Oh, to be a Cat5! Beautiful day for racing, sunny and cool this
morning in Sac. Race started off squirrely from the start. You could
feel the tension in the entire group of 30+ riders. Guys were
swirving, cutting, and making bad decisions right from the beginning;
I should have known bad luck was coming...and come it did. About lap
6, just past the last turn to the finish, a rider in front goes down
(for god knows what reason). We got around him and just started
accelerating, I'm on the outside curb at this point, when a kid just
in front of me loses his chain. Instead of just slowing down
gradually and allowing everyone to pass, he brakes and cuts toward the
curb! Well, going 20mph you don't really have much time to react and I
plow straight into his rear. I go over the handlebars and we both take
headers into the curb. After shouting a few choice words, I gather my
yard sale items, and get back on my bike (which was fine, thank god).
Here's where my inexperience and lack of knowing the rules come into
play. I get the free lap, which I believe to mean you can go around
the coarse once until the group catches you, then slip back in with
them...wrong! Apparently, you have to wait at the pit for them to come
around again. Welp, I got pulled and didn't finish the race. At least
I learned something for next time and came out with only a few
scrapes. I can't wait to upgrade to Cat4 though!
Joe
Monday, May 14, 2007
Golden State Crit -- Josh Rennie
It’s a wonderful (cycling) life:
Every time a bell rings, an angel makes me sprint.
First off it was a beautiful day and the course was perfect. It was you typical corporate park crit course but the road was super smooth and lots of trees around to kick back at watch the hammers of the pro/1/2 duke it out before my race.
Field was smaller than usual but still good sized at 40 riders. I had two goals for this race, only put effort out when it matters and get a top 10(need two more for upgrade). Whistle blows and race starts with typical fashion, off to a fast start then slow down. I make a point to keep a position in the first 10-15 without going to the front and wasting energy.
A couple laps go by and they ring the first prime bell. Coming out of the last corner, I was about 10 back or so and hopped on Jim’s wheel. He pulls off and I figure what the heck I’m close enough to go for it. I sprint only to be beat by a wheel right at the line. We sit up and the pack comes around. I quickly jump back in about 10 wheels in.
Several laps later, a group of three was about 20 seconds off the front. I was on the far left in the front and Jim was on the right. He glanced over to me with a nod and we both jumped on it trying to bridge up. As we are chasing the break, I hear that damn bell again. We round the final corner just as we make the catch and I take off in a sprint for the line determined not to be nipped again. I cross the line and look back to see a good 10 bike lengths to the next guy and a visualize a trail of burnt matches behind me, oops.
I tuck back in towards the front and conserve energy until the end of the race. There was a team there that had I think seven guys in the race and tried to control the race and lead out “their guy”. They lacked the strength to do so but the effort was very visible and cool to see, even masters dropped down to make a big showing(hint hint). Last lap rolls around and I have been sitting just off the front the entire race but at some point on the last half lap I am not sure what happened but I wasn’t paying attention and slotted back to about 25 back. I sprinted for the line and only managed 16th and Jim nabbed a top ten. This is the fourth crit in a row I have taken at least one prime but not been in the right spot at the finish. I am making baby steps to not wasting energy pulling the field around but need to work on the only sprinting when it counts.
Josh
Every time a bell rings, an angel makes me sprint.
First off it was a beautiful day and the course was perfect. It was you typical corporate park crit course but the road was super smooth and lots of trees around to kick back at watch the hammers of the pro/1/2 duke it out before my race.
Field was smaller than usual but still good sized at 40 riders. I had two goals for this race, only put effort out when it matters and get a top 10(need two more for upgrade). Whistle blows and race starts with typical fashion, off to a fast start then slow down. I make a point to keep a position in the first 10-15 without going to the front and wasting energy.
A couple laps go by and they ring the first prime bell. Coming out of the last corner, I was about 10 back or so and hopped on Jim’s wheel. He pulls off and I figure what the heck I’m close enough to go for it. I sprint only to be beat by a wheel right at the line. We sit up and the pack comes around. I quickly jump back in about 10 wheels in.
