So after speaking with a friend in WWVC he sent me a blurb of a race report of one of his teammates Michael Alhers who was 4th in my race. Although I have not yet met Michael, I have a feeling we'll have plenty to talk about. Below is a small piece of his RR.
"...The bell lap was fast, furious, and I was full of energy. There were some attacks and I held position, but avoided stepping out of line until the blistering-fast back stretch. Taking advantage of how sheepish most riders were through the corners, I snuck up several positions for the last sprint. We all took off and I was surfing wheels like a champ all the way up to sixth. At that point, two riders just popped and fell back fast, but I hesitated just a bit. Too much. Fourth was secured but straight ahead was a rider from Coppi. I kicked things up a notch but it was just not enough to overcome him. I lost the podium by less than half a bike length. SHIT!! Beat by a Coppi... and he had reflectors in his spokes. Reflectors!! I am disgraced..."
Needless to say, I took care of them before my next ride. haha. I guess that goes to show just how new I am to this sport. Still learning but definitely not performing bad with my lack of knowledge.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
RR: RFK Crit - CAT5 (May 25) THIRD PLACE!
RFK Critirium
CAT5 Race - 8am
15 miles total (9 laps I think)
Course: around the RFK parking lot, 100% flat, lots of turns formula 1 style!
Results: http://www.hubracing.com/criterium/rfk2008/2008_results.htm
RR:
I get to the race about 45 mins prior to the start. A little late for me, but I did not want to get outta bed in the morning! I register and hop on the course quickly meeting up with two NCVC riders. Hey, I figure they must know the course right? I ride a bunch of the lines around the turns figuring out if there were any shady spots but really only saw some dirt on turn 3 (hard right) but it wasn't going anywhere so it would be fine. I do some tempo to get the HR up about 20 minutes prior to the race and shed my gear with 5-10 mins to go. Get over to the line and get a front spot. Lots of teams in the field with very few unattached riders. The most dominant team is NCVC being the only team with over 3-4 guys. Prior to the start, I notice a guy from Latitude (green and blue?) that won the Junior race the day before. Figure he should be a good wheel to ride.
Whistle blows and it's off. I sit in the top 10 or 15 for almost the entire race. The first lap we take the turns pretty slowly to make sure all the guys can actually turn and surprisingly no one had any trouble. This is seriously the best I've seen CAT5 riders handle in the turns. Even the CAT4/5 races I goto have some sketchy riders. Maybe too because I was near the front, I avoided some of that as well. I notice that a lot of the other riders are not taking the inside lines of most of the turns hard and use this as a way to hop a spot here and there when the peleton is all stretched out. I had decided to do very little work today and see what I had for a sprint or to get in a breakaway group. So many riders seemed willing to control the pace so whenever I kinda got thrown to the front I would just grab a drink and look over my shoulder to hop on the wheel of the guys coming up the sides. I also made sure I was close to the Latitude guy for most of the race. He seemed to respond to most moves and I could just sit on his wheel no prob.
Last two laps things start to ram up a bit. A few new guys come to the front and try to hammer. I find myself in about 20th with 1/2 a lap to go. I almost clip a cone on the inside of the S turn in the back but move up hopping on another wheel. Coming down the backstretch I move up the inside to about 10th, take the turn on the inside hard and pop out of the turn hopping on a wheel in about 6th. I get pulled up to 4th and pass them both .. now only about 50 yards left and I'm 1/2 wheel behind an NCVC guy. Grit my teeth and pass the guy to get 3rd behind the Latitude guy and a purple guy. Wow, my first place! woohoo! I'm stoked and although a win would be awesome, 3rd isn't crappy!
The only thing I would change is that I missed hopping on the Latitude guy's wheel with 3/4 of a lap to go because I was on the wrong side of a wheel. He moved up into the top 5 whereas I got pushed back to 20th. Had I held his wheel, I could have perhaps given him a run for it. Ah well. Next time. After talking to him after the race, he mentions that Jim McNeely comes to his shop every now and then. Very overconfident kid. He said something along the lines of "I knew I could pull half that race and still win today if I had to". Seemed nice though. =)
CAT5 Race - 8am
15 miles total (9 laps I think)
Course: around the RFK parking lot, 100% flat, lots of turns formula 1 style!
