Tour de Paris (Landing)

     It's been quite the bike drama since Crossroads. I've been searching for a fork for my bike with no luck. Sette has not only ignored all my attempts at contacting them, but also have ignored Price Point, their sole online dealer. I have not heard one single thing from them regarding a replacement fork or even a compatible fork. I tried to buy an Easton EC 90SL fork for it, but the fork does not taper quick enough so it won't clear the internal cable routing in the head tube. Why does this have to be so difficult?!

      I heard about a local race happening the week after Crossroads. The inaugural Tour de Paris Landing was to be a two-day stage race in Buchanan, TN, starting and finishing from Paris Landing State Park. It had a big purse for such a small race, which attracted the attention of quite a few elite riders. I did not have my normal race bike, but I was ready to try it on Shannon's bike. I tried to convert a few things over on her bike, like wheels, to make it a bit faster.

     The race was to be made up of two road races: a 45-mile race to Paris and back on Saturday, followed by 84 miles of tough rolling hills around Dover and Land Between the Lakes on Sunday. Saturday began with a rainstorm and a lot of confusion. The race volunteers did a great job getting us registered, but nobody seemed to be able to tell us where we were racing. All we knew was that we were not doing the loop that was posted on the website. Lightning delayed our start for over 30 minutes before we finally got started. Originally we were supposed to start in two waves. There were just two classes: Cat. 1-4 19-39 and Cat. 1-4 40+/Women. Turnout was low with the terrible weather, so we all started together. There were at least 10 Pro or Cat. 1 riders out of a group of 35 riders. That sure was a stacked field for such a dinky little backwoods race!

Riders about ready to start Stage 1. Shot taken from the wheel truck.

Another wheel truck shot as they followed us up the first climb.

     We started in a downpour that only worsened as we crossed the bridge over the big Tennessee River. We were headed toward Dover, going the opposite direction of where I had thought we were going. The route turned into the Tour of Hwy 79. We basically took 79 to Dover, turned around, rode it back to Paris Landing, then just kept going a few miles toward Paris and turned around again. They kept the distance at 45 miles, but changed the route completely. Hwy 79 is a tough and boring road in my opinion. It's two-lane most of the way to Dover, but the Paris side is a super wide, super boring four-lane. And it's constantly rolling hills in both directions. The Dover side has bigger hills. We hit those first on Saturday. The first few miles were hard as everybody wanted to break away in the downpour. I was active in following the breaks, yet never stuck my nose out into the wind. I tried to be smart about it. I knew I was outgunned with so many Elite riders in attendance.

Stage 1 course map from my GPS. All on Hwy 79.

    There was a 1-mile climb up to the turnaround in Dover. That proved to be the splitting point. I hung just onto the back of the front group at the top. As we made the sharp turn at the top, the guy ahead of me took it very tentatively and let a gap open up. I was having shifting problems as apparently my Reynolds wheels were not agreeing with the 9-speed cassette I had put on them to fit Shannon's bike. I had lost my bottom three cogs, which proved to be a problem when trying to close a gap on a descent. I wound up chasing not only the 1-mile descent, but also another mile across the bottom before I rejoined the lead group. I was completely maxed out on heart rate when we hit the next climb. Attacks began immediately and out the back I went. I was already dropped at mile 17. It was going to be a long ride in the rain by myself...or so I thought.

Climbing in heavy rain that darkened the day.

Less rain falling now as the front group nears the top of the big climb into Dover. You can barely see my shoulder sticking out near the back.

     I continued to chase as I could see the main group was blowing to pieces up the next climb. This road was so annoying! There was always another climb coming. I was joined by two chasers after 4 miles and we began working together, eventually getting across to the line of cars that was following the group ahead. We worked our way through the parade of cars and got to the group at mile 27, just as we reached the bridge to cross back over the Tennessee River to Paris Landing. I was cramping, but had made the junction. It was so weird that I was cramping. I was hydrated, rested and not hot, yet my calves were cramping like crazy! My goal began just to hang with our group to the finish.

