May 11, 2009
I made it through the weekend Crit series. I stayed upright, on 2 wheels and finished all 3 races in dry conditions. Others were not so lucky and had to deal with rain from sprinkles to steady rain. The cycling gods smiled on me in that respect. But only in that respect! I can honestly say I am not in race form yet. Note to self: More training needed next winter!
Crit #1
I suffered badly in the first race Saturday morning. As usual, I was in a rush to get loaded and on the road. So, in my haste, I forgot my trainer and was not able to get in a good, proper warm-up before the race. The course was short and pretty fast. In true criterium fashion, everyone dropped the hammer from the start. We were all staying pretty tight for the first few laps. Then, once again, in true crit fashion, a crash at the bottom of the hill in a right turn changed all that. I was behind the crash along with several other riders. We managed to avoid the crash and going down ourselves by swerving far to the outside. We had to slow considerable to do this as we were going pretty fast down the hill. Due to our detour, a gap opened up and we were never able to catch back onto the tail of the main group. We burned ourselves out trying. I finished at the back, maybe even dead last. I am not really sure who, if anyone was behind me. I was just trying to survive the chaotic pace and stay in the race. I avoided another crash in the final turn heading to the finish line. I was glad to be finished and unscathed. The race winner, a European, was found to be sandbagging and disqualified from the race and was made to move up a category. No wonder he was killing us!
Crit #2
I almost bailed on this one. I did not recover well from the effort I put out in the first race. I borrowed a team mate’s trainer and was able to get in a good 30 minute warm-up before this race. I was nice and sweaty at the start line. This course was around a 2 city blocks with one narrow, 1 lane, road, 6 turns, one descent and an uphill finish. I learned quickly that the only place I could gain any ground was on the uphill portion of the course. I could shift to an easy gear and basically spin up the hill and pass a rider or 2 each time. I’d get passed on other parts of the course, but could regain a lost spot or two there. That is until all hell broke loose and the riders on the very front kicked it up a few notches and blew a bunch of us off the back. Okay, here we go, time to play catch up again. Or try to catch up as it was. I was in a group of 4. We worked “ok” together, not a great show of cycling teamwork, but better than a solo effort. As we got close to the end of the race it was down to 2 of us and we were at the very back of the race. At 2 laps to go, I thought it was the final lap…delusional I guess. Anyway, I sprinted for the line on that lap for nothing. The next lap, we both thought we were finished and he sprinted for the line. “ONE LAP TO GO! ONE LAP TO GO!” we finally heard the announcer say. Another wasted effort on our part. I was pretty much cooked and heaving for any smidgen of oxygen I could find by the end of the final lap. I got gapped by about 30 meters as we came down the straight-a-way before the final turn. I kept pedaling, but struggled to catch my breath. I could breathe a little better at the final turn. #414 was still ahead and he looked back at me when I made the turn. “If he looks back again, I’ll give it everything I have and go for it.” I told myself. He looked, he turned and I went. I closed the gap by 15 meters before he turned and saw me coming. He was out of the saddle and it was full on. We both gave it all we had and lunged for the line. We had no clue who had won the sprint for…next to last! Sad but true, neither of us wanted to finish dead last. I asked the officials who finished last and got a really strange look. They pulled up the results via the finish line camera. I GOT HIM at the line by about 2 inches. (see photo)Such satisfaction for such a trivial sprint. But, that’s racing and it was fun, what else is there?
Crit #3
Okay, last race of the weekend with a bright, sunny sky. I felt VERY sluggish driving to this race. All I could think was, “what am I doing? My legs are anchors, why bother?” I went through the motions, did my warm-up and started to feel better. Okay, race strategy, first, finish the race, second, do not finish last, and do not crash! This race seemed to start a little calmer than the previous 2. Maybe everyone was just tired or maybe a little more wary of their opponents, I was just grateful. But, as always, sooner than late, someone got jumpy and went off the front. The pace kicked up to warp speed and it was a struggle to hang on. I managed to stay in the last 1/3 of the group. Then 4 of us started working together, but I could tell it was not going to work and we started getting gapped off the back. The other 3 guys would take pulls for an entire lap, which was insane at this pace. I would do my pull for about ¼ lap and get off the front. By the time I was back at the front, they were all slowing down and we were losing ground each lap. On the stretch to the start/finish I could gain ground because I would continue to pedal on the downhill, while they would coast and try to recover from their efforts. I finally went off on my own and finished ahead of 5 riders. I was 18th. I had gotten progressively better in each race. I guess I just needed about 5 or 6 more races to get into the top 10, wishful thinking, right? I have a long way to go to hang with this bunch and be competitive. But, I’m working on it. I am looking forward to a recovery day, I’m all about that!
