When I went to bed Friday night I knew I wanted to get a ride in but the forecast called for rain early, so things were a little iffy. Good news was if the morning ride was rained out, there was another race at the Imperial Winter Series in the afternoon. So when I woke up this morning to pouring rain, it made my decision alot easier. Hit the snooze button and race in the afternoon. Surprisingly the weather man got this one right and it cleared up after morning rain, but brought with it a stiff 15-25 mph wind, that reminded me of home. You know that wind where you stand in the garage and say 'oh its nice out' but then as soon as you step foot in the wind, you change your mind and want to get a blanket and lay on the couch.
Anyway, I guess I got sidetracked or just didn't plan well because a rolled up to the circuit exactly 11 minutes before the race started. The only good thing is that by riding to the race you are already dressed and ready to go. I had to off road it a little bit to get around the cat 4s who were going to be racing behind us, (and with us, and in front of us, and generally in the way most of the day, but that is another story), and got to the line literally as they said GO!! No worries though, as it was another big field and although we were pretty strung out for a couple of laps, stayed nicely together. My whole goal for the race was for it to not finish in a group sprint. So I was going to attack early and often. I really didn't care if I took people to the line as long as there wasn't 30 big dudes just sitting in all day long.
So not long into the race off I went, attack 1, I was joined by 2 or 3 others who only seemed mildly interested, and we were back in the group in no time. Attack 2 held more promise, or in retrospect maybe more blind ambition. I went away solo this time, and there was no reaction from the group. I would like to think my lightening fast acceleration nobody could follow but I highly doubt it. The gap opened up pretty quick maybe 15 seconds or so in a lap, and that is where I was doomed. I had caught the 4 race which I mentioned earlier, and as I passed them I think they saw it as a good opportunity to A. get a free ride, or B. get in a break themselves. Soon there after they were strung out behind me, and it was that much easier for the rest of the 3s to close down the gap. All in all I was probably away for 7 or 8 minutes, but since I am still not in shape, it felt like ages. Right after I was brought back and we had shed the pesky 4s, my plan worked to perfection. Well I guess not perfection since I wasn't part of it, but perfection in the sense that the race didn't stay together. First a single rider went off, then he was joined by two more. I think there was some confusion whether or not they were 3s or 4s, but none the less they were gone. Their lead hovered at about 20 seconds for 10 minutes or so, then one of the three got shelled, and I guess everyone thought they were all back in the group, and just shut it down. The two of them rode off into the distance never to be seen again. Again it was strange to see the teams with multiple riders not really working together to bring things back or control the race, almost like every man for himself. With 5 to go the sun finally broke through and seemed to wake everyone up. Compared to the majority of the race the last 10 minutes or so was super fast. With the speed and cross winds, maybe half the field got dropped, but we still came into the last lap with a big group.
Unfortunately for some of the guys because apparently they couldn't handle themselves in the sprint. The chicanes leading to the finish result in people getting pinched off the road, and the finish was just carnage. We came around the last corner and opened it up, maybe 30 guys still left in the group, and it was wheels and bikes everywhere. 3 or 4 guys on my right got together and I think collectively broke every spoke on all of their bikes, and then another guy crashed and slid across the road on his butt. Looked as if he was going to need an ass transplant. No incidents for me though, I guess it helps when you don't care about sprinting for 15th. I can't seem to understand why people try so hard for the lower placings, can't be worth rebuilding a wheel or not being able to sit down for a week. I would say it was a moderate success today. Legs are getting better, and so is the weather. 26 miles in 01:05:40. Average 24.3 mph. Enjoy your 20s Tulsa!
 |
| Me lapping the 4s. |
No comments:
Post a Comment