The Dehydration

    I had nearly a full week of rest after my big block of training. My bum enjoyed some time off the saddle, but I was really enjoying the long days on the bike. It's hard to break a good rhythm for a rest week, especially when I always seem to feel bad after them. But I know rest is important to make gains.

     I pried the bike from between my legs and headed to Memphis for the weekend to visit the family. Everyone on Shannon's side of the fam got together to visit our newest addition, our niece Sylvia Rose Toney, who is now seven weeks old. It was our first time to get to see her. Before those of you who know me think it, no, I did not hold her. She is still in that crying and puking-all-over-you phase. Plus, I was afraid I would break the tiny thing. And also no, I did not come back itching to have a child.

Sylvia Rose Toney

    Memphis is not my favorite city, but we had a good time. We had a baby blessing for Sylvia at church on Sunday morning, then returned back to Pleasant View in time to have dinner with my Dad for Father's Day. It's not too often that we get to see both fathers on the same Father's Day, but it worked out that way this year.

    Later in the week, Shannon's Mom, Renee, and sister, Amber, came up to visit on their way back from Memphis. I was working long days, plus raced on Wednesday night, so I feel like I didn't even get to see them at home. They came with us to Ohio for the weekend so at least I got to see them a little bit there. It's always great to have some family at the races.

The rest week provided me with a little time to clean out some of the more fun trails at home that have not been ridden in a few years.

     So, coming off the rest week on Tuesday was terrible as expected. I felt awful, but that is normal for me. I decided to do the Music City Crits Race #6 on Wednesday night to help open up my legs. I definitely needed it, as my legs were junk again at the race. I could go hard for about half a lap before the legs pumped up and faded out. We ran the simple oval course this week, with left turns this time. The race was not quite as vicious as Race #4 when we ran the oval and the group imploded with the pace. It took until the last third of the race before a break got away. I sat near the back most of the race, only showing my face at the front once until the closing laps. It was a slow finish and that kept things too bunched up. There were several near-crashes on the backstretch in the final five laps, then we actually had a crash as we exited onto pit road the final lap.

Right behind the last lap crash

     Andy Reardon was present for the first time this series with the same purpose in mind that I had. He offered to help me in the sprint. I was reluctant for him to work for me as I felt like I had nothing in the legs to sprint with, but he insisted I did. We got shuffled back in the last two laps, then refound each other with 3/4 of a lap to go and moved up into a sprint position just in time to get caught right behind the crash. Andy just missed the guy that fell, then got a little close to the pit wall. I thought for sure one of us would hit the bike sliding down the track, but we missed it. We had to check up and lost a lot of spots. I had no legs to sprint with and couldn't make up anything before the line, finishing in 18th. I was just happy not to be on the ground. I had the GoPro on my handlebar this week, so you get to watch the crash. It is posted below, followed by a few clips that Dina filmed (including the finish). Highlights of the whole race from my handlebar cam are also posted below.

Video: Crash on the last lap

Clips from Race #6

Highlights from my handlebar cam

     Tour de Grandview kicked off the three-day Ohio Crit. Weekend on Friday night. We had a heck of a time getting there. It seems more of Kentucky is under construction than not. We ran into some really heavy rain from Cincinnati all the way to Columbus where Grandview takes place. This race is normally as bis as the other two events of the weekend, but turnout was lower this year, due to both the weather and a new race that was added to the schedule recently in Lawrenceburg, IN, just west of Cincinnati. The new race, the Hollywood Dash for Cash Criterium, paid more than double the prize money for the Pro Men than Grandview, and also more for the Women, causing most of the top riders to change their plans. I like the Grandview course and I was more likely to have success in a smaller race, but I would have probably raced the Dash for Cash had I known about it prior to signing up for Grandview. It is closer to the Saturday and Sunday races, making it a better choice for the race budget. I don't like to see races competing with each other. Maybe Dash for Cash or Tour de Grandview can think about racing on Thursday night next year and we can have a four-day race weekend! I would do them all and I know others that would too.

    As for Grandview, I was pumped for this one as the course is a fast four-corner crit. that suits my style. It was my best race of the weekend last year and I knew it would likely be my best chance of finishing a race this weekend. The weather took away a lot of my excitement. I don't mind the rain, but I tend to do worse in it as it really points out riders who have trouble accelerating out of turns. The group goes slower with the wet corners and the accelerations tend to be harder. With my poor-feeling legs this week, I knew I was in trouble. It poured until the race, then reduced to a drizzle throughout the 70-minute race. It was chilly for June, with the temp around 68 degrees. I actually wore my long-sleeve skinsuit. I don't think I have ever considered wearing long sleeves for a ride in June.

