Sunday, September 26, 2010

Blog dump/Road season wrap up.

I've been content with not updating this thing, mainly because I have nothing interesting to write about. So here's what's been happening

Old Salem Crit-Winston Salem, NC

Ah, a race I had to actually travel for. This is an oddly familiar feeling. Course was roughly one half mile, half of which was uphill, located right in the middle of Old Salem. Lots of colonial period buildings and exhibits set up, so it was a pretty interesting environment.

The course was a pretty rough surface, crazy climb in the front straight away, less crazy climb between turns 1&2 and a super tight 3 three after the long downhill.

I was nervous about bombing that hill at 30mph and let my anxiety take me out of the race. I was hammering up the hill to make up time I lost in the corner, and each lap just kept sliding farther and farther back. I got dropped about 10 minutes in and lost in a sprint for 10th. Thus, ending my streak of not embarrassing results.

SC State Road Race Championships-Greenville, SC

I knew that this race was going to be tough for me, but I couldn't help but be excited for my state championships. I've only completed one road race this year and that was in March. The last road race I did in really hilly terrain, I pulled out of about 17 miles in. I went into the race feeling exceptional, but I tried to keep expectations low.

The first part of the course was climby and had a hard headwind. The middle section was smooth rolling. The ass end had some nasty climbs. My goal was to move to the front and backslide on the climbs. I didn't put myself in position on one of the last climbs on the lap and lost contact. Couldn't catch back up on the uphill start/finish straight away and then took the right turn into the wind, alone. Rode another lap to try to catch some other guys who had been dropped and chase together, but there was nobody. This one hurt a little.

USMC Mud Run-Columbia, SC

I haven't run without a bike on my shoulder since June. And I'm not very good at running to start off with. So here I was at a 4.5 mile off road, muddy obstacle course/running event. It hurt. I had a hard time with a good many of the upper body intensive obstacles... I'm a scrawny dude. I'm all kinds of sore and scraped up and trying to figure out if this was actually a good idea.

Vista Grand Prix-Columbia, SC

Previously I was hoping to do well at my home town race. I've done races around Columbia, but this was my first real race here. The weather was cool and rainy and I was excited. Too bad I woke up feeling like someone filled my legs with concrete.

I did my first high intensity effort during my warm up and knew I just didn't have it today. The cool rainy morning had turned into a humid misty afternoon by this point and I was sweating buckets on my trainer. I was hoping to just survive, or at least go out in a blaze of glory going after a prime or something... no such luck.

I didn't get off to a great start, but it wasn't terrible. I know now that I should have been farther up, but I didn't wanted to start burning matches at the beginning of the race knowing I didn't have that many.

A rider in front of me went down in the second corner. I watched him slide across the concrete sidewalk crumpled up and cringing and found a spot to get through. Slowing down to get around him and not crush anyone still on there bikes left me off of the back of the field. It was me and probably three other dudes. The rider right in front of me went down in corner three. I set up for the turn wider than he did and had to slow down to avoid him as he slid directly into my line and into the wooden barrier. I was now farther off of the back, screaming and cursing.

Stood and started hammering out of turn three and up the hill on the front stretch. I could see the pack but just couldn't ever catch them. It went on like this for about 10-15 minutes. Standing and hammering on the long stretches and trying to breathe on the short stretches. There was no one to chase with. I came up on one guy and we worked together for a lap, but he couldn't keep up. After a while I was going slower and slower at the top of the hill and into turn one. I couldn't keep up the pace I was riding and got caught by the pace car. I quietly exited the front stretch after getting lapped still cursing and mumbling about how crashing over one of the guys would have been a better option. At least then I would have gotten a free lap.

I'm disappointed with the way racing has gone the past few weeks. It's sent me spiraling into a bit of an existential crisis regarding my ability as a bike racer. There's always room on the bench at the softball league, but if you can't cut it in bike racing, there isn't any place for you to go. It's frustrating putting all of that work and suffering into something and not getting anything back out of it. I'm going into the 'cross season next weekend with a different attitude though. I think I'm better suited for cyclo-cross. And at least out there if you suck you can still have a lot of fun.

