Road Racing

37 degrees 18 mph NW wind... Smells like heart break to me...

Donkey's with a cause... Let's go rip some leg's off in the masters 35+

The above is the email I got from dave (aka mercury on this site) last night concerning the Sibley County Road Race. The race is a 3 loop race with 17.75 miles per loop over open rolling farm land using county roads 12, 19, 27, 5 & 6. There is one climb of significance with a steady grade for about 1 mile where the grade decreases but keeps gaining elevtaion for another mile. The grade of the bottom part of the climb is slightly less than the big climb at KWMRR or Marty but total length of the climb is much longer. The upper mile is open so wind can be an issue for those who get gapped on the climb. The finish is about one mile up the climb. Since there is a climb there must be a descent. At Sibley you drop back into the river valley at speeds exceeding 40 mph. The roads tend to be serpentine providing changing cross winds if windy.

I had never done a road race before, and when I got the call from dave to try one I figured it sounded better than 90 miles with nate dogg. I was wrong. It was pure hell. When I woke up the sun was out and so I assumed it would be nice....wrong. it was 44 degrees at the start and I didn't have gloves...everyone else did.


After a 3 mile ride from the sign in station to the beginning of the hill described above, the race started with a 3Km climb. I was a bit winded but the pace was reasonable. I was dumb enough to raise my hand when the guy asked if this was anyones first race, so a lot of people were basically coming up to me and telling me to not do anything stupid. the first lap was a bit relaxed so I was able to feel my way around riding in a pack of 35 riders. the course did wind around different directions and with the 18-22mph winds, it was very important to be in the right spot. I learned that these guys go where they need to go and it is up to you to get yourself in the right position. I was out of position many times today, and you pay the price. After the 40+ MPH decent, a wind beating ride to the base of the hill, and a bit of a faster ride up the hill, the race started to take shape. we were all still together as we faced the wind again. I hung towards the back, but crept up to the lead (actually the first guy) for the turn from a cross wind to a tail wind. I accelerated calmly with the wind at my back, and after about 30 seconds the first wave blew by me, I went with them and the field started to ramp it up and we were hitting the upper 20's in speed. another wave passed us as my pain o meter was entering the red zone, and then dave and another guy shot out in front of everyone. dave being my mentor I took off after them, I heard a guy behind yelling Go! Go! Go!. (it wasn't until after the race when he had a chance to talk to me did I find out he was saying No! No! No!).


I got stuck in no mans land trying to hold 30MPH between the lead group and the pack. I realized the mistake I had made and tried to maintain speed but let the pack catch me. they caught me and I could not sneak back in until about half way through the pack. They ramped it up to 33-34Mph and dropped another attack. I tried my best to keep up, but slowly lost the last wheel of the front break and put a few feeble efforts to try to catch it before giving up and letting the second pack absorb me.


i was toast, but after some moderate riding gained back some leg love and then the second group of 8 of us started pace lining trying to catch back up. We were no match for the wind, but we all entered the pain cave and tried our best. One guy road by me with white snot coming out of his nose, I was like "hey man, you got snot coming out of your nose" (in my head). it wasn't until about 20 minutes later when I had snot running down my neck via my nose I realized I was past the point of caring, and I was probably right in not notifying him of something he was probably well aware of.


Over the next 1:15, we just hammered the course trying to close or maintain our deficit to the lead group. It was hell, riding faster than I can ride and then having to pull through and lead into the wind every 40 seconds or so. Again the hill, again the wind, again the back stretch of 30mph, and again the decent. The last 4 miles into the wind and the hill to the finish were the longest miles of my life as my lungs wanted to burst and my legs begged to give up. I finished 3rd (20th overall) in what was left of our initial 8 man pack, and felt like I had won the tour just for finishing the race.


It was a great time, and even though the pain and anguish was more than I thought I could handle (and mind you I lost by a lot), the feeling of rolling down the middle of a road with the hum of 35 bikes and riders moving through the countryside at 25MPH as one blob was a great feeling I am looking forward to again, even if it is followed by snot regurgitating inducing efforts and near death experiences.

Just wanted to let people know that today I can barely move,  might have been the 5 sapphire tonics I had last night for my birthday,  but I think it was the bike race.  I have no clue how those guys get up and do it day after day.....my hats off to the real athletes out there.

great race report. sounds like you learned

a lot of things

#1 you always want to be NEAR but not AT the front. you always know a

triathlete b/c they sit at the front of the pack HAMMERING thinking

they're ripping everyone's legs off, just towing everyone around the

course. drafting is a huge deal.

#2 if you are in no man's land between the break and the pick, sit the

f*&% up and let the pack catch you, then get on the WHEEL of the next

person that tries to bridge, then work together to catch the break

#3 NEVER chase down your teammate (i don't know if that guy dave is

your teammate or if he's just a friend).



but NICE JOB getting in the top 10 in your first race!! around here

the 35+ are actually faster than the cat 3s so that's totally

respectable. I've known some real fast triathletes that did a bunch of road racing to work on their riding.

one other comment, you should change the forum from biking to cycling.

www.tiffanypezzulo.blogspot.com

all good points wise one who likes bikes.  I hope to have some brain power on the next race and implement those tactical maneuvers.   I am not sure when I will get to do another race,  but I will channel you when I am out there.  nice work on winning the UT state championship.  you are one hell of a tri donkey extraordinare.  

