Racing My Bike

March 10 and 11

GSC #1 time trial in Macon Ga. went off under perfect conditions.  The course was dry (which turned out to be a good thing) and fun.  Not a big turnout with about 50 riders total.  I had a hard time getting going because we sit in line for so long. I still beat all the 50+ sport riders and all 3 guys in my class.  Blake got 3rd overall which made him smile, second in his class.  This is his first time in the cat 1's and I'm proud of him.

Over night a storm moved in bringing light rain and cooler temps.  Fortunately the trail handles rain well and even though the roots were slick in spots it wasn't a big problem.

Blake went off in the 930 wave, starting about 5 out of 8, but moving up on the last lap to 3 overall and second in his class.

I didn't have much competition.  I had Stan on my wheel until the first tight section of single track then I never saw him again.  So I spent my time picking off Juniors, Clydesdale's, and even a few 50 + guys.  Eventually finishing 6 minutes up on Stan.

I only struggled with one short climb with a root section at the top.  I just couldn't make myself pedal through it.  All in my head I know but frustrating none the less.

At awards it started raining heavier and got colder.  We hit a Chipotle on the way home and put a hurt on some burritos.  We even got home in time to watch the women's UCI MTB race.  Good times.

San Destin

The Lovely Wife and I spent a couple of nights here since she was on spring break.  Not really my cup of tea but I enjoyed the change of scenery.  Enough about that.

March 25 and 26

Hailes Trail, Newberry, Gainesville, SERC #1, whatever you want to call it.  Lots of steep ups and downs, rocky in spots, a hard place to like.  Saturday practice had me in a bit of a funk.  I just can't stay with the short steep stuff.  I bail really before I have to.  I tried to stay focused on the stuff I can do and just let the other happen.  A cold beer at Chili's help my attitude.

Race day was perfect weather.  60 and a light breeze, it had rained earlier in the week so the trail was as good as it gets. 

Blake got a good start, running 4 in the elites which was the 19-39 and the 40-49 cat ones combined.  I think there was 20 all total.  On the second lap he said his back brake was fading.  He still managed 3 in class and I think 4 overall.  His training and diet are really allowing him to improve.  He just has so much going on with school and just life I hope he doesn't burn himself out.  He has applied for internships in Colorado and California.  I can feel him getting away.  I know that's what is supposed to happen but it doesn't mean it's easy.

There were 6 in my class, I didn't recognize any of them.  Someone asked if David Norman was here.  I raised my hand and a collective sigh went up from a couple of guys.  One congratulated me on my SERC sweep last year, making me feel very uncomfortable.  Another said he'd be glad just to hold my wheel for a couple of corners.  Then the guy next to me tells me he hasn't pre ridden the course.  Really?

Anyhoo, one of the guys got the jump on me at the start.  I had scoped out a line to the outside on the approach to the first turn that no one was using.  I just moved over and sprinted to the turn, passing him on the outside.  By the time I reached the bottom of the first hill I couldn't see anyone behind me.  As it turned out I shouldn't have worried about the steep climbs.  There was somebody from another class on every one I came up to.  I just ran them, mostly it was faster than they were able to ride up them.

Once I decided to just run them I was able to just put my head down and ride the rest of the course, focusing on just the trail in front of me.  And just like Macon I played the game of catch the rider in front.  I had a good ride and was well into my cool down when second place came in.

Third place didn't show up till later.

So back to my internal debate on my class choice.  So far I am definitely in better shape than the guys I've raced with.  Also better prepared.  I saw the third place finisher riding one of the climbs I ran when we were taking a practice lap Saturday.  So what does that mean?  One dude on the line said he hadn't even pre ridden the course.  Another was on a 10 year old 26".  So beating some of these guys isn't saying much. 

When you could move into another age class didn't you?  If you finished mid pack in 40 sport and turned 50 would you stay in 40 just for giggles?

I keep hoping someone will show up.  There are some guys in 50 sport or expert who have to be getting close to 60.  Where will they go?  Terry Berger (Gone Riding owner) says they need a class just for me.  Why should I stay with guys 10+ years younger than me when nobody else has to?

I am super fortunate to be able to (and want to) do this stuff.  It's all for fun.  In the end nobody else cares who I race against or how I do.

Some Downs, Some Ups

I had to put my old dog Sandy down a week ago Friday.  It had been coming for a long time, still didn't make it easy.  We got her when Blake was in first grade so she'd been with us for 15 years.  She was a sweet dog and will be missed.

Still I will admit to a certain sense of relief.  She had been deaf for the past 5 years and had had hip problems for the past year.  I would look out in the garage every morning to see if she was still alive.  A gentleman I used to bird hunt with told me once "If you're gonna be a dog man you'll have to put a few down in your life".  This was number two, I'm not sure I can do it again.  So we'll spend a while dog free and see how that goes.

Anyhoo, so much for the downs.  On the up side Blake came home for his spring break and we got to ride the Dirty Pecan together.  Rumors of 500 riders showing up had me wanting to be anti social and roll out early.  Blake was okay with that as he had a certain wattage he wanted to do for 3.5 hours and being around 500 bobos would make that difficult.  Turns out there wasn't near 500 but we had already made our plans.

I soon discovered that holding a certain wattage was quite a bit different from holding a heart rate.  At first it felt easy, but as we got into the hills I discovered that you pedaled just as hard going down as you did going up.  Every time we crested a hill Blake would go "click, click, click" on the gears.  I soon worked up a little hate for that sound.  He dropped me not long after the water stop in Boston but couldn't leave me since he had forgotten to download the route (snicker).

What a great day though.  I'm very fortunate to be able to do these things with my son.

Race

This weekend is the start of the Georgia Series.  Rain is in the forecast so I'm having to work to stay positive.  My training is going good so far.  Training Peaks shows my fitness is on the rise and I'm looking forward to the time trial Saturday and the XC Sunday.  I can't believe it's race season again, once again I sooooo happy to be able to do these things.  Let's see how this goes.