'Cross should be a different story. I think that's where my talents lie. I think it's going to be a good fall.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Greenville/Travelers Rest Training Race

This is a cyclo-cross blog, let's talk cyclo-cross racing.

First things first: My soundtrack for the travel, suffering, heartbreak and successes of this season well be The Pogue's Muirshin Durkin




On to the bike racing:

Today I took off an hour early from work (crazy idea since I only work 15-19 hours a week) to head up to Travelers Rest, SC for the first of a series of training races they're hosting. The race/practice was announced super late, but I'm into supporting the growth of 'cross in this state, and it was cheaper than going to Fletcher, NC as planned.

The course was favorable. Started downhill, transitioned from a sweeping left hand turn to a drop off of a curb. A few yards after dropping onto the pavement you had to hop the other curb to get back to the grass. A nice smooth S curve that went from an uphill to a long off camber. The turn after the off camber had a fence on the inside, roots going into it and rocks coming out, it was super tight and an issue for me all night. A long thick grassy section to a U-turn, to the barriers to the start finish. WHOO, just going through it made me tired again.

The laps were short, maybe 5 minutes. Which meant a lot of repetition of the hopping, climbing, bumps and barriers. Which is cool, it is a training race after all.

Small turn out, but a great crowd... make sense? The environment was hospitable, welcoming and overall easy going. Beers before the race (New Belgium Hoptober)? Prizes and primes at a training race? I approve.

The first race, the B Race, was set to be 20 minutes+2 laps. It had a Le Mans start. I was confused and didn't want anything to do with it. After deciding that I wasn't running to my bike, and that I didn't want to be in, or cause, a melee at the curb bunny hop, I took my time and made up ground later.

I immediately found myself in the second group. There were three of us, two former (?) road pros were up the road (grass?) ahead of us, and clearly weren't being brought back.

The race was hard, I liked the group I was with. They were good and challenged me, really made me work for the race. Which is exactly what I wanted. We went after each other a good bit and I remembered how hard cyclo-cross was. My arms were sore. That's not supposed to happen on a bike ride.

Anyway, coming to the last lap I was gapped just a little bit. Going into the pavement/bunny hop section I botched a shift, botched the bunny hop and lost the group. They were still within sight and I thought I could bring them back, but I just didn't have it in me.

The second race had a traditional start. I was about mid pack and again settled into the second, although smaller, group and started to work. I didn't feel like I was going to explode, and that was killer. The U turn at the end of the thick grass section made hell for me. And the "fence corner," the tight one with the roots and rocks, wasn't much easier. I was on the tape there pretty much every lap and had to absolutely step on it to get back up to speed. But, all things considered, that felt much better this year than it did last year.

Somehow or another my little group of two ended up on the front of the race. One of the fast guys, Andy, had a pedal issue. The other fast guy went to his car to get a tool. I guess that makes more sense than us catching and passing them. So, there was a SRAM hat on the line for a prime. I turned myself inside out and got a little bit of room. About half way around the lap I had to choke down my own vomit... twice. Won the hat, pulled out of the race. It was a training race, and my second of the night, so I wasn't that upset about not finishing.

Sooooo... My second race start wasn't horrible. I would have liked to have gotten the hole shot, or been closer to it, but I was only 5th or 6th on the start and once I got the diesel warmed up, I was exactly where I wanted to be. Plus, the downhill start going into the pavement section wasn't exactly the most welcoming thing. There were a few sections where I felt like the most amazing thing to ever throw a leg over a bike. There were a few sections where I felt retarded. Mostly the previously mentioned fence corner and grassy U-turn. Either way, I felt quick and smooth for most of the course.

I think a different course may have suited me better. More running, some wetness and some cold. But it was a good experience, and I still feel really good about where I stand going into the season in 3.5 weeks.

I hope I can make more of these races. It's hard to justify driving two hours and taking off work for a training race. But I'm excited to see what kind of craziness they can come up with, with other course layouts and bigger crowds. This has potential to be huge, and word on the street is there's a 'real' race coming in October. Plus, racing under the lights in November? I'm giddy with excitement.