Results: http://www.hubracing.com/criterium/rfk2008/2008_results.htm
RR:
I get to the race about 45 mins prior to the start. A little late for me, but I did not want to get outta bed in the morning! I register and hop on the course quickly meeting up with two NCVC riders. Hey, I figure they must know the course right? I ride a bunch of the lines around the turns figuring out if there were any shady spots but really only saw some dirt on turn 3 (hard right) but it wasn't going anywhere so it would be fine. I do some tempo to get the HR up about 20 minutes prior to the race and shed my gear with 5-10 mins to go. Get over to the line and get a front spot. Lots of teams in the field with very few unattached riders. The most dominant team is NCVC being the only team with over 3-4 guys. Prior to the start, I notice a guy from Latitude (green and blue?) that won the Junior race the day before. Figure he should be a good wheel to ride.
Whistle blows and it's off. I sit in the top 10 or 15 for almost the entire race. The first lap we take the turns pretty slowly to make sure all the guys can actually turn and surprisingly no one had any trouble. This is seriously the best I've seen CAT5 riders handle in the turns. Even the CAT4/5 races I goto have some sketchy riders. Maybe too because I was near the front, I avoided some of that as well. I notice that a lot of the other riders are not taking the inside lines of most of the turns hard and use this as a way to hop a spot here and there when the peleton is all stretched out. I had decided to do very little work today and see what I had for a sprint or to get in a breakaway group. So many riders seemed willing to control the pace so whenever I kinda got thrown to the front I would just grab a drink and look over my shoulder to hop on the wheel of the guys coming up the sides. I also made sure I was close to the Latitude guy for most of the race. He seemed to respond to most moves and I could just sit on his wheel no prob.
Last two laps things start to ram up a bit. A few new guys come to the front and try to hammer. I find myself in about 20th with 1/2 a lap to go. I almost clip a cone on the inside of the S turn in the back but move up hopping on another wheel. Coming down the backstretch I move up the inside to about 10th, take the turn on the inside hard and pop out of the turn hopping on a wheel in about 6th. I get pulled up to 4th and pass them both .. now only about 50 yards left and I'm 1/2 wheel behind an NCVC guy. Grit my teeth and pass the guy to get 3rd behind the Latitude guy and a purple guy. Wow, my first place! woohoo! I'm stoked and although a win would be awesome, 3rd isn't crappy!
The only thing I would change is that I missed hopping on the Latitude guy's wheel with 3/4 of a lap to go because I was on the wrong side of a wheel. He moved up into the top 5 whereas I got pushed back to 20th. Had I held his wheel, I could have perhaps given him a run for it. Ah well. Next time. After talking to him after the race, he mentions that Jim McNeely comes to his shop every now and then. Very overconfident kid. He said something along the lines of "I knew I could pull half that race and still win today if I had to". Seemed nice though. =)
RR: BikeJam - CAT5 (May 24)
BikeJam
Location: Some park in Baltimore
Saturday May 24, 2008
Laps 10 (1 mile loop)
Course: 1 mile loop with two traffic circles to ride 3/4 way around. The second, 2/3 of the way through the loop has a hairpin turn coming out of the circle followed by a hill up to the finish line. Perfect for attacking and blocking
RR:
I got up to the race early. If it was only a 10 mile race, I knew I'd need to be warmed up plus I wasn't sure of the traffic possibility driving all the way to Baltimore so I left with plenty of time. Got a nice parking spot on the back stretch right next to the park and was one of the first in the CAT5 race to register. I got my things in hand and started doing laps on the course to get familiar with it. Guys were out there with brooms and leaf blowers cleaning the entire course which was pretty nice to know. I met up with Roger and Johnathan (Coppi guys) prior to the race and rode a few laps with them. We didn't really make any race plans but if I saw them out there I had planned on working with them.