Several laps later, a group of three was about 20 seconds off the front. I was on the far left in the front and Jim was on the right. He glanced over to me with a nod and we both jumped on it trying to bridge up. As we are chasing the break, I hear that damn bell again. We round the final corner just as we make the catch and I take off in a sprint for the line determined not to be nipped again. I cross the line and look back to see a good 10 bike lengths to the next guy and a visualize a trail of burnt matches behind me, oops.
I tuck back in towards the front and conserve energy until the end of the race. There was a team there that had I think seven guys in the race and tried to control the race and lead out “their guy”. They lacked the strength to do so but the effort was very visible and cool to see, even masters dropped down to make a big showing(hint hint). Last lap rolls around and I have been sitting just off the front the entire race but at some point on the last half lap I am not sure what happened but I wasn’t paying attention and slotted back to about 25 back. I sprinted for the line and only managed 16th and Jim nabbed a top ten. This is the fourth crit in a row I have taken at least one prime but not been in the right spot at the finish. I am making baby steps to not wasting energy pulling the field around but need to work on the only sprinting when it counts.
Josh
Berkeley Hills -- John Marshall
The 50th running of the Berkely Hills Road Race was Saturday morning. I rode the 45+
open along with Paco, Paul, RIch and fellow from Truckee that I have not met yet. The
course circumnavigates San Pablo Dam Reservoir just over the first line of hills from
Berkeley on roads my father raced as a grad student. We raced 2.7 laps (51 miles) that
brought us over the mama/papa bear hill series 3 times, with the finish atop papa bear.
These climbs are the main selectors and are 5-8 minutes long and fairly steep. Weather
was cilly in the morning but later warmd to a perfect riding temperature. Some wind,
particulalrly a nasty head wind up mama bear.
Our race was frankly a bit wierd. Webcor had 10 riders, one of whom went off the front on
the first lap. Rich and Paul pointed out the two stronget Webcor guys that were planned to
mark and they were sitting up. Nobody chased so the lone rider got 45+ seconds on the
pack as we headed for the climbs. The first lap climbs were relatively controlled and the
entire pack stayed together. The second lap saw a few accelerations with Paul going off
the front near the bottom of mama bear. The second time through the climbs were more
intesne but not full tilt. The pack was split in half though. On the third lap, numerous
accelerations were made by solo riders on the long San Pablo Dam road stretch but
everythong was covered quickly.
Near the end of this stretched Paul siddled up to me and asked if I was ready for some
TT'ing. I nodded affirmatively and at the next opportunity (the last downhill before a right
turn off SPD raod, I jump and got a good gap, know that when I was got, Paul would go,
with RIch in reserve for the climbs. I motored alog riding the rollers with vigor and stayed
off for about 8 minutes. Paul and Rich report that the move unsettled Webcor a bit as they
had to chase. I slowed when it loked like my attempt was catch was nearing. Shortly after
I was caught, Paul jump got a gap and a strong rider bridged. With 2 riders off the front,
Webcor was under pressure again and their leader was shouting at guys to chase. A
strong man came to the front and chased down some stragglers from the 35+ 4's meriting
a nice rebuke his fellow riders as they pointed to Paul up the road. Richa and I covered the
attempt s to catch. The pack caught Paul mid-way up mama bear with a lone rider off the
front. We then raced down and set up for the final grind up papa bear. The final climb
was gruelling and not very exciting to report except that Rich , Paul and I were at the back
of the lead small group and finish well at 6 (me), 7 (Rich), 8 (Paul). I was accerlerating over
the final 50 meters and tyhe 5th place guy and I were separated by a tire width after our
exhausted bike throws (not a pretty sight going uphill at 6 mph).