Monday, September 6, 2010

"Tour de la France" Crit

I was happy to find out, shortly before shipping off for the race, that there is in fact a town in my home state called La France. Last year, Anderson was the destination of a charity ride that started in La France, thus the name. This year Anderson added a downtown crit to the festivities.

The course wasn't too technical, but it had its challenges. Front and back stretches were super long, a slight kicker-hill coming out of turn one, a downhill heading into a steeper, longer hill on the back stretch, and the straight away between turns 3 and 4 was a single lane street, so it made things a little bit more narrow. Not that that mattered with my group.

I lined up with a group of category 5 racers not much bigger than my last race. Only 10 this time. It astonishes me how small these crowds have been lately, more on that later.

I didn't get off to a very good start and found myself fighting to close a gap... again. I started this thing way too nonchalantly. I thought that whoever went out that hard was bound to come back, that I was the big man on campus and that I knew exactly how to handle this thing. It was a long race, right? There's no sense in starting that hard!

So coming back around at the end of lap 1, I heard Chad Andrews saying that there was already a gap on the front. Not on my watch!!! I was in my drops and chasing those guys down as soon as I heard that. No luck.

I had a small group of four to work with. The two other guys in the race were long gone by this point. I tried to work with these guys, take even pulls and keep the pace high enough to bring the others back. There's a lack of understanding that working as a group is better than blowing yourself up trying to do it all on your own. Not that I'm an expert on bike racing or anything.

So, the leader of my little band of misfits was brake happy, slowed down too much for the corners, but rode good lines. We had one guy who loved to cross wheels, and I knew he was going down eventually. I wasn't to sad to see him standing on the sidelines just a few laps later.

As it got down to it later, I realized that the 3 or 4 of us were racing for 5th now. It was just a matter of survival at this point. After 20-25ish minutes it was just two of us. Me and the guy I met from Athens. We chatted a little bit just kind of rode together until the laps started counting down.

I wasn't sure what protocol was at this point in the race. Clearly we were on our own. Pretty much just working together to get to the line. I took my last pull on the third to last lap. We came to one to go together, all the way to the hill on the backstretch. I came around him at the bottom of the hill and pushed a little bit harder than normal. Had a gap in turn 3, carried it through turn 4 until my front tire started to slide out on a crosswalk. Luckily, I race 'cross. Stood the bike up straight and stepped on the gas. I looked behind me to see I had a gap coming out of the turn and hit even harder, all the way to the line. I came across first after the "break away." So a top five is good, but getting dropped makes it bittersweet. It was the exact attack I planned on making on the last lap, I just thought I was going to do it for a podium.

So, I was talking to Adam about my race while he was preparing for his (TMK had a great weekend, by the way!). He seemed pretty shocked at how small my race was, saying that New England Cat 5 races fill up, and that organizers usually run two races for the Cat 5's. I'd be happy with 20-25 person races. But showing up with half that seems pretty ridiculous. I know I've done larger races (39 in Walterboro, 43 in Charleston), and I'm quite happy with that.

One problem I know has to be race conflicts. Both this race and Cheraw had conflicts within at least an hour's driving distance. I'm hoping that it's either this, or a lot of people are wrapping up for the year. The 4's looked to get a decent turn out-20 or 30. Made me start wondering if I was ready for an upgrade. It is kind of embarrassing racing the 5's... if that makes sense. I know I don't have a good record in 4/5 races, but back then I wasn't training with Cycle-Smart.

I know that if there aren't more people in Winston-Salem this Saturday, the State Champs on the 18th are going to be a shock to the system.

Downtown Anderson was an interesting place. I like being in these small South Carolina towns, but I don't think I'd ever want to live in one. I also don't think I'd ever visit Anderson for anything other than a bike race, but I appreciate its existence. The Fox was the English style pub I checked out, but I'm beer fasting right now and the menu wasn't exactly crawling with vegetarian options. Kind of upset I didn't get to eat local (I opted instead for Moe's, which was awful). I just wasn't in the mood for a salad on bread.

Fletcher, NC training 'cross race on Wednesday, I plan on leading tip to tail. Then the Old Salem Criterium up in Winston Saturday. Looks like another 5am wake up for a 5:30 departure. I have high hopes for my final tune up before the state championships.