The race started out pretty hard like I thought it would. After the first 4-5 laps, we had dropped 10-15 of the riders. I noticed my two Coppi teammates weren't in the main pack but didn't really know what happened to them (I later saw Roger near the finish cheering me on so I knew he was okay). I had been sitting near the front the entire race because I had decided I wouldn't get stuck near the back around that hairpin turn and get gapped on a break up the hill. I was sitting in 10th just past the finish line when Ted (big guy from Evo that rides the RBC rides with me) went off the front. He pretty much stayed 50 yards in front of the peleton but noone responded and I wasn't in position to hop on his wheel at the time. I had been riding his teammates wheel most of the morning and picked the wrong wheel. After a lap or two a Trails End guy bridged the gap and the two of them began working together. I knew the peleton would hafta pick it up if we wanted to catch them both. I tried to start to bridge with 4 laps to go hoping someone would hop on my wheel and we could chase but it wasn't happening. Noone in the peleton wanted to do any work. Richard (WWVC), some NCVC guy and I were the only guys that wanted to chase it seemed. Final lap, the two of them still off the front 50 yards I went from the inside and attacked the peleton on the backstretch. I had them blocking the crosswind as we turned into the tailwind section I shot ahead of the peleton. I could only cut about 2/3 of the gap and was cooked. I kept going and was caught by the traffic circle. Hopped on the middle but I didn't have anything left. The peleton steamed up the hill and I was left hanging on the back not involved in the sprint.
I guess I took a gamble because I wanted a shot at winning the race and want to fight for 3rd with 20+ other guys. If I were to race it again, there are plenty of things I would have done differently but that's what I get. I'm still new, I need to learn what my body can and can not do vs the field in a race.
Looking forward to RFK the next day!
Location: Some park in Baltimore
Saturday May 24, 2008
Laps 10 (1 mile loop)
Course: 1 mile loop with two traffic circles to ride 3/4 way around. The second, 2/3 of the way through the loop has a hairpin turn coming out of the circle followed by a hill up to the finish line. Perfect for attacking and blocking
RR:
I got up to the race early. If it was only a 10 mile race, I knew I'd need to be warmed up plus I wasn't sure of the traffic possibility driving all the way to Baltimore so I left with plenty of time. Got a nice parking spot on the back stretch right next to the park and was one of the first in the CAT5 race to register. I got my things in hand and started doing laps on the course to get familiar with it. Guys were out there with brooms and leaf blowers cleaning the entire course which was pretty nice to know. I met up with Roger and Johnathan (Coppi guys) prior to the race and rode a few laps with them. We didn't really make any race plans but if I saw them out there I had planned on working with them.
The race started out pretty hard like I thought it would. After the first 4-5 laps, we had dropped 10-15 of the riders. I noticed my two Coppi teammates weren't in the main pack but didn't really know what happened to them (I later saw Roger near the finish cheering me on so I knew he was okay). I had been sitting near the front the entire race because I had decided I wouldn't get stuck near the back around that hairpin turn and get gapped on a break up the hill. I was sitting in 10th just past the finish line when Ted (big guy from Evo that rides the RBC rides with me) went off the front. He pretty much stayed 50 yards in front of the peleton but noone responded and I wasn't in position to hop on his wheel at the time. I had been riding his teammates wheel most of the morning and picked the wrong wheel. After a lap or two a Trails End guy bridged the gap and the two of them began working together. I knew the peleton would hafta pick it up if we wanted to catch them both. I tried to start to bridge with 4 laps to go hoping someone would hop on my wheel and we could chase but it wasn't happening. Noone in the peleton wanted to do any work. Richard (WWVC), some NCVC guy and I were the only guys that wanted to chase it seemed. Final lap, the two of them still off the front 50 yards I went from the inside and attacked the peleton on the backstretch. I had them blocking the crosswind as we turned into the tailwind section I shot ahead of the peleton. I could only cut about 2/3 of the gap and was cooked. I kept going and was caught by the traffic circle. Hopped on the middle but I didn't have anything left. The peleton steamed up the hill and I was left hanging on the back not involved in the sprint.
I guess I took a gamble because I wanted a shot at winning the race and want to fight for 3rd with 20+ other guys. If I were to race it again, there are plenty of things I would have done differently but that's what I get. I'm still new, I need to learn what my body can and can not do vs the field in a race.
Looking forward to RFK the next day!
