it. I was in desperate search for the finish line marking the end of lap two looking for the cross wind section. I felt I could keep my gap in the cross wind section and one of my mates would surely bridge up on the climb and we could work the downwind leg together to develop a larger gap.
As I made the right hander after the finish line on lap two, I looked back. I was happy to see the field had reeled the Walker guy back and that I still had a pretty good gap. Up the hill and onto the downwind section, I resumed the hardest pace I could push. As I neared the place where I had initially attacked, three colleagues joined me, one was my friend/mentor/coach/teammate Jamie (Capt InsaneO). To my delight he brought two other strong fellas with him Doug and Dan. Doug, who rides for Walker, is a former teammate and great friend. He and I are riding together in France this coming summer. Dan is super strong, also a friend and rides for Team Dayton. So, in this break of four, my team has two (great odds for us) and we have two great, strong riders with whom we all get along. Even better.
As the four of us turned into the torture chamber, we had only a modest gap. I asked to take a spell from pulling a few rotations as the solo lap really took a lot out of the legs. The crew obliged. From the back I was encouraging my break to drill it as we were all race age 40 and over and putting the rest of the field in great difficulty. Jamie loved it and put in several monster pulls. For the next four laps, the four of us worked together and wound up putting several minutes on the field. We four over 40 had smiles in our heart and grimaces on our faces. Meanwhile, in the field, my mates were disrupting the chase and killing any attempt by competing teams to reel back my break.
Nearing the end of lap six and heading into the bell lap, Jamie rolled back to set up an attack for us to separate from Doug and Dan. I said, I'd love to, but I have nothing. Dropping Doug and Dan was the right thing to do, because Doug has a huge sprint and is a big risk to both Jamie and me. As we approached the base of the final time up the hill, Jamie attacked. Doug was right on his wheel. We are all smart racers and I believe Doug and Dan knew what was coming as well as I did. Doug was the only one with legs to respond. At the top of the hill, I took position behind Dan. There was no way I was taking a pull to help bring Dan back up to Jamie. Dan knew this and the gentleman that he is, never even thought to ask.
Dan has a tremendous engine. He pulled me for nearly five miles and nearly pulled Doug and Jamie back single handedly. Jamie then dropped the hammer on Doug and separated himself from Doug. Dan and I, well, let's face it, Dan, caught Doug and the three of us rolled along with two miles remaining with Jamie about 300m up the road. I was still in the comfy position of drafting Dan. I wanted to be in a better position and draft Doug and Dan, but Doug is too smart for that. He knows and he knows that I know that he can beat me in a sprint. So, Doug would allow the gaps to open between Dan and me, knowing that he could not only beat me in a sprint, but likely bridge any gap I allowed to open and catch Dan as well. Doug is a strong man.
As we neared the finish, Doug leaped with about 500m to go. I thought this was too soon and tried to jump to his wheel as he zoomed past. Dan shouted "Good move!" to Doug and I tried like hell to catch Doug. I thought I would pull him back with 200m to go and had visions of second. I jumped out of the saddle and almost as quickly sat back down as my legs would have none of it. Jamie finished first, Doug took second, I was third and Dan finished fourth. After the race, I stopped by to thank Dan for his efforts on the last lap and explain/justify my behavior. Before I could get a word out, he congratulated me on a good race and complemented Jamie and me on our tactics on the last lap. What more can I say, a true gentleman. I can’t wait to mix it up with these guys again.
It was a crazy hard day. A thrilling victory for me, albeit third, to do so well on a course on which I had bombed so miserably in the past. The day was made all the better for three other really great outcomes. One, some good friends finished first and second. Two, four forty year-olds beat the ever living pants off the field. Three, my other teammates finished fifth and tenth. We had four guys in the top ten! What a day for our team.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Deer Creek Road Race
April 12 was a windy, brisk day in Ohio. Deer Creek is just North of Chillicothe, OH. I have done well on this course in the past and was looking forward to contesting my improved fitness level racing with the 3s.