Pro/1/2 start line at Tour de Grandview

photo by Tim Cristy

     I got a second-row start and stayed up front the first few laps. I had to go wide in Turn 1 to avoid a rider who nearly fell. I skimmed the curb, but did not crash. It dropped me to the back and I was in trouble after that. The pack was not going that hard, but I had no legs and coming off Turns 2 and 4 were killing me. Turn 4 was the worst because there was a headwind down the front stretch and getting gapped really made you work that whole straightaway. The lap after I nearly crashed in Turn 1, a rider surfed a flat tire through that same turn. He did a great job of not going down, but it split the group. I was able to get across the gap, but then was blown the next time the pace increased and out the back I went.

Pro/1/2 riders on the wet streets of Grandview Heights

photo by Tim Cristy

photo by Tim Cristy

Andy and I are on the left of this picture. He has on blue shoes and I'm right behind him in my long sleeves.

photo by Tim Cristy

photo by Tim Cristy

     I stayed about five seconds behind the group for three laps, mostly due to the fact that I could take a better line through the corners by myself than I could in the group. I was actually pedaling through Turns 2, 3 and 4 and almost got up the nerve to pedal all the way through Turn 1. I have finally figured out my air pressures for the wet courses and was riding the course as if it were dry. But eventually, I started to fade and the group pulled away. I got pulled at 31 minutes and given 39th spot out of 41 on the results. I don't agree with that result as there were many riders dropped before me and many others I saw quit while I was chasing, but they were all scored ahead of me. I actually think a few of the guys I saw drop out went into the pit and took a free lap without having a mechanical problem. If that was truly the case, it's a shame they have to race like that. Despite the rain, we were still averaging over 27 mph while I was in the group. Even though I was hoping for more out of myself, I still had fun and enjoyed Grandview Heights. The people of the town came out despite the rainy weather and were very supportive of everybody racing, even those of us struggling off the back. Tanner Hurst had a great night, finishing in 8th place. Andy had good legs, but flatted three times, with the third one taking him out of contention as it happened just as free laps were ending.

    I got in a spin on Saturday morning which really helped my legs come around. They felt much better on Saturday night at the Hyde Park Blast in Cincinnati. Rain was a threat again, but it only drizzled during the race. Again, the temperature hovered in the 60s! It felt more like October than the end of June. I had a MUCH better call-up spot this year. Last year, I started 106th. This year I was 53rd to line up, exactly half as far back as last year. We had 140 riders on the line for a Pro/1/2/3 race. I was surprised they let the Cat. 3s into this race because it is such a technical course and the field is already so big. The Blast was part of the USA Crits Series this year, and usually their races are Pro/1 only. I was hoping to see a Cat. 2/3 field added after the USA Crits designation was announced, but it didn't happen.

Cleaning the bike after last night's rainy mess

     This race was crazy from the start. It was probably the sketchiest race I have ever done. Guys were taking chances right from the start and riding erratically trying to move up. That's what happens when you have so many Cat. 3s in such a big race. Not only are there a bunch of inexperienced riders super excited to prove themselves against a bunch of Pros, but there are a bunch of Pros trying to get away from those riders. It was chaos at times. I heard crashes behind me in the first turn and again at the top of the climb up Shady Ln. the first lap. I stayed in the top 50 for the first 10 minutes, which kept me out of the trouble. The course layout makes for two kinds of racing in one lap. It is fast as can be both directions down Euclid Ave, then slow up the climb on Shady Ln. and through the hairpin turn. At one point I saw 12 mph up the hill in the pack, then was doing 37 mph a few seconds later down Euclid. Good thing my legs decided to show up tonight!

Hyde Park Blast course map

    The pace slowed at 17 minutes after our fastest lap of the race, then a big prime was announced and things got crazy coming out of the hairpin. We ride both directions down Euclid Ave., separated only by a few hay bales. Guys were desperate to move up and some of them crossed the hay bales into the oncoming lane. When they crossed back before Turn 2, one guy hit a hay bale and a massive pile-up ensued. I had nowhere to go and was on my face before I could think. It was a pretty hard hit. The guy ahead of me went over the bars and his back wheel took my bars clean out from under me and I went over onto him. I also got hit from behind. It was actually a very similar crash to the one I had at Crossroads two years ago. This time my bike came out unscathed with the exception of a shredded front tire. Judging from the evenly-spaced V-shaped gashes in the tire, I would say it hit the chainring of the bike in front of me. I know I hit a chainring as I had a series of greasy puncture marks across my right hand. My hands and shoulders took the worst of the fall, but mostly just with bruises. I had one bigger gash on my hand and just a tiny bit of road rash on my right knee. I didn't tear my skinsuit and barely scratched my shoe. Not bad for crashing at 30 mph!