RR: CIRCUITO de EVESHAM - 4/5 (May 18)
CIRCUITO de EVESHAM
Location: Evesham, NJ
Sunday May 18, 2008
CAT 4/5 Race
Weather: 60's Partly Cloudy
Laps: 20 (1 mile per lap approx)
I warmed up for the race fairly lightly until about 30 mins prior to race start. Worked my way up doing short 400meter bursts so get the muscles warmed up and flood flowing. Since my spedometer got rained on, it hasn't been working properly so I went into the race without it (no big deal). The course was set up like the letter D with the finish along the straightaway but with all parts of the course slowly winding back and forth. The two corners were fine most laps, but there were 2 other pinch points on the outside at about 600meters and 1500meters into the loop. Since I only rode the loop once slowly prior to the race (there were races on it when I arrived in the morning)
So the field for this was approximately 50-60. I started off in the middle of the pack.. sitting on some peoples wheels. At this point in the race, I discovered that I need to work on my ability to hug a wheel of people I don't trust. I notice that if I give them a little room, someone behind me in the pack will fill it and I end up getting pushed to the back. I then use energy to work up the outside drafting someone else wanting to move up. With 12 laps to go 3 guys go off the front. I'm in the middle of the pack at the time and couldn't respond. Everyone seemed content just letting them sit off the front. We can still see them 2-3 times during each lap. With approx 10 laps to go, someone on the outside gets pinched into the curb at the 600meter pinch point (I was nowhere near them because I saw a problem there after 2-3 laps) and approx 10 people in the field were taken out. 3 flipped over the guy. It looked pretty nasty but no ambulance was needed so I'm glad everyone was okay. After this, I decided I needed better position. I moved into the top 10 of the peleton and remained in this position for the next 4 laps doing no work. Two guys seemed like they wanted to bridge or do some work to cover the gap with 6 laps to go and I hopped on their wheel. They decided against it shortly after. Similar thing happened with 4 laps to go. I think I wasted some energy both times that I shouldn't have. With 2 laps to go the peleton finally started picking it up. I was tired at this point and drafting near the back of the peleton. I just hung onto them and tried to pickoff whoever I could by the line. Pretty uneventful finish for me but I did learn a bunch and I didn't wreck! Overheard a guy mention the race avg was 26mph. Not bad I guess.
Looking back at the race. I should have been in the top 10 in the beginning of the race to so I could have perhaps hopped on the breakaway group. Racing alone, you either need to get on those breakaways or do no peleton work. I also wasted energy throughout the race not holding my spots and energy used with 6 and 4 laps to go that would have been better used to out sprint the peleton. Overall, as a CAT5.. I'm fairly pleased with my race. Especially since I hadn't ridden in over a week because of being sick.
Next race! Waitlist RFK and top waitlist spot BikeJam next weekend! I get to finally race with some Coppi's!
TdS - Day 2
I woke up tired on day 2. Didn't even hear the alarm go off actually. Must have been really out of it. Took a bit to get ready and finally headed down to breakfast. Had an english muffin and cereal but really should have eaten more as find out later on. Went back to the room and started getting my things packed. As I was dropping off my bag in the SAG, a big crew was heading out. Orton, Matias, Katie, Craig, Scott, etc were all rolling out together so I decided to quickly get my things together and roll out with them. Wasn't sure where Kunkel was or even what room he was in.
The ride started with a longg uphill. I noticed my speedometer wasn't working, must have been from the rain the day before. Within 5 miles I was unzipping everything and even taking my hat off. It was hot and only 8:30am! The first 20 miles, most of us rode together with breaks and gaps here and there but we'd always group back up. The SAGs were doing a great job (I'm pretty sure I would have been happy with any support as I didn't have much the day before). We then hit a patch of fog with about 15 miles to go before lunch along with a nice uphill. A few miles later, I was thrown off the back and felt completely dead tired. I had no energy. Must have been from the light(er) breakfast and dinner. I must have burned a ton of calories the day before between the ride and shivering. Riding solo in the cold with the fog with no energy pretty much sucked. With about 5 miles to go before lunch, a familiar face caught me. Orton! "C'mon Nate, hop on" he says. Mentally that turned me around 100% and I hopped on his wheel. I'm not sure I had enough energy to help pull at the time. but I could ride faster with someone for sure. We climbed a hill, caught Dan and another guy and strolled into lunch. Because of the fog, Orton rolled right past the stop and ended up riding a few extra mile or two. Woops!
