The day didn't start out very well, as I woke up with a surprisingly painful case of patellar tendonitis. I've never had that before, so I was a bit surprised. Didn't hurt too much to pedal though, so I decided to race anyway.
Ravensdale is only 40 minutes away, so I felt like I had to go. Forecast was for rain, but it started off sunny and nice. Also got to race with Erik Turner again, whom I used to race with at Penn State. Good times.
The race was pretty fun - there were some wide roads, and a couple of small climbs (big ring). As we started, I felt pretty bad - my legs felt heavy, and I wasn't climbing as easily as I was the day before. I just hung around the back for the first lap (the race was 2 laps of 30 miles apiece) or so, trying to feel better. The race developed just like I had hoped it would - Adam K got off the front with another rider, Wes, from Starbucks (I broke away with him for the win at the state championships last year). I thought they could hold a gap (Adam is really strong), so we went to the front to disrupt the chasing, and soon they were out of sight. I hung around the back for the next 1/2 lap, and a lot of people fell off the pace on one of the climbs (there was a windy section afterwards that made it difficult to catch back on).
I started to move to the front at this point, because I was starting to get worried about a last minute breakaway. Good thing too, because attacks started coming constantly in the last 10 miles. And by constantly, I mean every 1/2 mile for the last 10 miles. A few moves got a decent way up the road, and I chased quite a few down. Then Mike Brown got off the front with another guy for 30 seconds, and I got in a lot of chases to help him stay off the front. And then the rain started to come down reasonably hard.
After a while, it looked like the move wasn't going to stay away, so I moved to the front, and did a lot of work to stay there. Stayed near the front on the climb to the finish, and ended up on the front. Not where I wanted to be, but I set a tempo paced, and hoped that I'd still have enough for the finish. About 800m from the line, we caught the breakaway, and a couple of people jumped early. I didn't go, since the sprint was so long. So I waited on the front, and no one came around. 500 to go, still nobody coming around. At 400m, 2 people came around, and I couldn't wait anymore. I felt like I was going slow, and kept expecting to get swarmed. I must not have been though, since no one came around after that.
I jumped on the early fliers' wheels, and at 150m to go, I went as hard as I could. I caught all but one of them, and would've caught the other with 30-40m more to go, I think.
Turns out, I should've gone early, but I didn't think they'd be able to hold it to the line. 2nd's not a bad result though, and I've got all the upgrade points I need for my Cat 2 upgrade (not sure if/when I'll take it though), which is exciting, and I was able to get into another sprint. I'm starting to feel pretty good about tougher sprints at least. Fun. Unfortunately, I don't have a good sense of when things are hard for other riders. This sprint felt ridiculously slow/easy, but no one came around, so they must've been at least a bit tired. If I had known that I was feeling that good comparatively, I would've known to go early. Not sure how I'll figure that out, but I definitely need to get smarter in the finishes.
Race data here
Independence Valley Road Race
This was the first race this year where the weather was nice enough to race in just shorts and a short sleeve jersey. It's hard not to enjoy a race when the weather is this nice.
IVRR is a pretty flat course, with a 2k hill and a 1k hill, neither of which are too hard. Not really enough to drop the big sprinters, without a serious attack.
At the beginning of the race, an Apex and Second Ascent guy rolled off the front. The field just let them go, and they didn't come back. Bummer that 1st and 2nd rolled off so early, without serious challenge.
The rest of the day was quite a bit of fun - felt pretty comfortable moving up in the field, felt great on the climbs, and put in a few small feeler attacks.
The last time up the big climb, a Hagens rider put in an attack, and I went with him. We ended up gapping the rest of the field, and picked up another couple from an earlier break. We worked together okay, but I ended up gapping them on the descent. It just wasn't going to work out - the location just wasn't going to work. The chasers were getting a bit tired, however, so I knew something would roll out - sure enough, it did, but we weren't in it. Looks like the right place to attack was the crosswinds. Ah well - I'm learning a bit.
I was totally boxed in in the sprint - it was super slow, and rather dangerous, so I didn't try to force it.
All in all, I got in a great day of racing, but I'm a bit bummed I missed out on the two important moves of the day.
Race data here.
IVRR is a pretty flat course, with a 2k hill and a 1k hill, neither of which are too hard. Not really enough to drop the big sprinters, without a serious attack.
At the beginning of the race, an Apex and Second Ascent guy rolled off the front. The field just let them go, and they didn't come back. Bummer that 1st and 2nd rolled off so early, without serious challenge.
The rest of the day was quite a bit of fun - felt pretty comfortable moving up in the field, felt great on the climbs, and put in a few small feeler attacks.