As Paul and I drove back to Reno, we hashed over our strategic choices. DId our attacks
on the last lap serve any purpose? We could not honestly answer whether we would have
finish any higher had we sat and rode more defenisvely. But we concluded that that is not
the type of racing we want to do; sometimes it will work (Paul escaping at Madera),
sometimes it will be inconclusive (this time) and sometimes we will blow and limp over the
line.
Our execution of the first attacks we agreed could have been better as we could have tried
to escape together the first time. Next time. Also, in retrospect I think we lost our
aggresive edge on the final climb as we sat and looked for wheels to grab as the moves
were beng made by others. Perhaps we should have gotten, myself, Pail then RIch in a line
and grinf the f-er out and force other to react. Next time.
And thank you Mike D for the loan of sexy wheels; I thnk I won the steel bike category
(grasping, I know). Now to watch the Giro!
open along with Paco, Paul, RIch and fellow from Truckee that I have not met yet. The
course circumnavigates San Pablo Dam Reservoir just over the first line of hills from
Berkeley on roads my father raced as a grad student. We raced 2.7 laps (51 miles) that
brought us over the mama/papa bear hill series 3 times, with the finish atop papa bear.
These climbs are the main selectors and are 5-8 minutes long and fairly steep. Weather
was cilly in the morning but later warmd to a perfect riding temperature. Some wind,
particulalrly a nasty head wind up mama bear.
Our race was frankly a bit wierd. Webcor had 10 riders, one of whom went off the front on
the first lap. Rich and Paul pointed out the two stronget Webcor guys that were planned to
mark and they were sitting up. Nobody chased so the lone rider got 45+ seconds on the
pack as we headed for the climbs. The first lap climbs were relatively controlled and the
entire pack stayed together. The second lap saw a few accelerations with Paul going off
the front near the bottom of mama bear. The second time through the climbs were more
intesne but not full tilt. The pack was split in half though. On the third lap, numerous
accelerations were made by solo riders on the long San Pablo Dam road stretch but
everythong was covered quickly.
Near the end of this stretched Paul siddled up to me and asked if I was ready for some
TT'ing. I nodded affirmatively and at the next opportunity (the last downhill before a right
turn off SPD raod, I jump and got a good gap, know that when I was got, Paul would go,
with RIch in reserve for the climbs. I motored alog riding the rollers with vigor and stayed
off for about 8 minutes. Paul and Rich report that the move unsettled Webcor a bit as they
had to chase. I slowed when it loked like my attempt was catch was nearing. Shortly after
I was caught, Paul jump got a gap and a strong rider bridged. With 2 riders off the front,
Webcor was under pressure again and their leader was shouting at guys to chase. A
strong man came to the front and chased down some stragglers from the 35+ 4's meriting
a nice rebuke his fellow riders as they pointed to Paul up the road. Richa and I covered the
attempt s to catch. The pack caught Paul mid-way up mama bear with a lone rider off the
front. We then raced down and set up for the final grind up papa bear. The final climb
was gruelling and not very exciting to report except that Rich , Paul and I were at the back
of the lead small group and finish well at 6 (me), 7 (Rich), 8 (Paul). I was accerlerating over
the final 50 meters and tyhe 5th place guy and I were separated by a tire width after our
exhausted bike throws (not a pretty sight going uphill at 6 mph).
As Paul and I drove back to Reno, we hashed over our strategic choices. DId our attacks
on the last lap serve any purpose? We could not honestly answer whether we would have
finish any higher had we sat and rode more defenisvely. But we concluded that that is not
the type of racing we want to do; sometimes it will work (Paul escaping at Madera),
sometimes it will be inconclusive (this time) and sometimes we will blow and limp over the
line.
Our execution of the first attacks we agreed could have been better as we could have tried
to escape together the first time. Next time. Also, in retrospect I think we lost our
aggresive edge on the final climb as we sat and looked for wheels to grab as the moves
were beng made by others. Perhaps we should have gotten, myself, Pail then RIch in a line
and grinf the f-er out and force other to react. Next time.
