Bikes, BBQ and a Full Race

     Day 4 of Crossroads brought an end to my morning spins around Salisbury as it rained pretty much all day. Much like the previous night at the Salisbury Crit. It was a slow, steady rain. The radar looked to be clearing as the afternoon approached, especially further east where the next race was to take place in Statesville. The DowntownStatesville Criterium was one I really liked last year. It kicked my butt and I got lapped five times by the group, but I really liked it. The course is a tight 1km with six turns. It keeps you on your toes with all the turns and also has two uphill sections that make you work hard.

Statesville course map

     I was sure the rain was going to miss Statesville. The radar was clear when we left the hotel. It was drizzling rain as we started our 45-minute drive east. To my surprise, the rain picked up as we neared Statesville and was back to steady rain by the time we pulled into the course. I was so hopeful for a dry race after last night’s fiasco. It kind of crushed me when I saw the rain was sticking around. I still don’t know how it rained all night with a clear radar, but it did.

     The course looked slick, but felt good in my pre-ride. I had a great warm-up and found some good legs attached to my body. I don’t think I stayed in the race long enough the first three nights to even get fatigued. I was afraid the same thing would happen tonight so I actually hit the trainer hard for my warm-up to ensure I at least got in a solid hour of hard effort tonight no matter what went down in the race.

    I followed Jon Crowson to the staging area. Lining up for the starts is always chaos and he had been negotiating it much better than me all week, getting a front row start every night. Not tonight though. We got swarmed by a group that just rode right past the official even though he was holding everyone back before the start line. I can’t believe the officials let people just run all over them. I think they should do the starts like motocross. You jump the start, or break the staging rules, you start at the back of the group facing the opposite direction. Do that to a few guys and things would straighten up really quick, especially on a night like this.

     The race exploded just like at Salisbury, right from the gun. Jon and I were on the back row. I was second from last going into turn 1. Everybody acted scared to death in the turns. The amount of corners provided little opportunity to pass without risking your life. I was patient for two laps, then began to pick off riders. I could see gaps ahead so I had to go now.

Underway in Statesville

     I got into my crazy mountain biker mode. I was not at all scared like last night in Salisbury. There was no metal in the road here and the corners were gripping so I ripped them hard. I went into Turn 5 completely thinking I was about to bite it on more than one occasion. I tried to only use my brakes in Turn 1. The rest of corners I just held on and railed them.

     By the time I got through the first group ahead of me, there was a huge gap to the main group. I never made it across the gap. I picked off a few riders, but got pulled before I ever had a chance to catch the group. There was a break of two off the front and they were already on my tail. I got pulled after just 11 minutes. It was disappointing, but expected. I just hated it because I felt great! I had good legs and barely got to use them. I was given 42nd place on the night, which seemed to be a bit too far back considering how many guys I passed. But then again I don’t know that they listed any DNFs on the results, so maybe there were more starters than I thought. You can watch my race from my GoPro below. All 11 minutes of it. Don’t get excited though. There were no crashes tonight, at least not in front of me. I did see a few that occurred in the closing laps.

Downtown Statesville Criterium Handlebar Cam

     The weekend was next and race #5 was at a new venue in Asheboro, NC. The race was part of the Pigs & Pedals Festival, which featured a BBQ competition and live music in addition to the races. Rain was again a threat all day, but held off early in the day for the first few races. It began to rain just as we arrived in Asheboro. Like the night before, I was mentally set on a dry race. I was crushed to see the rain return.

     It rained for the end of Cat. 4 race, then stopped during the Cat. 3 race. The parking lot at the bank we were parked in showed little signs of drying, but to my surprise the course was 80% dry by the time the Cat. 3s finished.

     I took a lap while the kids raced. It had looked like a simple rectangle with all right turns and a slight descent to turn 1. I had not seen the backstretch until that pre-ride lap and it was WAY different than I expected. Yes, there was a slight decline to turn 1, which was a bumpy. Between turns 1 and 2 was slightly uphill and, again, very bumpy. Turn 2 takes you onto a very fast backstretch. It goes downhill, then begins to curve back up at Turn 3. You continued to rise, almost over a slight hump as you go through the turn. It felt like a roller coaster here. The climb continues after the turn, then descends again into Turn 4, which was a wide, but tricky off-camber turn. Then it was a flat sprint to the finish. It was going to be a very fast race, wet or dry.

Asheboro Criterium course

     There was some delay in starting us, so by the time we actually hit the course it was pretty much completely dry. I was so pumped! I got a good start from the second row, but it was a fast start and I quickly drifted back. I think I was in the back by the end of lap 2. We had another decent-sized group of 55-60 riders, so I was way too far back. I stayed patient though and followed wheels. I wanted to get through the first 20 minutes before I started trying to move up. That has been the fastest part of the races all week. I also had my GoPro on the handlebar again today, sort of as a good luck charm. It seems like I don't get behind too many crashes when the camera is recording, so I was hoping it would help me out here again today like it did the past two nights.

Pro/1/2 start line

Group strung out down the backstretch in the early laps

     There were many attacks, but the field stayed together the first 20 minutes. We were flying down the backstretch and around Turn 3. I was hitting 39 mph into the turn and it made the hump and hill very fun. I was having a blast there every lap . Turn 4 was not so much fun. I kept getting gapped out of the turn. I had good legs, but was lacking the snap needed to do the accelerations out of the turns.