    I took my free lap, getting a new front wheel. I realized while I was in the pit that I had whacked my head pretty good and also lost my glasses. A bunch of us were reinserted into the race at 23 minutes and it was back to work. I actually felt better after the crash. My legs had more snap in them and I was able to move up in what was maybe 75 guys left in the main field. A break of two went off the front and the chase ensued for a few laps. I hurt during that time and got caught behind another crash in the hairpin. I was able to chase back on, but it hurt me and I started to fade after that. The group started to slow down and that seemed to make my legs feel worse. Maybe the adrenaline from the crash was wearing off. Suddenly, I had nothing. My whole body felt tired. The next time the pace increased, I fell off the back. I chased back on up the hill two laps in a row, then finally blew up. I lasted over half of the 90-minute race, which was way better than I expected, especially considering how hard I crashed. I ended up 70th on the results. With the rain threat, I did not run my GoPro, so of course there is no crash footage. I always seem to miss the ones where I go down! But I did manage to do it almost right in front of Shannon, Amber and Renee. I think that was their first time seeing a big crash like that.

Christian Grasmann was the winner, doing it solo at Hyde Park after dropping his breakaway companion Chris Uberti

     After the race, I rolled back to the scene of the crash to see if I could find my glasses and a spectator had them waiting for me. Again tonight there was a very supportive crowd and I got many pats on the back for my effort after the crash. It made me feel good to see our lap times on Strava. Nearly every lap I completed was faster than my best lap from last year. I may not be feeling good or finishing, but I am definitely riding better than last year.

     Sunday wrapped things up with an afternoon crit. in Madeira on the northeast side of Cincy. It was a new course for the Madeira Centennial Criterium this year, but it was still very technical. They took out one of the 180-degree turns and the two railroad crossings. The course was still full of turns and kept the fields strung out all day long. We split from Amber and Renee as they headed home in the morning. Shannon and I then caught a church service before heading to Madeira. We got there several hours before the race, giving me time to put on new tires and examine my bike and helmet a little better. I really expected to see a crack in the helmet, especially after noticing the red mark on my head after the race last night, but the helmet was fine other than a few scratches across the shell. I got in a good, long warm-up and could tell I was tired today, but I told myself everyone else would be tired too. I got an even better call-up, rolling up 21st out of 90+ riders. I was on the third row when we took off for 75 blistering minutes around downtown Madeira.

Madeira course map. If I didn't know better I'd say this course was giving me the finger.

     It was a sketchy group again today with guys making very erratic moves the first few laps, especially in the 180-degree turn. The speed through the finish line surprised us all the first lap. There was a quick left-right after the finish with a sidewalk that jutted into the course on the inside of the right turn. That sidewalk nearly got a few guys the first two laps. I almost bit it going through there on lap 2. We came into the chicane so fast that I almost ran out of road on the exit, as did several riders in front of me. I barely saved it and would have had nowhere to go if any of the guys in front of me went down.

Me early in the Madeira Centennial Crit.

photo by Chris Muse

Tanner and his beard

Photo by Chris Muse

Jason Chatham second in line

photo by Chris Muse

     Like on Friday at Grandview, I had no acceleration and slowly slipped back through the pack. I seemed to settle in a little after 10 minutes, then the pace went up again and out the back I went. I was able to keep the group in sight for several laps just by being able to take my lines through all the corners, but I eventually popped and was pulled at 21 minutes. My whole body was tired after the race. I gave everything I had, there just wasn't a lot in the tank to give today. I ended up in 64th place on the day. All the Nashville representatives did well. We had three riders that finished with the main group. Andy wound up 12th! I had the GoPro on for this race and the video of my short race is posted below. The start of the second lap was a bit hairy!

Andy, Jason and Tanner all taking this turn, representing Nashville in Madeira

photo by Chris Muse

Every race should have this sign posted. 

photo by Michael Butler

The 180-degree turn and a strung out peloton

Lots of locals came out to watch the races

Video of my race from my handlebar cam

     My performances left me scratching my head, but I got answers a few days later. I got smacked around on the local group ride and started to recognize my symptoms as I spun home after getting dropped very early in the ride. I felt horribly weak all over. Until now, the weakness had not been strong enough for me to realize it was dehydration. After I thought back on the weekend, it was obvious. I had the dehydration. The coolness on Friday and Saturday allowed me to hide it until halfway through the Hyde Park race, then it hit me. I may have been dehydrated since the Memphis trip. I've been been playing catch-up on the water intake all week. Hopefully, I'll get things sorted out by Indy Crit.