And thank you Mike D for the loan of sexy wheels; I thnk I won the steel bike category
(grasping, I know). Now to watch the Giro!
Berkeley Hills -- Spencer Ericksen
I gotta say, those Berkeley boys know how to put on a good race. Registration was quick and easy, there were plenty of friendly and knowledgeable volunteers, we had follow vehicles for every field, the course was interesting and well-marked (with marshalls at every intersection), results were posted quickly, and the prizes were great. Easily worth the 200 mile drive from Reno, in my opinion.
My day started with an amusing interaction in the parking lot while I was getting ready. I was parked next to a guy from a Bay Area team (Thrid Pillar), and as we were suiting up I noticed him taking hits off an asthma inhaler. "Hey, you got a waiver for that?" I joked. He laughed and then asked if I had seen "that hilarious posting on ebay selling the Basso blood bags". Apparently, Bullisimo's humor has risen to the level of viral internet humor (just like that picture of the 70 pound house cat and the music video of the guys dancing on treadmills). Good on ya, Richard.
Now to the race: Jim Herzman and I were the only Wheelmen in the 50 rider Elite 4 field, with 52 miles and 3 trips over the set of climbs on the menu. Jim and I ended up at the back of the field after the neutral start and were content to sit there for the first 5 miles or so, watching the hammerheads take turns towing the group into the wind. On the long descent down San Pablo Dam road, I coasted my way into the leading 10 riders and stayed there all the way to the climbs. The group strung out and then split in front of me on the first climb (mama bear). The gap was small and not too worrisome, but I noticed that all the hammers that had been towing us for 13 miles were in that lead group. So I bridged up on the crest over mama bear, figuring I should keep an eye on those guys and stay close in case they decided to attack. Jim wasn't too far behind me, but he stayed tucked in the pack. Well, the little split on that first climb turned out to be THE move of the race, as our group of 9 improbably stayed away the rest of the race. The gap back to the pack was so small by the top of the second climb (papa bear), that most of us in the break were sitting up and waiting for the catch. But one of the original hammers in our group came storming by, saying something like "we might as well give it a go" and then started bombing down the descent. I was unconvinced, but grabbed his wheel anyway and let him pull all the way down the mountain. By the time we got back onto San Pablo Dam road, our gap was large enough that it made sense to commit to the break, so we organized a rotating paceline and went for it. The only team with 2 guys in the break was Berkeley, and everyone else was solo, so there wasn't much game playing and everyone took their pulls.
Fast forward another lap, and it's still status quo in the break. We'd lost 2 guys due to punctures, but the 7 of us left were still trading pulls. I started worrying that we'd get caught, though, since the break really wasn't working very hard. My heart rate had come down to 150, and a few of the people left in the break were definitely dead weight. I took a few strong pulls to test the group, but it was clear no one was weak enough to be easily dropped. Then, the moto came by and told us we had a 3 minute gap to the first chase and that sealed the deal: nice easy run into the finish, sprint for finish line at the top of papa bear. After the descent off mama bear, the stronger of the two Berkeley guys rotated to the front for his pull and, as if by unanimous consent, the rest of us just left him on the front. We came onto the flanks of papa bear, and Berkeley was still going pretty strong, with me sitting 3rd wheel. When we passed the 1k to go sign, Berk put in an acceleration and opened a little gap on the rider in front of me. I hung back on number 2's wheel, the gap started growing, and number 2 finally seemed to panic with a "There he goes!" comment. I came around to start closing the gap, wheelsucker number 2 grabbed MY wheel, and it was 9 mph mayhem for the last 300 yards. Number 2 launched by me with about 100 yards to go and ended up catching and passing Berk for the win. I was slowly closing the gap on Berk, but my legs ran out of pep even before I ran out of room, and I crossed the line 3rd about 10 yards back. The rest of the guys in the break had given up long before, and it was a good 50 yards back to 4th place.
