A Day In Hell

     My first double weekend of the year came just over a week ago when I raced the Hell of the South Road Race and the Cedar Hill Criterium. After a week of rest, my gastroc felt recovered and up to the challenge of two hard races in a row. I was still unsure if it would last through the road race, but I was ready to give it a try.

     My legs were tight and flat after the week off. I knew the first lap of the road race would be the hardest part for me. My legs would likely take a while to get going. It was a new course for this year's Hell of the South, moving to the town of Lewisburg in the southern part of Tennessee. The Pro/1/2 race consisted of three laps of the 22-mile course. We had at least 32 starters, more than 20 of them being Cat. 1 riders. It was looking like a fast race, so I tried to get in a good warm-up to loosen my stale legs, but also not fatigue myself.

     The race flyer did not tell the exact location of the start/finish, but the course map had it labeled. I went to the spot on the map only to find nobody. Luckily, I was planning to line up early, so I had enough time to sprint back to the parking lot, where I found everyone lined up. It turned out that the start and finish were not in the same spot and the finish was in the opposite direction around the course than where it was labeled on the map. The panic sprint actually made my legs feel better, but it did put me starting at the back of the group. I don't understand how important things like the start/finish are not more clearly labeled on your flyer and maps. You would think a race that has been around for a few years would not overlook such crucial things.

    I did not have a chance to pre-ride the new course. The profile showed three main climbs on the route and I had heard about a rougher stretch of road on the third climb followed by a technical descent. I never know about the descriptions for this race. In the past, they made it sound much worse than it actually was. The old course had one short stretch of gravel and no big climbs. It was far from worthy of the name "Hell of the South." Speaking of the name, I found it funny that the local newspaper wrote an article about the race and spent considerable time explaining that the name "Hell" was meant for race difficulty and not to describe the area. I guess somebody thought the race was saying that Lewisburg was the Hell-hole of the South. I never thought of it that way! John Carr gave me a brief run-down of the course, telling me not to hammer into the climbs as they got steeper near the top. He also told me the descent was rough and worth paying attention to.

     The start was slow. We cruised the first few miles, letting one rider go up the road solo. The first hill came at mile 4. While I may not have pre-ridden, I did do some research on Google Maps and I found a few landmarks to let me know when the climbs were starting. The first hill was much tougher than I expected, but I saw my landmark and was ready for it. The climb was steep, but short. You could see the whole climb from the bottom. The attacks began here. We flew over the top and down the other side. The road was rolling for the next few miles and we stayed single-file as everyone chased the numerous breaks that formed. I saw 36 mph several times during these miles and we never dropped below 30 mph.

     We made the next turn and started climbing again. All the breaks had been reeled in, including the solo rider that had slipped away at the start. Climb two was much longer, starting very gradually for a good mile, then becoming steep with grades approaching 18% at the top. I took John's advice and saved everything I could for the top. Again, the climb was steeper than I anticipated. When I saw the steep part, I felt I was doomed. I'm not the strongest rider on climbs that steep, but I dug deep and stayed within the group, actually moving up a few positions near the top. Up to this point, I had felt like the weakest rider in the group, but now I could see there were many others suffering more than me.

     Another quick descent followed immediately. This one was more twisty on a narrow, chip-and-seal road through the woods. It was a beautiful road, but there was little time to enjoy it as we only had a mile before the third climb began on the rough surface Snake Creek Rd. The group slowed before the turn onto Snake Creek, then accelerated as we made the turn. This road was barely a lane wide. It was chip-and-seal, but very old. Gravel had settled in the middle between the tire tracks and there were numerous potholes and patches to dodge. Further obstacles were found in sticks and rocks that had fallen and washed into the road from storms the day before. It was an awesome road! I felt like I was mountain biking!