Lunch was amazing. I went straight for the bathroom so I could stand by that warm heater and dry off/warm up. I must have stood there for 15-20 minutes. I think my hunger eventually took over as I headed over to find some grub. On the way over, I saw Eric and Kunkel roll up to the lunch stop. I think they left 20-30 minutes behind us so they most likely rode a similar pace. I quickly sat down, ordered hot chocolate, bowl of soup, some kinda chicken pot pie and a side salad. I also ate a powerbar. I noticed Craig and Scott rolling out and had to pass because I knew I had to refuel. I was seriously thinking of stopping because the lunch stop was once again miserable and the first 50 miles were miserable on day 1. After eating I recovered some of my energy and decided I'd roll out and see how I felt. Besides I didn't think there was much room in the SAGs for me anyways.
I try to plan to roll out with Kevin and Eric and 1 or 2 others but hafta hit the loo first. Upon getting back, they are just rolling out and I scramble to get my things on and packed up back in the SAG before sprinting out of the lunch stop chasing them. It took me a few miles to catch them. I was still cold, feeling average now but definitely much better than before lunch. After so many miles of riding, I'm not sure who I rode with during every second of the ride but at some point Matias caught me and we rode 10 miles together. It was a nice opportunity to get to know him as well because we both have a running background. Kevin and Eric were up the rode together but Kevin had to stop for a restroom break (one of a trillion) and rejoined us around mile post 27. We all strolled in together at the rest stop around mp 23 right before the toughest climb of the day.
Upon arriving at the rest stop we grouped back up with a slew of people. Maybe 10-12 of us total. I quickly refilled one of my water bottles (I had been pretty low) and took a cliff gel (GU Vanilla Bean is 100x better than Cliff Vanilla). As I was sitting there Kunkel took off alone up the road. I watched everyone else who seemed content waiting for a few more minutes. I was ready and decided I'd go chase him as I was feeling the best I had all day. I could see Kunkel up the road the entire climb. I'd say Kunkel had 1-2 mins on me and I had 1-2 mins on the rest of the group but both of us were pulling away slowly. As I was climbing the 3 mile hill, I noticed a team car with a number of bikes on the roof roll past and wondered who else was out here. Periodically I would look back and see noone behind me until I looked back and saw 2 or 3 riders about a min back. It seemed like 30 seconds later but it must have been a few minutes because I looked back again and they were 50 yards back! Holy crap, I was gonna get caught just before the top of the hill. I decided to pick it up and managed to roll over the apex before getting caught. No looking back I hopped in my big gear and took off down the hill. I was going to make it tough to catch me. After a few minutes of steaming down the hill I looked back and saw noone. I then reached the second climb and started my way up the 2 mile hill alone again. Approximately 1/4 way up the hill I found myself closer to Kunkel than I had been since the early part of the first hill. I must have gained a ton on the downhill. Halfway up the second hill Matias caught me (turns out Matias and a pro rider were the two guys chasing me up the first hill. Matias hopped on his wheel as they were doing repeats up JUST that hill and hadn't ridden 80+ miles like the rest of us). We talked a little as we slowly started pulling Kevin back. He decided to bridge faster and took off up the hill chasing him. Over the apex of the second hill, Matias had not caught Kevin yet and I was now chasing them both. The Bonzai SAG had been trailing me near the top of the second climb and rolled past over the apex. I pretty much hopped on behind another car and flew down the mountain determined to catch Kevin and Matias. At the bottom of the hill I flew by the SAG as it got caught up behind another rider. Soon after I caught both Kevin and Matias and ended up riding the last few miles with them. Naturally I made them chase me down the next hill as I had been chasing them most of the afternoon. =)
It turns out that I passed Stacy somewhere along the latter part of the ride. I guess I had been so focused on catching Kevin/Matias that I didn't even notice her or hear her say hi. Lol. Woops! We all chatted briefly at dickey ridge and Chris Stacy and I went to the local burger place in Port Royale meeting up with a number of others. I had a great time riding even though half of the time the weather was pretty miserable. Descending in the fog isn't really much fun. Especially when you're cold and trying to avoid shaking.
Thanks Kevin for putting together such a fun weekend! I spent my entire Sunday being a zombie and couldn't focus on much of anything other than watching tv and doing nothing. haha.