All in all, a great race. I cooled down, rode back to the start line, and had just enough time to towel off and down a recovery drink before the results were posted and I got my podium call. Third place was good enough for $20, a bottle of Stonehouse Olive Oil, a T-shirt, a water bottle, and a handful of Gu's all in a cloth Stonehouse grocery bag. The T-shirt didn't achieve the high level of fashion statement that the Velo Promo ones do, but I was nevertheless much impressed. And with that result, I get to end my fun in the 4's and move to a whole new level of suffering in the Elite 3's. Yippee! :-)
Next up, Mt Hamilton Road Race on Memorial Day weekend.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Pinenut Cracker -- Josh Rennie
I received my initiation into the mtn. bike world yesterday with the Pinenut cracker race in Minden. I signed up as a beginner because that's what is on my norba licence and I was alright with that as the only four other times I rode a mtn. bike was during the cyclocross races.
I roll up to the race and there were a lot of RW jerseys but I didn't recognize most of them for reason stated above. I sign in and then find out that I can race the sport class by just asking; I wish upgrading on the road was this easy. I already have my number on the bike(not jersey, just weird) so I stay. They started the race in several waves first with the expert/pro then a couple minutes later was the sport 19+/women, couple more minutes sport 40+ then finally us lowly beginners. I got the advise that the best thing to do in a mountain bike race was just go for it right from the start so that is what I did.
After a couple of miles I came to the first granny gear climb(which the race promoters were nice enough to mark as such) and at this point I left the beginners and was rapidly making catches on the 40+ and some women. This is where I didn't like mountain bike racing, trying to pass on single track and then the bottle neck on the climb resulting in me getting off and running because three guys couldn't make it. I continued to motor up the climbs and when I reached the top I figured I had enough lead on the rest of my class to coast on the single track descent and keep it upright.
My asphalt loving really shown through on the rolling descent. I was riding just in front of a woman in the sport class. I asked her if she wanted to pass and she said, that's ok you leave me on the hills. I told her I preferred the road and it all seemed to make sense to her at that point. She said "You guys(roadies) go great uphill but suck going down" I know a couple of guys that would take offense to that but it was pretty accurate for me so I just laughed. I cruised back to the start/finish line a couple minutes ahead and still with all the skin I started with.
Give me asphalt, skinny tires and 98 other guys dive bombing a corner any day.
Josh
I roll up to the race and there were a lot of RW jerseys but I didn't recognize most of them for reason stated above. I sign in and then find out that I can race the sport class by just asking; I wish upgrading on the road was this easy. I already have my number on the bike(not jersey, just weird) so I stay. They started the race in several waves first with the expert/pro then a couple minutes later was the sport 19+/women, couple more minutes sport 40+ then finally us lowly beginners. I got the advise that the best thing to do in a mountain bike race was just go for it right from the start so that is what I did.
After a couple of miles I came to the first granny gear climb(which the race promoters were nice enough to mark as such) and at this point I left the beginners and was rapidly making catches on the 40+ and some women. This is where I didn't like mountain bike racing, trying to pass on single track and then the bottle neck on the climb resulting in me getting off and running because three guys couldn't make it. I continued to motor up the climbs and when I reached the top I figured I had enough lead on the rest of my class to coast on the single track descent and keep it upright.
My asphalt loving really shown through on the rolling descent. I was riding just in front of a woman in the sport class. I asked her if she wanted to pass and she said, that's ok you leave me on the hills. I told her I preferred the road and it all seemed to make sense to her at that point. She said "You guys(roadies) go great uphill but suck going down" I know a couple of guys that would take offense to that but it was pretty accurate for me so I just laughed. I cruised back to the start/finish line a couple minutes ahead and still with all the skin I started with.
Give me asphalt, skinny tires and 98 other guys dive bombing a corner any day.
Josh
Madera -- Darin Olde
Cat 4 Madera Report – WARNING: Maximum MAXIMUM verbosity!