     The gravel in the center got me early on. It took a minute for the pack to split into the two lanes and I found myself stuck in the middle. I lost a few spots and then fell into line. The pace wasn't fast, but we were gradually climbing and you could tell guys were already hurting. This climb stair-stepped with breaks between each steep section. The first section went well. Nobody fell off the pace, but as soon as we hit the second section it was like a bomb went off. Guys ahead of me got gapped and I was left to chase. I knew this climb was longer so I settled into my pace and tried to save my legs. That was not a good call. Road racing is not mountain biking. You can't pace yourself and catch the group later in the race. Once you lose the draft, it's over. I went up the third part of the climb as fast as the group, but I was about 10 seconds behind. Then I saw a junkyard on the left. That was my landmark that the climb was almost over. It was much shorter than I had anticipated! I hit the panic button and started going all-out, but it was too late. The group really accelerated across the flat section between the third and fourth parts of the climb and I lost more time. I needed a wheel to follow on the flat sections. I big-ringed the last part of the climb, but I actually think that was slower. I was chugging at the top. I was at least 30 seconds back now with only Josh Lewis in sight ahead of me as we started the twisty descent. There was nobody in sight behind me. Those that got dropped totally blew up.

     The descent was indeed technical. It was rough initially, then smoothed out and got steep before a sharp left turn. The apex of the turn was a rough patch so you had to take a bad line through the corner to miss that. Then the road straightened out and got very steep with ripples in the pavement. It was like having braking bumps into the next turn. There were more rough patches, twists, turns, mud and water flowing across the road the rest of the way down. I blew past Josh as I let it all hang out. I knew this was my once chance to get back to the group. I have always wondered how I would do in a race situation on a technical descent. You rarely get those opportunities. I'd say I passed as I was nearly back to the group at the bottom. But another small climb came at the exit of Snake Creek. I was blown up from going so hard on the descent. I started losing ground again. Josh caught back up to me and went right by, quickly getting a 10 second gap on me.

     We had another quick descent then the course hit a smooth, rolling road all the way back to the finish. I knew I had to catch Josh or neither of us would see the group again. But he was not waiting for me. It turned into a time trialing battle. He stayed 8-10 seconds ahead of me for over five miles, then he finally looked back and saw me coming. He slowed enough for me to get there and then we started working together. The group was still in sight, but we were losing time. We were nearly two minutes back after lap 1, but we kept chasing. We wanted to catch anyone that fell off the group ahead and stay ahead of those behind us.

     Things went good until the second climb on lap 2. My stomach began to cramp and quickly sapped my energy. Josh waited on me at the top, but I fell off again up Snake Creek Rd. The name of the road motivated me to dig deep into my Snake Creek Gap mountain bike strength, but the stomach was not letting me dig deep enough. I lost contact with Josh and had no strength to chase him on the descent.

The break of six that mostly stayed away. They are on lap 2 here. four of them came in solo ahead of a group sprint for 5th.

What's left of the Pro/1/2 peloton on lap 2

     I was now by myself, suffering in the sun with stomach misery. I stopped near the end of lap 2 when I saw Shannon on the side of the road. I told her how bad I felt and that I was going to be slow, but that I was going to finish. She went to wait at the car. The sun had fried her skin already. She looked like a little cherry tomato sitting on a bike. I started to feel better on lap 3, but my legs were toast. I gave what I had left, but it was a sad effort. I did feel good enough to enjoy the roads though. I loved how they flowed and the numerous wooded sections we went through. I also got to see the Masters tackle the first climb when they passed me, and the Cat. 3s take on the second climb. I even stopped to take a few pictures on the Snake Creek climb and descent.

View on the Snake Creek Rd. climb

Last rise on Snake Creek Rd.

Starting down the descent

Mud and holes

Wet and rough

Water flowing down the road as it entered the woods

    I wound up riding about 37 miles by myself. I was slow, but I made it! I never got caught by any of the riders dropped before me. I think they all quit. Many people thought I should have quit too, but I refused. I'm never going to get stronger by quitting every race. I needed the miles anyway. Today was a tough one though. It was one of those days when you have multiple thoughts about selling your bikes during the race. It definitely was a day in Hell for me. This course, while not even close to a European classic race with roughness, is now worthy of the "Hell of the South" name if for no other reason than the difficulty of the course. Those hills were tough! I liked it much better than the old course and look forward to going back next year.