     At the final turnaround we got a glimpse of who was ahead of us. There was a break of two riders, followed by a chase of 13 riders, then our group of 15. We would not catch anyone else and wound up sprinting for 16th overall. I barely hung onto the back of the group over the last three climbs. We went up them fast and my legs were toast. I wasn't able to produce much of a sprint, but still finished ahead of half my group in 23rd overall, giving me 15th in my class. It was a day I was glad to finish. We were water-logged and tired. I don't think I have ever been that tired from a 45 mile race. I went home, cleaned my bike and slept on the couch. My body was exhausted! On clean-up I found the source of my shifting problems. My cogs had come loose. Yep, that'll cause some shifting issues.

Me at the back of our group near the last turnaround.

Loose cogs will definitely disrupt your shifting.

     Sunday brought the second and most ominous-looking stage. The route was supposed to first go to Paris, then go to Dover and loop through Land Between the Lakes before ending back at Paris Landing. We had sunny weather today, but were still confused. Apparently, the promoter did not apply to LBL for help with traffic control, so we were not allowed to enter the park. So, it became yet another Tour of 79. Yipee. More boring road. This time we went to Paris first. We actually went all the way to Paris and made a loop around town before heading back to Paris Landing on 79. The pace was tame for 8 miles. I think the guys were tired from yesterday and scared of what today might bring. Then a break went clear. Five riders went up the road. Nobody chased until we got to Paris, then the two Smart-Stop/Mountain Khakis riders decided to crank up the pace. We went around Paris at over 30 mph. Finally, once back on 79, the group split and the fast guys went up the road. I had no legs, so I stayed back with the main group. I could not do 60 miles in a break. That would be suicide for me.

Stage 2 course map. Very similar to Stage 1.

Riders on the start line awaiting the singing of the National Anthem

     Our group worked well together all the way to Dover. We didn't drop anyone over the hills like yesterday. It was a nice pace. I actually started feeling better and decided to do a lot of the work at the front once we passed Dover just for the workout. We went even farther down 79 today, passing by Dover and going out to Papa Rock before turning back. Things got ugly once we got back to Dover with 15 miles remaining to race. There was a steep 0.8-mile climb out of Dover that was a good launch pad. Many attacks went, but we were still a group at the top, only losing one rider from the pack. From there to the finish there were constant attacks on every uphill. I only went with the ones that contained a rider in my class. I actually made the split up the last big climb and found myself to be the only 19-39 rider in the split. Then again, the group pulled us back. With five miles to go a group of six got clear. They got a sizable gap. It contained a rider in my class so I felt the need to assist with the chase. David Briggs was chasing hard with me taking turns with him. We also got assistance from Martha Lowe, the lone female in the race. She's a Dover local and sometimes rides with us in Clarksville. I already knew she was strong, but today she showed me that she is indeed beastly. She answered all the attacks and put in some massive pulls at the end.

     Martha got us to within striking distance as we hit the bridge over the river. It is uphill at the beginning as the bridge gains height. I pulled as hard as I could up the hill and got us to within a few seconds of the break. Then the attacks began, which is what we needed to speed us up enough to close that last little bit of gap. I hung on for my life as the speed increased dramatically coming into the park. We made the catch coming into the sprint, but were unable to pick off any of the riders that had been ahead. We finished in one big group. I wound up taking 14th today. I actually was less tired from this hard 80-mile ride than yesterday's 45. Yes, it turned out to be a bit shorter than expected at just 80 miles. I took 15th in the GC. They were supposed to pay top 15 overall, but I didn't think they would considering the low turnout. Not only did they pay me $100, but they also paid 16th! They went a spot deeper than expected even with a lower turnout than needed to meet purse requirements. When was the last time you heard of a race doing that?!!

     It was a strange race, but I'm glad I came. It was fun, great training and great people. The police and officials did a great job working traffic and seemed like they actually enjoyed being there. The park was very welcoming and even treated us to a wildlife show at the awards area. I hope they do this again next year and get a much bigger turnout.

Owl that was part of the wildlife show

High Rock Road Race and City Park Crit.

     There was not much time for sleeping in on Saturday, as we had a morning road race. The course was a short 12-mile loop, so they had to run waves to keep the classes from catching each other. At least the promoters were nice enough to place us in the second wave and not the first one.

     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.