Truthfully, I didn't want to race Madera. Having raced last year in
the blistering heat and having to hitch-hike from the crit to the TT
only to have the race results botched (after a timing mishap) made
the whole thing lackluster. But, this was a team RW event. Spencer
Erickson was lobbying hard for support, and with Cat 4 races filling
up nearly a month in advance, I decided to jump in.
My motives were somewhat different. I needed only 2 more mass-start
races as a Cat 4 to upgrade, hence this would seal the deal,
regardless of the result. That means I was free to do anything – a
proverbial loose canon – an unpredictable wild card to harass and
harangue anyone content to hang in the pack – a completely free
ticket to mess it all up for conservative favorites. Oh boy!
Not to say I wasn't going to work. Dimitri Hallerbach switched
categories to join Spencer and I. So I was clear with the group in my
intentions: Force a break, block, or provide leadouts - and hopefully
with advance notice.
Crit: Everybody was saving energy for the TT. Nearly 15 minutes deep
into a 45 minute race and not a prime to be had, nor an attack. I
launched off the front. No one chased. Dimitri blocked. Of course, on
that lap – ding, ding, ding – and the pack would chase catching me on
the final corner heading for the prime. Spencer then countered. A
break began to form. I stayed in the pack and attempted to block. No
dice. Later, we would try again with other riders, but the pack
wouldn't have it. In the final lap Spencer was in good position. I
attempted a leadout on the inside, but there were too many strong
riders willing to do the same. I finished 7th, Spencer just outside
the top 10, and Dimitri not far behind. More team practice and
communication on my part would definitely have helped.
TT: Heat, heat, heat. I decided to do a little research on heat-
related emergencies. A common thread: Heat Cramps may often be
followed by Heat Exhaustion, and in the worst case, may progress to
Heat Stroke. We were all strong enough to drink beer later that
night, so I don't think we suffered THAT bad. But holy freakin' hot!
Both heat emergencies, among many other symptoms, may be accompanied
by Altered Mental Status. And this, friends, is my long-winded,
highfalutin way to explain why I missed my first turn and went off
course. The real reason, of course, is that I'm an idiot. But, had I
NOT borrowed Paul Gossi's aerobars and TT helmet, I might have been
dead last – (save the rider who took a tour of the women's prison –
which you may also hear about). Stupid bike racing, indeed. Spencer
faired slightly better, finishing about 2:30 back, but suffered from
the heat as well. And Dimitri… I think we might need an exclusive
report here – and don't spare any details, please ;)
RR: So with nothing to lose, the plan would be simple: Attack as
often as possible, hopefully with enough non-GC contenders in a break
that the leaders would allow. Or make them chase – ALL DAY. And
attack we did, on the flats, on the crappy concrete, on the hills,
and on every lap save the first. Fortunately, there were enough
riders with the same idea. And while a break never succeeded, the
leaders, or their teams chased ALL DAY. With the pack now cut in
half, Spencer and I sat in on the last section of crappy pavement,
knowing that the field was tired, but would continue to chase. As the
pace ramped up, and the rollers approached we stayed out of the wind,
but near the front. I approached on Spencer's left, letting him know
that I was there. He moved onto my wheel and as the final roller
approached we sprinted, passing several riders. I pulled to the right
and continued driving. There were three wheels jockeying for the
line, and as I pushed the bike forward in that final moment, I was a
half-wheel ahead. I turned to the second-place rider, and saw Spencer
and his big %&^# – eating grin staring back. We finished 1-2, with a
simultaneous "Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaah!!" to punctuate the finish.
Ah… bike racing.
Truthfully, I didn't want to race Madera. Having raced last year in
the blistering heat and having to hitch-hike from the crit to the TT
only to have the race results botched (after a timing mishap) made
the whole thing lackluster. But, this was a team RW event. Spencer
Erickson was lobbying hard for support, and with Cat 4 races filling
up nearly a month in advance, I decided to jump in.
My motives were somewhat different. I needed only 2 more mass-start
races as a Cat 4 to upgrade, hence this would seal the deal,
regardless of the result. That means I was free to do anything – a
proverbial loose canon – an unpredictable wild card to harass and
harangue anyone content to hang in the pack – a completely free
ticket to mess it all up for conservative favorites. Oh boy!