The last time up the big climb, a Hagens rider put in an attack, and I went with him. We ended up gapping the rest of the field, and picked up another couple from an earlier break. We worked together okay, but I ended up gapping them on the descent. It just wasn't going to work out - the location just wasn't going to work. The chasers were getting a bit tired, however, so I knew something would roll out - sure enough, it did, but we weren't in it. Looks like the right place to attack was the crosswinds. Ah well - I'm learning a bit.
I was totally boxed in in the sprint - it was super slow, and rather dangerous, so I didn't try to force it.
All in all, I got in a great day of racing, but I'm a bit bummed I missed out on the two important moves of the day.
Race data here.
Mason Lake #3
Not a fun race. I flatted (as did 6-10 other people, in nearly the same spot) about 5 miles in, got a slow wheel change, and started off trying to close a 60-90 second gap.
I didn't even get close, and pulled the plug after 2 laps. Pretty frustrating - the race unfolded nearly exactly how I hoped it would, with a small-ish (32 starters) sprint finish at the end for 2nd place, but I wasn't around to contest it. Ah well - I'll have to try my luck at IVRR and Ravensdale-Cumberland this weekend.
I didn't even get close, and pulled the plug after 2 laps. Pretty frustrating - the race unfolded nearly exactly how I hoped it would, with a small-ish (32 starters) sprint finish at the end for 2nd place, but I wasn't around to contest it. Ah well - I'll have to try my luck at IVRR and Ravensdale-Cumberland this weekend.
2010 - Mason Lake #1
(photo by Bethanie Stallman)2010's first race was, predictably, Mason Lake. It's usually the first race series of the year, and one of the best attended (jokingly referred to as the Mason Lake World Championships). Sort of odd, considering there are no prizes, but everyone's usually ready to put their winter training to good use. Plus, it's the first chance everyone has to gauge where they stand relative to everyone else at the start of the year.
The downside is that it's usually a pretty sketchy experience. The final 1k has a sharp downhill, slightly narrowing roads, and a sweeping 90 degree turn. In previous years, I've just ridden this race to get in some early racing miles. This means I've ridden at the back since I've been too nervous to move myself up, and missed taking part in the sprint entirely.
This year, I had only one goal: don't ride at the back, ever. I shouldn't be back there and I'm fast enough to be at the front. There's really no excuse not to learn to throw my weight around a bit and hold my position in the top third. So as the race go underway, I took the first opportunity I had to move to the top 10, and waited for a bit for the race to develop. I didn't particularly want to be in a long breakaway, and I had a couple of teammates who were probably better suited to it than me.
A couple of people got off the front in the second lap (of 5), and Eric Peterson and Mike Brown attempted to bridge up. The gap was a little bit big however, and they came back to the group. There wasn't much to do at that point but sit and wait for the field to come back together for the sprint.
On the last lap, the break was predictably caught, and the field started to set up for the sprint. Unfortunately, something sort of weird happened - the field slowed up enough that the four riders in the break stayed at or near the front. This, coupled with the fact that no one wanted to use up energy before the sprint (no one who could put down a serious attack, at least) meant that the last lap was really, really slow. When the pace slows down that much, it fans out across the road and no one can move up. It also means that people have a chance to recover, and fancy their chances in a sprint. Together, it means that the front of the race is slow, the back of the pack is fast, and there's nowhere for the middle to go as everyone tries to get into the same spot.
This is the part of the race where I usually lose spots, but this time, I held my ground as people bounced of me (annoying, but not an issue), my handlebars (a bit dicey), and the people riding next to me. Things stayed pretty slow until 1K to go, when the first few guys hit the gas. Folks ran right into the back of riders going slow, and our field had the biggest pileup I've heard about in the Cat 3's. 15-25 people went down right behind me, and the top 20-ish made it through. I felt very calm, strong, and ready to go - I had to keep myself from starting the sprint too early, since I felt so good.
With about 250m to go, a huge guy (6'6?) wound up his sprint, and I got on his wheel. Unfortunately, his sprint ended at 50m later, and I was a bit stuck. There wasn't really enough distance for me to tuck back in and wait, but 200m at Mason Lake is a long, long way for me to sprint. Didn't have much choice though, so I wound it up and went. When I looked back at 100m, I thought I had gapped everyone, but JD Fette (fast, fast kid) was behind me, and almost came around at the end.
I was pretty excited about this win - it was the first time I've been able to mix it up at the front of a really jostling group, and my first participation in a bunch sprint. Really looking forward to seeing if I can get myself into the front for another - it feels like I should have a pretty strong shot to take some of these if I'm near the front with 175 to go.
Also found out that I had easily enough points to upgrade to Cat 2 for 12 hours, until I lost my points from 2009 Tour de Dung #1 (USCF upgrade points disappear after 12 months). Ha.
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