The ride started with a longg uphill. I noticed my speedometer wasn't working, must have been from the rain the day before. Within 5 miles I was unzipping everything and even taking my hat off. It was hot and only 8:30am! The first 20 miles, most of us rode together with breaks and gaps here and there but we'd always group back up. The SAGs were doing a great job (I'm pretty sure I would have been happy with any support as I didn't have much the day before). We then hit a patch of fog with about 15 miles to go before lunch along with a nice uphill. A few miles later, I was thrown off the back and felt completely dead tired. I had no energy. Must have been from the light(er) breakfast and dinner. I must have burned a ton of calories the day before between the ride and shivering. Riding solo in the cold with the fog with no energy pretty much sucked. With about 5 miles to go before lunch, a familiar face caught me. Orton! "C'mon Nate, hop on" he says. Mentally that turned me around 100% and I hopped on his wheel. I'm not sure I had enough energy to help pull at the time. but I could ride faster with someone for sure. We climbed a hill, caught Dan and another guy and strolled into lunch. Because of the fog, Orton rolled right past the stop and ended up riding a few extra mile or two. Woops!
Lunch was amazing. I went straight for the bathroom so I could stand by that warm heater and dry off/warm up. I must have stood there for 15-20 minutes. I think my hunger eventually took over as I headed over to find some grub. On the way over, I saw Eric and Kunkel roll up to the lunch stop. I think they left 20-30 minutes behind us so they most likely rode a similar pace. I quickly sat down, ordered hot chocolate, bowl of soup, some kinda chicken pot pie and a side salad. I also ate a powerbar. I noticed Craig and Scott rolling out and had to pass because I knew I had to refuel. I was seriously thinking of stopping because the lunch stop was once again miserable and the first 50 miles were miserable on day 1. After eating I recovered some of my energy and decided I'd roll out and see how I felt. Besides I didn't think there was much room in the SAGs for me anyways.
I try to plan to roll out with Kevin and Eric and 1 or 2 others but hafta hit the loo first. Upon getting back, they are just rolling out and I scramble to get my things on and packed up back in the SAG before sprinting out of the lunch stop chasing them. It took me a few miles to catch them. I was still cold, feeling average now but definitely much better than before lunch. After so many miles of riding, I'm not sure who I rode with during every second of the ride but at some point Matias caught me and we rode 10 miles together. It was a nice opportunity to get to know him as well because we both have a running background. Kevin and Eric were up the rode together but Kevin had to stop for a restroom break (one of a trillion) and rejoined us around mile post 27. We all strolled in together at the rest stop around mp 23 right before the toughest climb of the day.
Upon arriving at the rest stop we grouped back up with a slew of people. Maybe 10-12 of us total. I quickly refilled one of my water bottles (I had been pretty low) and took a cliff gel (GU Vanilla Bean is 100x better than Cliff Vanilla). As I was sitting there Kunkel took off alone up the road. I watched everyone else who seemed content waiting for a few more minutes. I was ready and decided I'd go chase him as I was feeling the best I had all day. I could see Kunkel up the road the entire climb. I'd say Kunkel had 1-2 mins on me and I had 1-2 mins on the rest of the group but both of us were pulling away slowly. As I was climbing the 3 mile hill, I noticed a team car with a number of bikes on the roof roll past and wondered who else was out here. Periodically I would look back and see noone behind me until I looked back and saw 2 or 3 riders about a min back. It seemed like 30 seconds later but it must have been a few minutes because I looked back again and they were 50 yards back! Holy crap, I was gonna get caught just before the top of the hill. I decided to pick it up and managed to roll over the apex before getting caught. No looking back I hopped in my big gear and took off down the hill. I was going to make it tough to catch me. After a few minutes of steaming down the hill I looked back and saw noone. I then reached the second climb and started my way up the 2 mile hill alone again. Approximately 1/4 way up the hill I found myself closer to Kunkel than I had been since the early part of the first hill. I must have gained a ton on the downhill. Halfway up the second hill Matias caught me (turns out Matias and a pro rider were the two guys chasing me up the first hill. Matias hopped on his wheel as they were doing repeats up JUST that hill and hadn't ridden 80+ miles like the rest of us). We talked a little as we slowly started pulling Kevin back. He decided to bridge faster and took off up the hill chasing him. Over the apex of the second hill, Matias had not caught Kevin yet and I was now chasing them both. The Bonzai SAG had been trailing me near the top of the second climb and rolled past over the apex. I pretty much hopped on behind another car and flew down the mountain determined to catch Kevin and Matias. At the bottom of the hill I flew by the SAG as it got caught up behind another rider. Soon after I caught both Kevin and Matias and ended up riding the last few miles with them. Naturally I made them chase me down the next hill as I had been chasing them most of the afternoon. =)
It turns out that I passed Stacy somewhere along the latter part of the ride. I guess I had been so focused on catching Kevin/Matias that I didn't even notice her or hear her say hi. Lol. Woops! We all chatted briefly at dickey ridge and Chris Stacy and I went to the local burger place in Port Royale meeting up with a number of others. I had a great time riding even though half of the time the weather was pretty miserable. Descending in the fog isn't really much fun. Especially when you're cold and trying to avoid shaking.