Not to say I wasn't going to work. Dimitri Hallerbach switched
categories to join Spencer and I. So I was clear with the group in my
intentions: Force a break, block, or provide leadouts - and hopefully
with advance notice.
Crit: Everybody was saving energy for the TT. Nearly 15 minutes deep
into a 45 minute race and not a prime to be had, nor an attack. I
launched off the front. No one chased. Dimitri blocked. Of course, on
that lap – ding, ding, ding – and the pack would chase catching me on
the final corner heading for the prime. Spencer then countered. A
break began to form. I stayed in the pack and attempted to block. No
dice. Later, we would try again with other riders, but the pack
wouldn't have it. In the final lap Spencer was in good position. I
attempted a leadout on the inside, but there were too many strong
riders willing to do the same. I finished 7th, Spencer just outside
the top 10, and Dimitri not far behind. More team practice and
communication on my part would definitely have helped.
TT: Heat, heat, heat. I decided to do a little research on heat-
related emergencies. A common thread: Heat Cramps may often be
followed by Heat Exhaustion, and in the worst case, may progress to
Heat Stroke. We were all strong enough to drink beer later that
night, so I don't think we suffered THAT bad. But holy freakin' hot!
Both heat emergencies, among many other symptoms, may be accompanied
by Altered Mental Status. And this, friends, is my long-winded,
highfalutin way to explain why I missed my first turn and went off
course. The real reason, of course, is that I'm an idiot. But, had I
NOT borrowed Paul Gossi's aerobars and TT helmet, I might have been
dead last – (save the rider who took a tour of the women's prison –
which you may also hear about). Stupid bike racing, indeed. Spencer
faired slightly better, finishing about 2:30 back, but suffered from
the heat as well. And Dimitri… I think we might need an exclusive
report here – and don't spare any details, please ;)
RR: So with nothing to lose, the plan would be simple: Attack as
often as possible, hopefully with enough non-GC contenders in a break
that the leaders would allow. Or make them chase – ALL DAY. And
attack we did, on the flats, on the crappy concrete, on the hills,
and on every lap save the first. Fortunately, there were enough
riders with the same idea. And while a break never succeeded, the
leaders, or their teams chased ALL DAY. With the pack now cut in
half, Spencer and I sat in on the last section of crappy pavement,
knowing that the field was tired, but would continue to chase. As the
pace ramped up, and the rollers approached we stayed out of the wind,
but near the front. I approached on Spencer's left, letting him know
that I was there. He moved onto my wheel and as the final roller
approached we sprinted, passing several riders. I pulled to the right
and continued driving. There were three wheels jockeying for the
line, and as I pushed the bike forward in that final moment, I was a
half-wheel ahead. I turned to the second-place rider, and saw Spencer
and his big %&^# – eating grin staring back. We finished 1-2, with a
simultaneous "Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaah!!" to punctuate the finish.
Ah… bike racing.
Madera -- Marian Jamison
think that probably two words best sum up the
weekend - hot, and goatheads. Why didn't anybody tell
me that Madera was the goathead capital of the world?
But alas.
Anywho, the crit, pretty much a glorified air center
course, was pretty hard for me. We raced with the
1/2's (I'm a 3) and I haven't done enough racing this
year to feel comfortable in a pack that size. I spent
the whole thing just trying to hang on a wheel, and
was successful until the final spring, in which I
took, er, 2nd to last I think.
Anywho, got to the car after the crit and had,
surprise surprise, a flat tire. Great. So we drove
out to the TT and parked coincidentally next to Darin
and Spencer. They got done with their TT and from the
way they made it sound, it was hot indeed. That made
me nervous. Plus it sounded like EVERYONE went off
course, so I was determined to atleast make all the
turns. I dunno, maybe it's just their TT helmets,
because by the time I got out there, under the ominous
warning of "drink lots of water, it's hotter then you
think," the heat didn't seem quite as bad as I'd
expected. I was feeling pretty good and since it was
a pretty short race I felt like I could push it a
little harder then I would for, say, the district TT.