     The good news on the day was that my gastroc did not hurt or get tight at all! It was totally fine. I took Shannon for a lap of the course in the car after the race. I just had to show her all the cool roads. That seemed like a good idea until we got stuck in traffic on the interstate. There were so many people on the road traveling that everything was congested. We creeped along for a while, then finally got off I-65 and took backroads home. Our drive should have been less than two hours, but wound up being close to four. We made it to the house super late and my legs felt even worse after sitting for that long. I stretched my hamstrings, propped up my legs while I watched the end of supercross and called it a night.

     I felt horrible getting out of bed on Sunday. My legs had not experienced a miraculous overnight recovery like I had hoped for. That was a good thing though, as I went into the crit. with absolutely no expectations. I was just going to give it everything I had and see what happened. I did a long, slow warm-up to ease my legs into the effort. That seemed to help because they felt pretty good by the time the race began. We had around 60 riders for the Pro/1/2/3 race on a loop that measured 1.5 miles long around Cedar Hill Park in Madison, TN. Last year, the pace of this race was ugly. Guys were popping on the first lap and I got caught behind gaps on a windy day, getting pulled after only 16 minutes of racing. I was expecting much of the same today even though the wind was minimal this year.

A group of Pro/1/2/3 Women on course

More women passing by the finish line

     The first four laps were fast with several attacks going off the front and a $100 prime up for grabs. I got a second-row start and stayed away from the riff-raff at the back of the group. People were dropped early, but I was well ahead of any gaps. My legs hurt, but I was in no danger of getting dropped. I stayed very attentive in the corners to ensure I came out with good momentum and didn't waste my legs sprinting back up to speed every turn. We average 26.4 mph for the first 10 minutes, then the pace dropped. It turned into a fairly easy race, in my opinion anyway. Several of my fellow racers did not agree. I was waiting for the big attacks, but they never came. There were a few small attacks, mostly solo, but nobody could stay ahead of the group on such a fast course. By halfway, everyone seemed to accept the fact that a bunch sprint was coming.

Pro/1/2/3 Men on the first lap

Me in the group in my white Maxxis skinsuit

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Me tucked into the line, staying near the front

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

I got in several pictures today, which is very rare for me.

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

A Texas Roadhouse rider tries for a break

Matt Meunier makes a solo break attempt

     There were some sketchy moves made in the group. I saw several front wheels get taken out, but everyone stayed upright in the main group. I was in the top 10 the last few laps, sitting second behind Josh Lewis with two laps to go as he did a lead-out for his Red Kite teammates. I found it funny that the two guys that struggled at the back in the previous day's road race were on the front at the end of today's crit. I liked being second wheel, but I was catching too much wind, so I slipped back to 10th again with just over a lap to go. That seemed to be the sweet spot in the group.

The most serious-looking break of the race didn't last long

     A surge came at the start of the final lap and there was some hesitation by the riders ahead of me. Our line got shuffled back a bit. I found myself outside the top 25 with half a lap to go. But the pace was high and the tired legs were showing on everyone. I followed the faster wheels and moved up in the group as we flew towards the finish line single-file. The finish is very fast here and it's easy to pull out too early. I stayed patient and fought my way through to the group of riders who were actually sprinting for positions. It took all I had to hold onto the back of the sprint, but I did manage to stay there and even pick off one rider before the line. I also lost a spot in the sprint, so I came out even, finishing 16th.