The course is about a 12 mile loop. It is mostly flat with two modest risers (hills). These are for sure big ring risers as there are flats to false flats following the risers and this is where the attacks will start. You need to be prepared to be on the gas when you crest the climb. The front part of the course is relatively flat with one riser and nearly five miles of head wind, you make a right hand turn and have approximately four miles to the finish on the back side of the course. Once you make the right hand turn, you hit the second riser and then it is on the gas. You are mostly rolling with the wind or have a slight cross wind. In the cross wind sections, if you keep your speed from the downwind segments, you can shell riders off the back. It is a bear to hold on and even harder to bridge back from being dropped.
My team (Mike, Stan, Nick, Bill, Zach) and I rolled out on the first lap with forty other combatants, and the attacks started immediately. It all came back together once we hit the head wind. My strategy was to find cover on each of the four head wind segments we'd experience in this race. The repetitive beating you take in a hard race with wind is cumulative. To have any legs to cover a real break requires you to conserve when and where you can. The second piece of my strategy was to allow gaps to open and not try to cover everything. Evaluate the breaks and if a break had the right composition, wait for a gap that I felt could cover to open and then attack the gap to bridge without taking anyone with. The third part of the strategy was to cover all the same for my mates in the event they made a break.
The first time up the riser on the back side of the course, my friend Doug, who races for a competing team, jammed the hill and was on the gas immediately after the climb. He made us all hurt immeasurably. I was finding any wheel I could follow to make sure I was not dropped. Doug and his team really strung out the field on this first lap of four. As we crossed the finish line, things came back together a bit. On the first riser after the finish line and before the head wind section, the group finally came back together and no one had the courage to leap out on the head wind section.
On the second time up the riser on the back side, another attack came. Stan, Nick and Mike jumped this attack. I was not in a great position and feared being gapped out of the race. I buried myself to cover the gap, taking turns with a few other in my chasing group. I finally caught them about one mile before we hit the head wind section, bringing about five others with. In the head wind section it all came back together.
On the third time up the riser on the back side, the Turner team attacked. They got a rider plus two up the road. One of the two was on my friend Doug's team. The field sort of let them go for a while and the gap was opening up somewhat large. It was large enough for me to grow uncomfortable. Doug's team would not help chase, they had a man up. Turner would not chase, they had a man up and their team initiated many of the early attacks. I rode up to several riders on the front to initiate a chase. Their comment was, "You have the team and numbers. It's your job to bring it back." We turned into the head wind section and the gap was growing larger. Stan, one of my mates, rolled up and indicated we need to pull this thing back together. With Stan, Nick and Mike as our sprinters, I went to the front and set a hard pace into the head wind. Stan and I took turns spelling each other as we drew the break back. Other teams with riders up mixed into our flow to disrupt it a bit, but we succeeded. With about 1.5 miles to the right hander and the final time up the back side riser, we caught the break. Nice work Stan 'Devolder' Huffman.
Stan and I dropped back to the back of the field to catch our breath and rest a bit. Once we turned right, it was 3.5 miles to the finish and mostly with or a slight cross wind. This is where the pace really quickened on the past three laps. Stan said, "Take Nick to the front and give him a sniff at the line." We did not know, however, Nick had been ill all week and had nothing left for this race. I went to the front to be ready for the launch. As we started climbing the back side riser, three guys attacked. I was marking one of the three as he attacked on lap three. I was ready and jumped their wheels. At the top of the climb, we had a decent gap and four of us. I liked my chances in this group, but my confidence was stronger than my legs. I took a pass on my first three pulls in this break as I was really feeling the effects of working on the front so recently with Stan to pull things back. My break was not happy, but I had nothing at that time to contribute. After skipping three pulls, I started pulling my share and tried to pull longer in order to make it up.
With about one kilometer to go, I knew this selection would determine the winner. I also knew I had no legs for the sprint. On the left hander coming off a direct downwind section, I took the turn at a little more than 30 MPH, I tried to jam it at that time and time trial away from these guys. They were way too strong and I was far more spent than I anticipated. They blew past me, I finished a respectable fourth about 15 seconds off their finish. Great race, great organization. I am paying for it today as my IT bands are severely strained. I need to work it out before next week. We line it up and do it again next Sunday.