Road Race!  who is in?  Mercury, Nate Dogg, Chach, and Tridonkey1 are going to go get dropped by people who know what they are doing.  But the best way to increase your rate of success is to double your rate of failure....so count me in for a good ole fashion public humiliation type failure.  Snot, pain, and willpower....followed by a cold coke and some fun stories about your ball landing in the road.

http://mcf.net/mboard/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1195

The East Union Race is in the books.  Yesterday morning Mercury, Chach and I got ourselves to east union, chach road into a head wind, Mercury and I drove like bats out of hell bending many traffic laws and using the iphone and his skewed memory to get there.

The race is a 30 mile (3 loop) race in the open plains of east union, which is close to some bluffs, but luckily those were not put into the course. The wind was brutal at about 20-40mph steady. The course was a square with 2.5 mile sections on each side.  which created one downwind, two crosswind, and one head wind section....

There was a 2 mile roll up to the start and a field of 38 guys.  a few of the pro-1-2 guys were doing the double racing both races,  so it was a larger and faster field than the last one.  the "neurtral" roll out got going and I was riding pretty easy when I realized I was last place,  so I worked up to close to the front which was not easy since the "neutral" was about 22mph.  we turned onto the course with a tail wind and the race started,  2.5 miles of about 38+,  a pretty hot corner and then hammering into a crosswind.  it was tough to get out of the wind and also with so many guys it was tight and a bit scary.  it got hot on this section and the first selection was made with a few people getting dropped.  I about gave up at this point telling myself my legs were just not there,  but I held on to make the corner and face the wind.  I tucked in and made it to the next corner...(probably 15mph into the wind).  the crosswind again sucked and people started making moves and it got pretty hot again....we stayed together and made the turn into the wind.  40mph with about 30 guys...just flying as fast as you could peddle but not that crazy tough.  another hot corner into the cross wind and people started to pick up the pace,  I was able to hang,  but my legs were stiffening with each effort.  I was drifting back in the pack but staying with the pack.  I hung in on the head wind and made the cross wind about half way through the pack,  once we hit the cross wind again,  it was go time,  it got hot,  I was in the back trying to get close to the edge fo the road to get protection from the wind.  there was a downhill section followed by a pretty steady hill,  since I was in back,  we were still going fast when the front slowed up for the hill.  long story short,  I am in the pain cave,  I am looking down at the wheel in front of me...and then things go awry.  I see and hear some wierd stuff, and I see one guy shoot into the ditch,  and realize i am on the shoulder in some sandy dirt stuff.  I shit my pants (not really) stop pedaling, and gently get back on the road...now 30 feet off the back. I put the hammer down (which was now a plastic enflatable hammer) and catch back up to the pack by the top of the hill,  but then it picks up again,  I am telling myself I just have to hang on until the turn with the tail wind,  but about 500 yards from the turn I pop (of give up) and a gap opens,  I make the corner and maintain the 500 yard gap to the pack,  but by the time we turned into the cross wind,  the gap opened up as the pack could fight the wind together and I was solo.  i picked up a buddy to try to work back to the pack,  but we were both shattered and the wind was so strong.  we passed a few people that were blown off the pack as we kept working,  into the wind was laughable...12-15 mph max while working your butt off,  cross wind legs are now bricks,  almost catch a guy by the finish,  but couldn't do it.  finished a minute or so behind the pack,  but ahead of many.  

I learned a lot more this race.  I almost killed myself a few times when I got sloppy and tired and crossed my front wheel on the guy ahead of me and luckily braked and got if free before wiping myself and the people behind me out.  

Mercury and I rode home into that 30mph head wind and we were literally going 8 mph into the wind with shelled legs,  it was a 35 mile death march which I ducked out of at mile 20 with a phone call to M&M for a ride.  

ran 13 miles today,  which I am sure non of the guys that beat me did!!! just trying to make myself feel better.

lessons learned:  stay near the front (easier said than done)

Bike racing is the ability to go until you can't go any more,  and then be able to go 10 more seconds.  you do the math.

28 mile masters 35 plus road race. Epic wind! Sketchy Donkey Roadie riders equals a lot of gaps to jump across in the long cross wind section. Jumping from gap to gap is no fun at 30 mph in a strong cross head wind.

see side note: http://timmercentral.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/welcome-to-cat-the-1-2-field/

As King Donkey said, "if I had 20 more peddle strokes in my legs I could have made it". Isn't it fun when you know what you need to do and you just can't do it because you don't have it at that moment!!!

Bike racing is pain. Pain is fun when you are giving it. When you are receiving it... well have you ever seen a monkey on a coconut? That is what you look like when you just don't have it on the bike...

Mercury

have you seen a monkey on a coconut?