Friday Night Fun

    Friday was day 4 at Crossroads and it brought another morning spin under sunny skies on the High Rock Road Race course. This time we rode the other route that had been listed online so that way we covered all options. Both routes were very similar with neither being very difficult. We noticed a peach farm along the route and went back after the ride to get us a big box full of North Carolina peaches. Man were they good!

Out for the morning spin in Salisbury

John Deere house?

     Friday's race was the last night event, taking place in nearby Statesville, NC. Statesville has a really nice downtown area. Google Maps showed a yogurt place along the course so we went early in hopes of grabbing a snack before the race. Well, Google was not quite up to date with their mapping. The yogurt place is no more. It was disappointing, but that would turn out to be the only disappointment of the evening.

      The course was a fast L-shape. It began with a flat stretch to turn 1 and then a fast descent through turn 2. It was then uphill to turn 3, which was the only right-hand turn on the course. Another flat stretch awaited before turns 4 and 5, which came close together. It was then a long uphill drag to the final turn and one final hump in the road coming out of the last turn before a flat sprint to the line. The course was narrow in most places so I was expecting yet another fast race in a long, single-file line.

Downtown Statesville Criterium race course

Women on course

A tubular disaster ended this chica's day

Two riders in turn 6

Women rolling by some nice Statesville landscaping

     My hamstring was feeling better today, yet I still babied it during my warm-up. I started right smack in the middle of the 85+ riders for the 60-minute event. Again, the start was fast and furious and we were single-file pretty quick. Gaps were forming on lap 3, but I did well to close them down and stay with the group. I was especially fast through turn 2 as I found a little dip on the inside of the corner that sort of catapulted you if you hit it right. The extra momentum rocketed me up the hill and allowed me to close gaps with ease. The toughest part of the course was the long uphill out of turn 5. We bottlenecked every lap at turn 6 and that made for a hard sprint off that last corner over the small hump on the finish straight.

     I made it 15 minutes before I I blew up. I was again running at 188 heart rate lap after lap. The legs were good, but the heart couldn't hold it and off the back I came just over 15 minutes into the race. We had a 27.9 mph average speed when I was ejected, which was stupid fast on such a narrow, technical course. This place was hard, but I loved it! I did a lot of riding by myself and still had a good time out there turning laps. Many guys quit, but I kept going, pushing myself as hard as I could hoping to get in the full race. I'll never get better if I drop out after 15 minutes.

     I got lapped by the group and hitched onto the rear, hanging on for another 10 minutes before getting shelled again when the group split. Once the group settles down 20-30 minutes into the race, I can hold their pace until the gaps open. Then I'm gone. My legs just aren't strong enough to close a gap when we are running 32-33 mph on the straightaways.

Cat. 4/5 Men

Cat. 4/5s rolling through the Start/Finish line

      I got into some small groups over the rest of the race, usually for a few laps at a time, then I would drop the people with me or they would quit. The officials left me in the race until two laps to go. I hated being pulled that close to the end, but they did not want to take a chance on me interfering with the finish, so I completely understand. I made 57 minutes tonight and finished 47th, my best placing of the week thus far. That just shows you that you should never give up! I was lapped five times, but I stayed out there and gave it my all. I could've quit and taken a DNF or finished 70th, but I hung in there and cracked the top 50. My rear wheel had a slight wobble to it after the race. I guess railing the dip in turn 2 over and over was a little hard on the rim.

    Alexander Ray took the sprint win again today, making him even with Frank Pipp as both have now won two races. A-Ray seems to be good on these tight technical courses that end with a fast sprint.

   Our race video is posted below.

Statesville Crit. video

     Before the race we saw a guy that looked like someone I used to ride with in Clarksville 12 years ago when I first started racing. I told Shannon that he was Dan Underwood's twin. After the race, I saw the Cat. 3 results and sure enough it was Dan! I hate it that I did not go talk to him. I haven't seen the guy in years since he moved up to the Washington, D.C. area.

     Tomorrow we put the road race course knowledge to work for the High Rock Road Race in Salisbury. Four days down, still two to go!