The course is about a 12 mile loop. It is mostly flat with two modest risers (hills). These are for sure big ring risers as there are flats to false flats following the risers and this is where the attacks will start. You need to be prepared to be on the gas when you crest the climb. The front part of the course is relatively flat with one riser and nearly five miles of head wind, you make a right hand turn and have approximately four miles to the finish on the back side of the course. Once you make the right hand turn, you hit the second riser and then it is on the gas. You are mostly rolling with the wind or have a slight cross wind. In the cross wind sections, if you keep your speed from the downwind segments, you can shell riders off the back. It is a bear to hold on and even harder to bridge back from being dropped.
My team (Mike, Stan, Nick, Bill, Zach) and I rolled out on the first lap with forty other combatants, and the attacks started immediately. It all came back together once we hit the head wind. My strategy was to find cover on each of the four head wind segments we'd experience in this race. The repetitive beating you take in a hard race with wind is cumulative. To have any legs to cover a real break requires you to conserve when and where you can. The second piece of my strategy was to allow gaps to open and not try to cover everything. Evaluate the breaks and if a break had the right composition, wait for a gap that I felt could cover to open and then attack the gap to bridge without taking anyone with. The third part of the strategy was to cover all the same for my mates in the event they made a break.
The first time up the riser on the back side of the course, my friend Doug, who races for a competing team, jammed the hill and was on the gas immediately after the climb. He made us all hurt immeasurably. I was finding any wheel I could follow to make sure I was not dropped. Doug and his team really strung out the field on this first lap of four. As we crossed the finish line, things came back together a bit. On the first riser after the finish line and before the head wind section, the group finally came back together and no one had the courage to leap out on the head wind section.
On the second time up the riser on the back side, another attack came. Stan, Nick and Mike jumped this attack. I was not in a great position and feared being gapped out of the race. I buried myself to cover the gap, taking turns with a few other in my chasing group. I finally caught them about one mile before we hit the head wind section, bringing about five others with. In the head wind section it all came back together.
On the third time up the riser on the back side, the Turner team attacked. They got a rider plus two up the road. One of the two was on my friend Doug's team. The field sort of let them go for a while and the gap was opening up somewhat large. It was large enough for me to grow uncomfortable. Doug's team would not help chase, they had a man up. Turner would not chase, they had a man up and their team initiated many of the early attacks. I rode up to several riders on the front to initiate a chase. Their comment was, "You have the team and numbers. It's your job to bring it back." We turned into the head wind section and the gap was growing larger. Stan, one of my mates, rolled up and indicated we need to pull this thing back together. With Stan, Nick and Mike as our sprinters, I went to the front and set a hard pace into the head wind. Stan and I took turns spelling each other as we drew the break back. Other teams with riders up mixed into our flow to disrupt it a bit, but we succeeded. With about 1.5 miles to the right hander and the final time up the back side riser, we caught the break. Nice work Stan 'Devolder' Huffman.
Stan and I dropped back to the back of the field to catch our breath and rest a bit. Once we turned right, it was 3.5 miles to the finish and mostly with or a slight cross wind. This is where the pace really quickened on the past three laps. Stan said, "Take Nick to the front and give him a sniff at the line." We did not know, however, Nick had been ill all week and had nothing left for this race. I went to the front to be ready for the launch. As we started climbing the back side riser, three guys attacked. I was marking one of the three as he attacked on lap three. I was ready and jumped their wheels. At the top of the climb, we had a decent gap and four of us. I liked my chances in this group, but my confidence was stronger than my legs. I took a pass on my first three pulls in this break as I was really feeling the effects of working on the front so recently with Stan to pull things back. My break was not happy, but I had nothing at that time to contribute. After skipping three pulls, I started pulling my share and tried to pull longer in order to make it up.
With about one kilometer to go, I knew this selection would determine the winner. I also knew I had no legs for the sprint. On the left hander coming off a direct downwind section, I took the turn at a little more than 30 MPH, I tried to jam it at that time and time trial away from these guys. They were way too strong and I was far more spent than I anticipated. They blew past me, I finished a respectable fourth about 15 seconds off their finish. Great race, great organization. I am paying for it today as my IT bands are severely strained. I need to work it out before next week. We line it up and do it again next Sunday.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
First OVR Race of 2009
While the pros contested the Tour of Flanders today, we in the Ohio Valley contested the first of the Ohio Valley Racing Series at Hueston Woods, near Oxford, OH. This was my first USAC race as a newly minted Cat 3. The course is approximately a nine mile loop with three reasonable climbs and gentile rollers throughout the course.