I caught my minute girl, my 1:30, and 2 minute girls,
and I could see 2:30 and 3:00 not too far ahead, and I
was steadily closing the gap with about two miles to
go. And then, I flatted. Wheel be damned, I decided
to ride it in, but it definitely slowed me down.
Still, I ended up sixth, even though I think I would
have been 3rd or 4th without the flat. Lame. Oh
well.
Anyway, went out to dinner and ended up sitting at a
table with a couple of colorful individuals from the
Truckee RW contingent, who amused me throughout
dinner. But it's good, you know, 'cause I didn't know
hardly anyone before, so it's nice to feel like a
team.
Anyway, for the RR we did 4 laps, which ended up being
65 miles. We were lucky enough to get a little bit of
cloud cover in the afternoon, which made all the
difference in the temperature. I ended up drinking 6
bottles throughout the race, although a few of them
got dumped over my head. They raced us with the 1/2's
again, but no one was really attacking until the last
hill after the feed zone, so it wasn't too intense.
The bad pavement was really really bad. Anyway, long
story short, I managed to stay with the lead group (we
dropped a few people, but were reletively cohesive)
and didn't sprint soon enough so I ended up 7th. But
I held on to 6th in the GC and won a t-shirt that I
will never wear. Worth my $70 entry fee? Absolutely.
Marian
weekend - hot, and goatheads. Why didn't anybody tell
me that Madera was the goathead capital of the world?
But alas.
Anywho, the crit, pretty much a glorified air center
course, was pretty hard for me. We raced with the
1/2's (I'm a 3) and I haven't done enough racing this
year to feel comfortable in a pack that size. I spent
the whole thing just trying to hang on a wheel, and
was successful until the final spring, in which I
took, er, 2nd to last I think.
Anywho, got to the car after the crit and had,
surprise surprise, a flat tire. Great. So we drove
out to the TT and parked coincidentally next to Darin
and Spencer. They got done with their TT and from the
way they made it sound, it was hot indeed. That made
me nervous. Plus it sounded like EVERYONE went off
course, so I was determined to atleast make all the
turns. I dunno, maybe it's just their TT helmets,
because by the time I got out there, under the ominous
warning of "drink lots of water, it's hotter then you
think," the heat didn't seem quite as bad as I'd
expected. I was feeling pretty good and since it was
a pretty short race I felt like I could push it a
little harder then I would for, say, the district TT.
I caught my minute girl, my 1:30, and 2 minute girls,
and I could see 2:30 and 3:00 not too far ahead, and I
was steadily closing the gap with about two miles to
go. And then, I flatted. Wheel be damned, I decided
to ride it in, but it definitely slowed me down.
Still, I ended up sixth, even though I think I would
have been 3rd or 4th without the flat. Lame. Oh
well.
Anyway, went out to dinner and ended up sitting at a
table with a couple of colorful individuals from the
Truckee RW contingent, who amused me throughout
dinner. But it's good, you know, 'cause I didn't know
hardly anyone before, so it's nice to feel like a
team.
Anyway, for the RR we did 4 laps, which ended up being
65 miles. We were lucky enough to get a little bit of
cloud cover in the afternoon, which made all the
difference in the temperature. I ended up drinking 6
bottles throughout the race, although a few of them
got dumped over my head. They raced us with the 1/2's
again, but no one was really attacking until the last
hill after the feed zone, so it wasn't too intense.
The bad pavement was really really bad. Anyway, long
story short, I managed to stay with the lead group (we
dropped a few people, but were reletively cohesive)
and didn't sprint soon enough so I ended up 7th. But
I held on to 6th in the GC and won a t-shirt that I
will never wear. Worth my $70 entry fee? Absolutely.
Marian
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