Last Saturday I competed in my first bike race in six years, and holy f****** S****, I did great! When I took the start line I had mixed emotions about the outcome. The work had been done, training and getting myself back in racing shape. But you never know until you actually compete whether or not you still have it. To be fare, this was a small early season race that only around 35 or 40 category 1, 2, and 3 racers competed in. That said, a Cat 1 is a Cat 1. They are fast bike racers. It was a 25 lap event totaling around 27 miles; a very easy criterium course with one little hump a a hill on the back side and only two turns. Of those, the last turn going into the start finish was a 90 degree fella and slightly down hill, which made for a fast corner.
My goals for the race were simple: race smart, be safe, and finish. I had some additional pressure in that I was racing in kit for the U.S. Military cycling team. My biggest fear would be to get dropped in the first five laps, knowing that it would make me feel like a complete jack ass! The Bring it on Race, as it is called is one of the first in the Florida racing season, and is located in Alachua, Florida. About 80 miles southwest of Jacksonville, and about ten miles from the University of Florida. Race morning I awoke early to get my shit together, pack some food, and mentally prepare for the day. I ended up having everything I needed packed and loaded in the car by 8:00 am. With an hour and a half before I had to leave, I was left with a ton of nervous energy. What to do? I cleaned my house. I moved around, I began talking aloud about the fact that I was prepared and ready. My mantra is "I have as much as I need, for as long as I need". Meaning I will not tire, and I will not be dropped. I began saying this loud, then louder. As if to convince myself of this truth.
I deliberately arrived early to the race so that I could take my time, get a good warm up and try and relax. I saw some familiar faces from the Jacksonville riding seen, and we spent the time warming up together and talking about what bike racers talk about, bike racing. We talked about where the good places to attack the race, where the headwind and tailwind were, and what we were hoping to achieve today. After registering and paying my 15 dollar entry fee, I went back to my car and had a fellow racer pin on my number. Then it was a little more warm up before the start.
On the start line, I lined up in the second row, just where I planned. On the whistle we started, clipped into my pedal easily without fumbling around. We got up to speed quickly. I settled into about twelfth wheel and went about trying to get into the flow of the race. It took me a few laps to get my feel for criterium racing back, At first I was a little hesitant going through the fast 90 degree corner, over breaking and leaving to much of a gap. This in turn made me play the accordion game whereby, I would have to sprint out of the corner to get back on the wheel in front of me. This was burning up my energy, as well as the riders behind me who were forced into extra exertion because of me. Then I started to relax and let my bike do what it is good at. I hit the corner, leaned in, weighted my outside pedal, let my inside knee point to the ground to lower my center of gravity and I started to fly through the turns. About lap four a break of eight riders rode off the front, and this would turn out to be the winning move. Had this happened a few laps later I believer I would have felt good enough to follow the move. Instead, I worked with five or six guys to try and bring them back. The gap hovered around 10 seconds for seven laps, but we started to loosed them and when it became apparent we weren't going to pull them back, I started to work less and conserved my energy. Since I was starting to feel good, my plan was to attack and try to escape with five laps to go. In the mean time, I stayed out of trouble and rode smart. The logical place to attack on this course was the hump on the back, and on lap five I made my first attack. As soon as we started to hit the hump I swung left and jumped as hard as I could. I got a gap, but one of the Velo Brew riders was on my ass and he wasn't going to work since he had two team mates in the break. I sat up and let the pack catch us. My guess was they were going to be to attentive to attack on the back side. Next lap I got a little creative, I waited until the last quarter of the course. As we got about 30 yards from the fast 90 degree turn, I swung out to the right and sprinted from for riders back, got a gap and flew through the turn really fast; I could feel my wheels trying to loose traction, but I kept it upright. I immediately had a gap of about 30 yards, I put my head down and went for it! This is where the reality of only four months of training set in. I started to tire and the pack started to catch me. they caught me with just less than two laps left. Sat in and tried to regain some freshness for the sprint. Mind you, all the money was already up the road as the payout was only for five places. So this was all about pride.Coming through the back of the course I went up the hump in 5th wheel. as we entered the first turn a rider accelerated and I wasn't very quick to respond. I fell back about five places. We hit the last turn and it was on. I didn't pass anyone and I didn't get passed. Tenth in the field sprint and eighteenth overall. Not to bad! Best of all, I was racing my bike, attacking and not just pack filler, sucking wheels and contributing nothing to make the race. I achieved and surpassed all of my pre race goals. Not to bad!
Until next time,
Keep the rubber side down.
p.s.
When passing a cyclist, always leave at least three feet when passing, and only pass if you have room to safely do so. Thanks, you will save a life!
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