Thanks Kevin for putting together such a fun weekend! I spent my entire Sunday being a zombie and couldn't focus on much of anything other than watching tv and doing nothing. haha.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Reeewind to Skyline - Day 1
Building up to the TriRATS - Tour de Skyline (TdS) I felt as though I had a good base of miles. Was riding over 200 miles a week for at least a few weeks prior to the event. During the week of TdS, the weather was looking nasty. Called for rain Friday and possible rain Saturday. Lovely! A lot of what I did for this trip seemed to base my decisions off of Kevin Kunkel. I guess the only reason for this is that I know he does his research so if I wasn't gonna do mine, I'd use his =).
Friday morning comes and sure enough it's pretty gross out. Raining and getting colder the closer we get to the actual start. I drive there with Chris and Stacy. Upon arrival, it's not raining YET but it is extremely foggy out. We all procede to get ready, take a few group photos and before I know it 3/4 of the group is gone. I had already decided I was riding with Kevin and I knew he hadn't left yet so I was good. Six or seven of us decide to go down the hill to the ranger station and do the entire course. This turned out to be the reason we were never stopped by rangers and told to turn back.
Decending to the ranger station, it was extremely foggy with speckled rain here and there. I was already cold and not too excited about turning around and climbing back up this 5 mile hill. We turn around and I start cycling with Kevin and his pal Eric. We pass a woman about 30 minutes after we pass Dickey Ridge flying down a hill and wonder if she's riding with us because she would have a LONG day ahead of her if that were the case. Eventually we see Craig and Scott riding towards us who inform us the rangers are kicking people off the roads. We stop for a few minutes to discuss the possibilities and decide that we will all ride forward and play the ignorance card if they stop us. At this time I swap between riding with Eric/Kevin and Craig/Scott. Kevin keeps stopping to chat with people (What else is new?!) and Eric keeps destroying the climbs. The downhill sections are extremely fast (braking and doing 38mph) and have scattered sections of hard gravel from 3 to 50 feet. There is no visibility because of the rain/fog and a few of the times, I would just pick a line and get ready to hop if I saw a pothole last minute. We get to mile marker 51 (lunch stop) to find everyone sitting inside for the most part. A good handful of people have their post ride clothes on and others are giving away their dry clothes likes it's christmas. I happily accept a dry jersey and socks.
The lunch break was pretty long. I made sure I got some hot food to warm me up as I had been cold all morning. Hot chocolate and a bowl of soup. Followed by some sandwich. Eventually a number of people decide to call it quits for the day and others decide to ride on. Eric decides to stop (but later rejoins us). I must say that the lunch stop is positioned at the worst possible location. The weather is nasty for 10 miles in both directions but clears up after that. Kevin and I set off from lunch with.. I have no idea who else but I'm thinking Craig and Scott. I don't recall. Ten miles later, sure enough, it's gorgeous out. We can see again and it's not raining! OMG we can actually see the sun and the valley below. Another 10 miles of this and we find Eric riding towards us to rejoin our ride. The rain comes and goes pretty much in the exact opposite times that Kevin and I put our rain jackets on. Lovely timing I must say. It wouldn't rain for 20 minutes so we'd take them off and sure enough just around the bend, rain! We'd put them on, it'd stop. Repeat for the rest of the day. There are a few climbs on the second half that Eric just monsters up. Kevin and I try to stay with him but decide not to go into the red to hang on. We catch up just over the top and on the downhills. Most of the last 10+ miles is downhill and I find myself quite tired. I started to get tired after mile 90 of the 117 total for the day. Only Kevin and I did the entire park Day 1.