I made it through the weekend Crit series. I stayed upright, on 2 wheels and finished all 3 races in dry conditions. Others were not so lucky and had to deal with rain from sprinkles to steady rain. The cycling gods smiled on me in that respect. But only in that respect! I can honestly say I am not in race form yet. Note to self: More training needed next winter!
Crit #1
I suffered badly in the first race Saturday morning. As usual, I was in a rush to get loaded and on the road. So, in my haste, I forgot my trainer and was not able to get in a good, proper warm-up before the race. The course was short and pretty fast. In true criterium fashion, everyone dropped the hammer from the start. We were all staying pretty tight for the first few laps. Then, once again, in true crit fashion, a crash at the bottom of the hill in a right turn changed all that. I was behind the crash along with several other riders. We managed to avoid the crash and going down ourselves by swerving far to the outside. We had to slow considerable to do this as we were going pretty fast down the hill. Due to our detour, a gap opened up and we were never able to catch back onto the tail of the main group. We burned ourselves out trying. I finished at the back, maybe even dead last. I am not really sure who, if anyone was behind me. I was just trying to survive the chaotic pace and stay in the race. I avoided another crash in the final turn heading to the finish line. I was glad to be finished and unscathed. The race winner, a European, was found to be sandbagging and disqualified from the race and was made to move up a category. No wonder he was killing us!
Crit #2
I almost bailed on this one. I did not recover well from the effort I put out in the first race. I borrowed a team mate’s trainer and was able to get in a good 30 minute warm-up before this race. I was nice and sweaty at the start line. This course was around a 2 city blocks with one narrow, 1 lane, road, 6 turns, one descent and an uphill finish. I learned quickly that the only place I could gain any ground was on the uphill portion of the course. I could shift to an easy gear and basically spin up the hill and pass a rider or 2 each time. I’d get passed on other parts of the course, but could regain a lost spot or two there. That is until all hell broke loose and the riders on the very front kicked it up a few notches and blew a bunch of us off the back. Okay, here we go, time to play catch up again. Or try to catch up as it was. I was in a group of 4. We worked “ok” together, not a great show of cycling teamwork, but better than a solo effort. As we got close to the end of the race it was down to 2 of us and we were at the very back of the race. At 2 laps to go, I thought it was the final lap…delusional I guess. Anyway, I sprinted for the line on that lap for nothing. The next lap, we both thought we were finished and he sprinted for the line. “ONE LAP TO GO! ONE LAP TO GO!” we finally heard the announcer say. Another wasted effort on our part. I was pretty much cooked and heaving for any smidgen of oxygen I could find by the end of the final lap. I got gapped by about 30 meters as we came down the straight-a-way before the final turn. I kept pedaling, but struggled to catch my breath. I could breathe a little better at the final turn. #414 was still ahead and he looked back at me when I made the turn. “If he looks back again, I’ll give it everything I have and go for it.” I told myself. He looked, he turned and I went. I closed the gap by 15 meters before he turned and saw me coming. He was out of the saddle and it was full on. We both gave it all we had and lunged for the line. We had no clue who had won the sprint for…next to last! Sad but true, neither of us wanted to finish dead last. I asked the officials who finished last and got a really strange look. They pulled up the results via the finish line camera. I GOT HIM at the line by about 2 inches. (see photo)Such satisfaction for such a trivial sprint. But, that’s racing and it was fun, what else is there?
Crit #3
Okay, last race of the weekend with a bright, sunny sky. I felt VERY sluggish driving to this race. All I could think was, “what am I doing? My legs are anchors, why bother?” I went through the motions, did my warm-up and started to feel better. Okay, race strategy, first, finish the race, second, do not finish last, and do not crash! This race seemed to start a little calmer than the previous 2. Maybe everyone was just tired or maybe a little more wary of their opponents, I was just grateful. But, as always, sooner than late, someone got jumpy and went off the front. The pace kicked up to warp speed and it was a struggle to hang on. I managed to stay in the last 1/3 of the group. Then 4 of us started working together, but I could tell it was not going to work and we started getting gapped off the back. The other 3 guys would take pulls for an entire lap, which was insane at this pace. I would do my pull for about ¼ lap and get off the front. By the time I was back at the front, they were all slowing down and we were losing ground each lap. On the stretch to the start/finish I could gain ground because I would continue to pedal on the downhill, while they would coast and try to recover from their efforts. I finally went off on my own and finished ahead of 5 riders. I was 18th. I had gotten progressively better in each race. I guess I just needed about 5 or 6 more races to get into the top 10, wishful thinking, right? I have a long way to go to hang with this bunch and be competitive. But, I’m working on it. I am looking forward to a recovery day, I’m all about that!
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