I was actually excited about today. I liked the course and was really feeling good, even after two hard nights leading into this. The weather was hot so we were anxious to get underway for our 67-mile race. I felt a little funky in warm-up, but that went away as soon as we started. We had over 100 riders for today's race, which began with a neutral one-mile stretch. As soon as the neutral stretch was over we went right up to 31 mph as riders were already testing the waters for an early breakaway. We flew through town. It was nice that the police blocked the road at each turn, allowing us to have the entire road.
High Rock Road Race course map
Pro/1/2 start
The large Pro/1/2 group leaves the start area in the neutral zone
At mile 3 we took a right turn onto a fast section of road. We were rolling 30+ mph as everyone merged back from two lanes to one. I was midpack at this point. Up ahead I could see a crash starting. I had about one second to react before the crash went from a few riders down to a road-blocking mass of flipping bikes and bodies. I got on the brakes, but there was nowhere to go. It quickly became clear that I would not stop in time. I was sliding as the rider in front of me hit the pile and flipped. Then I got hit from behind and pushed right into the group. I went over the bars and was launched up under the bike from the rider ahead of me who was in midair. The chainring of his bike went up my left forearm and bicep, giving me a few deep slices. I landed on top of the pile and did not touch pavement until the sliding stopped. I was under a pile of bikes, but none of them were mine. A female police officer helped get the bikes off me and helped me to my feet. I got no road rash out of the deal despite going down while doing at least 31.5 mph. That was the last speed that registered on my GPS.
The chaos after the crash was unreal. There were people still lying in the road. GPS mounts, sunglasses and water bottles littered the road and ditch. Over 25 riders went down in the accident. Some guy was putting the chain back on my bike when I got up. I don't even know where my bike ended up. Several guys were hurt and definitely out of the race. One had a serious concussion and another had a separated shoulder to go with a massive amount of road rash on his back. I was grateful to be walking away with only a few scratches up my left arm and a big tire mark up my left calf. My rear wheel was wobbly, but my bike seemed fine otherwise. It took me over five minutes to get myself together before I got back on course. My race was over now. There's no way I could make up five minutes on the group.
I rode the rest of the lap, then stopped in the feed zone to let Shannon know I was dropping out. My cuts were very greasy so I wanted to get them cleaned out to avoid any chance of infection. While I was being tended to by the medic, I saw that my fork was cracked. The left blade was broken across the backside. I am glad I did not rejoin the group. Carbon tends to fail in a big way once damaged. It could have snapped right off if I had hit another bump.
Just a few slices on the arm. This was after the medics cleaned me up.
I left some blood stains on the handlebar
I hated taking a DNF, but it gave me time to start working on Shannon's bike. My bike was done for this weekend so I would definitely be needing her bike for the finale on Sunday. We changed wheels, tires, brake pads, pedals and seatpost height to get it ready for me to race. Then it was off to Rite Aid for some bandages and then a dinner out at Cook Out, a very tasty burger and milkshake place right down the road from the hotel. They have 40 different shake flavors. Who can turn that down? While we were sitting at Cook Out, I pulled my onion rings out of my bag. The lady across from us starts telling the person with her about how she got sick one time from the onion rings. I think she just wanted to steal my onion rings because they were too good to ever make anyone sick!
Sunday brought the end of the race week. The final day was in Salisbury again, so it was close to the hotel. It was an afternoon race for us too, so we had plenty of time to go to church. That was my first time going to church in North Carolina, so check off another state. I'm up to eight states now!
This race was on a circuit around the Salisbury City Park. It had the most elevation gain of any of the courses this week. Basically, the course descended from the top of a hill, was flat next to a lake, then climbed back up the hill. Add four 90-degree left turns to that (two at the start of the flat section and two at the end) and you have the basic course layout. For a spectator, it was boring. The climb and descent were wooded and the loop was long at 1.4 miles in length. You could not see all the way around. The best sections to watch were on the climb out of turn 4 and on the tight stretch between turns 1 and 2.
City Park Criterium course map from my Garmin
Masters in turn 1
The course was right at the edge of the ghetto part of town so there were some interesting people walking around. It was amazing how many of them were nervous when the cops drove or walked by. Most of the people were fascinated by the size of the "tires" on the bikes. They were actually looking at deep dish rims. I guess they do look pretty neat.
Masters rounding turn 3 by the lake
Masters in turn 4 about to hit the hill
On the hill
My warm-up was terrible. I had no legs and could not get my heart rate up. I was trying to get comfortable on Shannon's bike as well. It puts me in a completely different position so everything felt weird. Her bike is 9-speed so I did not have a spare rear wheel to put in the pit. All I had would have today was a front.
After a long sit on the start line in the baking sun, we were off with about 75 riders in the group. The first lap was hectic as we encountered a group of over 10 geese crossing the road on the backstretch. That brought us to a stop until we were able to split through the geese. The next lap there were more in the road which slowed us down again. The moto official stopped and shooed them all toward the lake and they were not a problem the rest of the race.
Pro/1/2 group assembling before the start
First lap it was strung out
Me (26) in the group early on
I was tired, but stayed in the group up the long climb. You really only had to work hard for less than half the lap. The climb was a sprint every lap, but the downhill and long flat section were easy coasting. The pace stayed high which made for a tough sprint out of turn 2 most laps. At 15 minutes, I had a leaky tire. Thankfully, it was the front and I was able to take my wheel from the pit. They put me back in farther up than where I had been. I dropped back quickly though, as I just was not comfortable cornering hard on Shannon's bike. It felt so short and unstable to me.
There was a big crash on the climb a few laps later. It happened at the front for no apparent reason. I got gapped by it, but was able to rejoin the group. I also saw a rider drop his chain on the climb and a teammate pushed him along until he was able to get the chain back on. Finally after 44 minutes, my poor legs had nothing left in them. The climb became too much and off the back I went. This was by far the longest I made it all week. I rode a few laps alone until the group lapped me. They were in full flight chasing a big break. I was able to hang for just two laps before I was dispatched yet again. My seat came loose on one of the bumps which did not help things. It would tilt farther down on the nose each time I hit a bump.
The group heads down the hill toward turn 1
In turn 1
The group rolls the stretch between turns 1 and 2
The break was caught right after I got dropped again. Off the front sprang Frank Pipp. He would solo the rest of the race to get his third win of the week. He caught me on the last lap and I quickly moved over in order to not be in the way. In all, I got lapped twice and wound up 51st. I thought it was a very successful day considering I was wounded, on a different bike and on the sixth day of a race. We loaded the car, cleaned my wounds and hit up a gas station for some Cheerwine before hitting the road for Tennessee. I love Cheerwine. It's a great soda and it's hard to find outside of North Carolina. We bought a 2-liter to bring home for later.
Me hanging on the back late in the race after getting lapped
Frank Pipp off the front solo
The chasing group with 2 laps to go
Me riding solo at 2 to go
Race video is posted below.
Salisbury City Park Circuit video
Overall, it was a great week. I had no results to write home about, but we had a great time and enjoyed time away from work and stress. I wish I could race like this all the time. I really do think I would enjoy the Pro lifestyle of training and traveling all the time. Maybe this will motivate me to get on my bike more. It was a very motivating week and also a "wake-up call" of sorts. I got hammered more than expected, but I also saw my potential to be going just as fast as everyone else there.
No comments:
Post a Comment