Sweat It Out

    It was another morning of sleeping in on Thursday after the late night race in Concord. Today the weather cooperated and we were able to go pre-ride the High Rock Road Race course. We slept in a little too long and got out in the hotter part of the day. We downloaded two different maps off the race website and were unsure which one the race would be following. We decided to ride one route today and do the other route tomorrow. It was a nice course, very fast with some small rolling hills on the way back to the finish. It was a great loop for a morning spin to loosen up the legs. My hamstring was still a bit aggravated from overstretching last night during my warm-up, so I got in the pool when we returned to the hotel and then Shannon hit me with a quick massage to help it relax.

Following Shannon down one of the faster portions of the road race course

High Rock Lake

Shannon taking a break and looking at High Rock Lake. You pass by the lake about halfway around the race course.

     The crit. course for Thursday night was in downtown Salisbury, just 4 minutes from the hotel. Again, rain was a threat. A passing shower soaked the course during the Cat. 4/5 Men's race. The course was damp for the Masters, but by the time the Cat. 3s got on course, it was dry and fast again. It was a hot night on yet another fast, narrow course. This course was longer at 0.9 miles in length. It was a figure-8 layout with a one block square on each end. It began on a flat straightaway on Main Street followed by a gradual descent through three 90-degree left turns. After turn 3, the course climbed up to a 90-degree right turn that put you back on Main St. The course ran each side of Main St. here Luckily, this road is very wide so going both ways did nothing to narrow the course. At the end of Main came another set of three lefts, with a slight uphill out of turn 5 and turn 7. A right turn 8 took you back onto Main for the flat sprint to the line.

Downtown Salisbury Course Map

The leading break of two in the Women's race

The pack chases out of turn 3

The Women pass a water tower on the backside of the course

Aftermath of a crash in turn 7

Cat. 4/5 Men on course

A passing rain shower wet down the course during the Cat. 4/5 race

      I had another good warm-up. I know I had not raced long each night, but I was surprised that my legs felt so good. It was dark by the time we took to the course, but the temp and humidity were still high. The start was stupid fast right from the gun. That seems to be the theme of the week. We were already single-file halfway through the first lap. On lap 2, guys were already blowing up and gaps were opening everywhere. I didn't get the best start tonight in a group of over 80 riders, so I was suffering through the gaps.

Over 80 riders on the start line again tonight for the Pro/1/2 event

     I hung on a few laps, but began to pop off at eight minutes. I railed the group of left turns at the far end of the course to get back onto the group. The rider in front of me was dangling five bike lengths off the back of the group as we approached Main St. The moto official decided to cut across the course and not do the back loop. He turned across the course right in front of our group! I have no idea what he was thinking. It was nowhere near dark enough to not see us. I locked up the breaks and missed him, but he ran into the guy in front of me. The guy didn't go down. He was instantly in the face of the official and they had a nice yelling match. We were off the back immediately and our race was over. That was very irritating. The official is supposed to be the last guy you would expect to cause an incident. Too bad I did not have the handlebar cam on tonight. I always miss the good stuff...

     We formed a chase group quickly, but they never gave us a free lap for the incident. I'm not sure why, but they did not pull us either. Maybe it was because of the bigger size of the course, or maybe because of the incident. Either way, I got to stay in and finish the full race. There was a crash right after the official incident, so I guess I'm grateful to have missed out on the carnage. Our group got lapped and we were allowed to rejoin the back of the main group. I was able to hang about 15 minutes before I got dropped. The guys I had been with in the chase group also got dropped, so we reformed our group and kept ticking away the laps.

     We were hammering as if we were racing for the win. I had a huge stitch in my ribs that hurt, but I was able to push through it. I was pumped just to be out there for the full distance. I ended up getting lapped three times before the finish. There was lightning in the distance the last 10 minutes, but the rain held off. A breakaway stuck tonight with Frank Pipp winning for the second night in a row after outsprinting Chris Monteleone. I wound up 51st with a 23.6 mph average speed even with doing so much outside of the peloton and being three laps behind. My hamstring was sore, but held up through the full race. I could not believe the weight of my skinsuit after the race. It was the most soaked with sweat any piece of my clothing has ever been after a race.

Video: Downtown Salisbury Crit.

      Shannon and I always joke around about how you could steal any car you want at a bike race because people leave their keys in the most obvious places while they are racing. The guy parked next to us topped the cake. He didn't even try to hide them.

     Next up is another night crit., this time in the town of Statesville, NC.