Team Abundance had seven (Jamie, Nick, Mike, Zach, Bill, Scott and me)in a field that looked to be 35-40 riders. About four miles into a 50 mile race, Jamie sends Nick off the front. Nick is an absolute hammer. Folks don't mark him much, but they will soon. No matter, he is super strong and can ride most Cat 3's off his wheel. Nick got a big gap in a short amount of time. Folks in the field were a bit stunned.
One guy from Raisin Rack (now National Engineering) chased Nick and was having some difficulty bridging up. After a mile or two, Jamie attacked and took a couple with him. They swept up the National Engineering rider and joined Nick. Moments later Mike launched a rather mild attack on a down hill segment and folks let him go. Mike bridged up to the group which looked to be about 7 riders and we had three in the break - good numbers for us.
Zach, Bill, Scott and me took turns patrolling the front of the field. Our job was to jump to the wheel of any chasers and make sure that if any went up the road, we were getting a free ride in the draft to the break, if the jump made it to the break. It went this way for about 20 miles. Then a group of 4 riders got away and we did not pay as much attention to that group as we should have. One of us should have made the jump with that group, which eventually bridged up to the break, making 11 in the break. Four of eleven is much better than three. We had the numbers and the legs to support it, we simply fell asleep. We did much better for the remainder of the race, no others escaped to make it to the break. We'll monitor it more closely in the next race.
The break was only 2:00 minutes ahead of the field, but that was enough. Of the 11 riders up, we place 3 in the top ten. It was a good day for the team. We learned some early lessons about managing the race. It was a great day for Nick, who is also a new Cat 3, placing second overall. Great job.
Team Abundance had seven (Jamie, Nick, Mike, Zach, Bill, Scott and me)in a field that looked to be 35-40 riders. About four miles into a 50 mile race, Jamie sends Nick off the front. Nick is an absolute hammer. Folks don't mark him much, but they will soon. No matter, he is super strong and can ride most Cat 3's off his wheel. Nick got a big gap in a short amount of time. Folks in the field were a bit stunned.
One guy from Raisin Rack (now National Engineering) chased Nick and was having some difficulty bridging up. After a mile or two, Jamie attacked and took a couple with him. They swept up the National Engineering rider and joined Nick. Moments later Mike launched a rather mild attack on a down hill segment and folks let him go. Mike bridged up to the group which looked to be about 7 riders and we had three in the break - good numbers for us.
Zach, Bill, Scott and me took turns patrolling the front of the field. Our job was to jump to the wheel of any chasers and make sure that if any went up the road, we were getting a free ride in the draft to the break, if the jump made it to the break. It went this way for about 20 miles. Then a group of 4 riders got away and we did not pay as much attention to that group as we should have. One of us should have made the jump with that group, which eventually bridged up to the break, making 11 in the break. Four of eleven is much better than three. We had the numbers and the legs to support it, we simply fell asleep. We did much better for the remainder of the race, no others escaped to make it to the break. We'll monitor it more closely in the next race.
The break was only 2:00 minutes ahead of the field, but that was enough. Of the 11 riders up, we place 3 in the top ten. It was a good day for the team. We learned some early lessons about managing the race. It was a great day for Nick, who is also a new Cat 3, placing second overall. Great job.
Epic Summer 2008
I initially created this weblog to chronicle my Epic Summer of 2008. For years I imagined what it would be like to ride (let alone race) the Tour de France. Well, 2008 was the year. Upon the recommendation of a friend, I registered with http://www.bikestyletours.com. I left the States on 10 Jul 08, arrives in Paris on the 11th. On the 11th we did a short ride around Paris and then head to the Pyrenes for the first real day of riding and climbing. Please review the archives of 2008 to read what was, for me, an off the chart experience. And, oh yeah, I'll be going back.
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