Me rolling into Turn 3

Peloton in Turn 3 going up the hill

     I was hurting, but overall things were ok, even with the fact that they were priming us every other lap, mostly cash primes, which we had not had all week. Then things got ugly. They primed us on multiple laps in a row. I hung on through the first cash prime and following sprint points prime, but then I dropped to the back when the third prime in a row popped out for more cash. I was dying as we crossed the line and knew that if the group did not slow out of turn 1 I was done. And then came the awful sound of the bell ringing for the fourth prime lap in a row. The group did not slow and off the back I came at 34 minutes. We had a 28.9 mph avg speed as I was ejected out the back along with several other riders. I was blown! I could do nothing but soft-pedal until I was pulled just two laps later. That put me in 51st on the results. I thought for sure I was safe after the 30 minute mark and would make it through my first ever Crossroads race with the lead group, but it was not to be today. I was a bit off my game and it got me dropped. I felt like the bad finishes the first four days were out of my control for the most part, but today was just a good old-fashioned butt kicking. I gave it all I had and it just wasn't enough.

Exit of Turn 3

Me in Maxxis orange sprinting up the hill

Peloton with a few laps to go

     There is a video posted below that Shannon filmed, followed by my handlebar cam video highlights.

Asheboro Criterium video

Asheboro Pro/1/2 handlebar cam highlights

     Of course, we hit up the BBQ Festival after the race and grabbed a few good sandwiches and even some homemade strawberry ice cream. For the first time all week, I was tired after a race and ready for bed that night. It felt good to finally be fatigued.

     Sunday was the final day of racing, taking place in Salisbury at the City Park Criterium. The course runs around City Park, which is a large park with a lake and walking trails. The road around the park is perfect for a crit. making for a 1 mile rectangle with all left turns. It may be a nice layout and distance, but it is a tough loop with a big climb of at least 1/4 mile to the finish line. The course starts at the top of the climb, descends to Turn 1 and continues slightly down to Turn 2. The backstretch is long and flat next to the lake. Turn 3 takes you onto the dam at the end of the lake and stays flat until you go through Turn 4. Then it is uphill all the way to the finish line. The climb is steeper at the bottom, then levels off some before kicking up again just before the line.

City Park Criterium course map

     I felt good again today. Overall, I really had a good week. The worst day for me had to be in Kannapolis back on Wednesday, and really I was fairly good that day. This was my last chance to take advantage of my good form and finish one of these races. I was determined that today was going to be the day. I made it 44 minutes here last year, still the closest I have been to surviving the full hour.

The initial break in the Masters 50+ race

Masters 50+ on the climb

The front break of two soon became four

Chris Black knew he had missed the break but was never able to bridge despite several attempts like this one.

The two that joined the initial two-man break were soon alone at the front and battled for the win.

Cat. 3 winner, Dimitri Lemus, did it solo.

     The race was much smoother today. We had no crashes and I saw less sketchy riding in the group. I was surprised that we had 59 riders in the group. Usually, the last day sees less turnout as people fatigue and attrition of the race builds. I stayed in the middle of the group early on, staying on the outside of the turns so I could carry more momentum on the exit. I did not want to get gapped today, especially going into the hill.

Me in the group (orange and black)

I'm in the front of this picture coming up the hill

Hiding in the pack

     I actually wound up being very strong on the climb and often moved up there. It was easier just to go on up the climb at my speed than slow down on the laps when we caught a break. The race unfolded with a break early on. It started as seven riders, but the pace quickly reduced it to five. We did not chase at first and in just a few laps the gap was 23 seconds. Then the chase began. We were flying up the hill. The backstretch was consistently 34 mph all the way down, but I was comfortable following wheels. I never really got into trouble with my heart rate or legs today.

The break of 5

Hard chase behind the break

Shannon got several pics of me today. Here I am on the climb.

Peloton on the other side of the lake

Peloton on the dam

     There were numerous attempts to bridge to the break, but nothing ever got clear for more than a lap and the gap to the front five never went under 22 seconds. We held the gap for half of the race, then it steadily began to creep out. Each lap they gained five seconds as the group decided it was too much for the final day of a six-day race. The gap was up to 48 seconds as went went to laps. The battle was now for sixth.

The pack comes off Turn 4

The break starts the hill

Me coming off Turn 4 in the line

The peloton comes up the hill toward the finish line

     I started to fatigue the final few laps. It got more aggressive at the front and I took it a bit easy a few times when it looked like there was about to be a crash. The result was that I dropped back and then couldn't move back up. I was near the back as we came to one to go, and the speed up the steep part of the climb had me just hanging on. Then the pace slowed and I had a little room to roll up the left side of the group as we passed through the finish line. That was the extent of my moving up though. We did 36 mph down the backstretch and into the climb. I picked off a few riders in the uphill sprint and managed to stay on the back of the main sprint. I was so relieved to finally make it through a race with the group. I took 37th which was not spectacular, but it gets the monkey off my back.

Me coming to the finish of the race

     Our race video is posted below, again followed by the highlights of my race from my handlebar cam. The camera did seem to help. after I put it on, I had four rather uneventful races. Maybe I'll have to start running it all the time.

Video: City Park Criterium

Handlebar cam highlights from the City Park Criterium Pro/1/2 race

     It was a fun week and I am sad that it's over. I hate getting my butt kicked at races, but it is still better than not racing at all. I came out healthy, strong and intact. On the drive home, we ran into Scott "Monster" McConnell. He and his son were driving back from a BMX race in Morristown, TN. It was good to run into a good friend at the gas station in Cookeville. I guess bike people think a lot alike, even in their gas purchases! Next up for me is more local races with the Music City Crits Series and the Bells Bend Time Trial. I am toying with the thought of going to Chattanooga for the River Gorge races this year. Whether I go or not, everything I do this next month is in preparation for Gateway Cup in St. Louis on Labor Day Weekend. There will be Cat. 2/3 races this year and I hope to have a good showing as several of the courses suit me well.