We arrive at the hotel and because of the off and on rain and fast downhills, I'm quite cold. All I want is a shower. I get a room key to room with Craig, grab my stuff, and park it all in the room. I think I took one of the best showers of my life. Haha. Put my clothes on the heater to dry, got my bike looked at briefly and off to dinner at the local Italian place. I sit with the Bonzai crew and order a dish plus split and app. I notice the rest of the tables are ordering pizzas on top of their meals and think I perhaps should have too. We head back to our rooms, I get a 30 minute rub down to loosen up my legs/lower back, I chitchat with Craig about road racing before bed and call it a night.
Friday morning comes and sure enough it's pretty gross out. Raining and getting colder the closer we get to the actual start. I drive there with Chris and Stacy. Upon arrival, it's not raining YET but it is extremely foggy out. We all procede to get ready, take a few group photos and before I know it 3/4 of the group is gone. I had already decided I was riding with Kevin and I knew he hadn't left yet so I was good. Six or seven of us decide to go down the hill to the ranger station and do the entire course. This turned out to be the reason we were never stopped by rangers and told to turn back.
Decending to the ranger station, it was extremely foggy with speckled rain here and there. I was already cold and not too excited about turning around and climbing back up this 5 mile hill. We turn around and I start cycling with Kevin and his pal Eric. We pass a woman about 30 minutes after we pass Dickey Ridge flying down a hill and wonder if she's riding with us because she would have a LONG day ahead of her if that were the case. Eventually we see Craig and Scott riding towards us who inform us the rangers are kicking people off the roads. We stop for a few minutes to discuss the possibilities and decide that we will all ride forward and play the ignorance card if they stop us. At this time I swap between riding with Eric/Kevin and Craig/Scott. Kevin keeps stopping to chat with people (What else is new?!) and Eric keeps destroying the climbs. The downhill sections are extremely fast (braking and doing 38mph) and have scattered sections of hard gravel from 3 to 50 feet. There is no visibility because of the rain/fog and a few of the times, I would just pick a line and get ready to hop if I saw a pothole last minute. We get to mile marker 51 (lunch stop) to find everyone sitting inside for the most part. A good handful of people have their post ride clothes on and others are giving away their dry clothes likes it's christmas. I happily accept a dry jersey and socks.
The lunch break was pretty long. I made sure I got some hot food to warm me up as I had been cold all morning. Hot chocolate and a bowl of soup. Followed by some sandwich. Eventually a number of people decide to call it quits for the day and others decide to ride on. Eric decides to stop (but later rejoins us). I must say that the lunch stop is positioned at the worst possible location. The weather is nasty for 10 miles in both directions but clears up after that. Kevin and I set off from lunch with.. I have no idea who else but I'm thinking Craig and Scott. I don't recall. Ten miles later, sure enough, it's gorgeous out. We can see again and it's not raining! OMG we can actually see the sun and the valley below. Another 10 miles of this and we find Eric riding towards us to rejoin our ride. The rain comes and goes pretty much in the exact opposite times that Kevin and I put our rain jackets on. Lovely timing I must say. It wouldn't rain for 20 minutes so we'd take them off and sure enough just around the bend, rain! We'd put them on, it'd stop. Repeat for the rest of the day. There are a few climbs on the second half that Eric just monsters up. Kevin and I try to stay with him but decide not to go into the red to hang on. We catch up just over the top and on the downhills. Most of the last 10+ miles is downhill and I find myself quite tired. I started to get tired after mile 90 of the 117 total for the day. Only Kevin and I did the entire park Day 1.
We arrive at the hotel and because of the off and on rain and fast downhills, I'm quite cold. All I want is a shower. I get a room key to room with Craig, grab my stuff, and park it all in the room. I think I took one of the best showers of my life. Haha. Put my clothes on the heater to dry, got my bike looked at briefly and off to dinner at the local Italian place. I sit with the Bonzai crew and order a dish plus split and app. I notice the rest of the tables are ordering pizzas on top of their meals and think I perhaps should have too. We head back to our rooms, I get a 30 minute rub down to loosen up my legs/lower back, I chitchat with Craig about road racing before bed and call it a night.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Blogging? What's that?
Okay so I'm still not even sure I know what it is, but I did see this as a perfect opportunity for me to post my training, eating habits, race reports in a centralized place that could also be critiqued by others.. grr be nice!
I think I have a few race reports and things I want to post but this is just to get it started! I hope people gain something from reading my posts. =)
I think I have a few race reports and things I want to post but this is just to get it started! I hope people gain something from reading my posts. =)
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