It was a hot day to say the least. I lasted longer today in a group that was again around 65 riders strong. This course suits me better as it provides for a little bit of rest. But there is still a climb through Turn 3 and a gradual uphill drag from turn 4 to the finish line. I was aggressive in cornering and fighting for my spot in the middle of the pack where I was most sheltered from the wind. Again, my legs felt good. I was fine until the gaps began to open at 10 minutes. I could close one, but then I needed a break. I was running 182 heart rate into turn 1 and recovering to 172 by turn 3 early in the race. After closing a few gaps I saw 185 going into turn 1 and still holding 182 at turn 3. I wasn't able to recover so the clock started ticking on my physiological time bomb. I made about eight minutes in the red zone before blowing up. I was off the back at 18 minutes and I was spent. I felt sick to my stomach and way overheated. Soft-pedaling did not help me recover. For once, they didn't pull me even though I got lapped. I spun around slowly and still couldn't get the sick feeling to go away so I pulled myself. I don't like taking a DNF, but I felt like I was getting way too hot. It was a combo of the temperature and another very intense race that did me in.
Constant attacks off the front of the Pro/1/2
Back of the group. I'm in the red First Endurance kit.
A new set of attackers
Me in red trying to hang on to the tail of the group
Another break
Me on the left pulling myself as I'm getting lapped for the second time
The group is strung out
Winston David broke up Ben Renkema's streak by taking a solo win after he jumped ahead from a breakaway in the Pro/1/2. Renkema was second and still leads the overall. Rachel McKinnon grabbed the hat trick with yet another victory in the Women's event. We have some video posted below if you want to check it out.
The break that finally got clear
A tired group about to get one lap to go
Winston David had time to celebrate with a solo victory in Asheboro
Video: Pro/1/2 clips from Asheboro
It may have been a hot sufferfest in Asheboro, but I was glad to be here. Not only did I have fun getting cross-eyed and dizzy on small city streets I was grateful to be dry. It rained a lot at home while we were here and they got some nasty storms that even spun off a few clouds that appeared to be small tornadoes. Thankfully, they were just some swirling clouds. I know I have talked a lot about rain this year. It feels like we have had way more than normal. I finally have some confirmation of that as Montgomery County, which is one county west of where we live, recorded more rainfall in July than they have ever had. We shattered the old record which was set around 37 years ago, so before my time. We had more rainfall in July than Seattle!
Dangling clouds scared people back home. Glad we missed out on these storms.
Photo by The Tennessean
Sunday was the day I was looking forward to the most. The course around the Salisbury City Park has always been good to me. It's the only place I have ever finished at on our previous Crossroads trips. The course is longer and has one big climb on it. The climb is tough, but the rest of the course is open and flat, making for a more packed-up race.
I feel the differences in ability level among the Pro/1/2 bunch was much higher this year than in previous Crossroads races. There were some Pro-level Cat. 1s and a whole lot of Cat 2s like me, which made for some hard attacks and a lot of gaps in the back. You could see it all four days, but it was most apparent on this last day. My hopes for a packed-up race were dashed by this difference in speeds.
Pro/1/2 start line
It started to rain on the first lap, but it only rained on the first half of the course. It was kind of funny to race up the hill in the dry, then enter into rain at the line, easing through two slick corners, then emerging from the rain again halfway down the flat backstretch. That happened for 20 minutes until the rain stopped and the part of the course that was wet began to dry.
Strung out again
After the first lap, it was constant attacks up front and the pack became a long line of suffering riders. I felt good yet again and was stronger than a lot of the guys in the field as I had ridden much less the past three days. But gaps got to me again. I got behind some really big ones on the climb in the first 10 minutes, but I was able to chase my way back on. I needed to rest on the backstretch, but I was chasing there most laps. After 22 minutes of the yo-yo, I finally got behind a gap I couldn't close and that was it for me. I was pulled at 27 minutes. It was a disappointing way to end the weekend. I didn't even complete half of a race the whole weekend. I wanted to work on my intensity the next month or so. Guess I got my wish. My stomach was still hurting after this effort even though it was much cooler today with the rain.
The camera focused on me. Must have been the slowest one...
I ended up 41st out of around 60 riders. Only about 30 finished. Ben Renkema won the day and took the overall victory as well. Rachel McKinnon swept the weekend with another victory today. Race video from the Pro/1/2 is posted below.
Video: Pro/1/2 clips from Salisbury
Next up for me is some local racing before my target race for the end of the summer, the Tennessee Mountain Bike State Championships at Lock 4 in Gallatin, TN.
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