Group strung out in the closing laps

Late attack from a Treehouse rider

     That was a good finish on such tired legs. I am happy with that sprint too after how bad I did on the final lap at Anniston two weeks ago. According to Strava, I did the last 500 meters as fast as the winner. I know I'm fast enough to contend in these sprints, I just need to position myself better coming into the sprint. It's a work in progress. I hit 41.6 mph across the line! We wound up with a 25.7 mph average speed for 58 minutes of racing. The final lap was by far the fastest lap of the race, and by far the fastest lap I have ever ridden in the three races I have done here. The best news was no pain in the gastroc again today! I made it through back-to-back hard efforts without pain or tightness. That's another milestone on my road to full recovery. We have some video from the crit. posted below if you want to check it out. There's also another vantage point of the finish, along with a bike cam from the Pro/1/2/3 race shot by David Howe.

Cedar Hill Criterium video

Finish video by Daniel Robertson

Part 1 of 2 from David Howe's bike cam during the Pro/1/2/3 race

Part 2 of 2 from David Howe's bike cam during the Pro/1/2/3 race

     We have been working hard to get a jump-start on our garden this year. We have a bunch of little seedlings growing. We started them early in March. Most of them did well, but our peppers didn't sprout the first go-round so we had to replant a few weeks ago. The second time I planted them in big pots, 50 plants per pot, then split them out once they got bigger. We are trying planting in eggshells this year. They make nice little holders for your soil and, once planted in the ground, the shells break down and release calcium into the soil around the plant. They're also cheaper than buying seed trays or pots. It's a win-win for sure.

Transplanting peppers from the big pot

Eggs full of peppers

Tomatoes

     Dina built a greenhouse over the winter so I took advantage of that for the seedlings. The only bad thing I have seen from using the eggshells is that the plants need to be watered more frequently, especially when in the warmer greenhouse. We were having to keep them thoroughly watered twice a day when they were in there. All was good until the day of the Cedar Hill Crit. I didn't go over before church that morning and it got really hot outside. It got to over 130 degrees in there that day and 60 of my plants got toasted. Yeah, I have a lot of plants this year. Luckily, we had some extras so hopefully this won't hurt our plans too much.

Filling Dina's greenhouse. I made the shelves from lumber left over from one of my ramp projects.

     We are trying eggplants and artichokes for the first time this year. They seem to be finicky little plants. They don't like cold at all. Even the nights in the greenhouse were too cool. Many of them died after the initial sprouting where I had them in a small, homemade greenhouse I slapped together with a box, plastic wrap and some tape. I have sustained the remaining plants by making a bigger homemade greenhouse out of a Rubbermaid container. So far so good, but they sure have been a pain in my butt. I hope we get a good production out of the garden this year, because we sure have worked hard already! I was hoping to plant this week, but it has been raining for the past 10 days so I have not been able to work the ground yet. I have been working a lot, so I may not have had the time to work it anyway.

First homemade greenhouse

Phase 2: The "luxury" model

     The next races on the schedule are this coming weekend at the legendary Athens Twilight and the fun Historic Roswell Criterium. I am excited for Athens as we will be getting a new course this year due to some ongoing construction on the usual route. The morning qualifier will be on the downtown course so we won't have to race the Oconee River Greenway course that I despise so much. It's also going to be a Cat. 2/3 race for the qualifier which should also help me out. I just have to crack the top 45 in the morning race to qualify for the night Amateur Finals. That is the goal. I'm actually more focused on Roswell as I feel that course suits me better and can be more predictable in the final laps. We shall see. Thanks for reading!

Strung Out

     I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and blog about my first crit. of the year. It's starting that busy time of the year for me. Racing and training are now fully underway. The weather is warming up so that means time to prepare the garden and start yard work. And I've been working more than ever since going PRN. Got to earn those funds so I can race and we can get a house soon!

     The Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, AL is always one of my favorite races. It's the first big race of the season so that always adds to the excitement. It was even earlier on the calendar this year, falling in March rather than it's usual April date. The weather is a rollercoaster in March, even as far south as Alabama. The forecast was sketchy all week and changed daily. It was always looking like a cold day, but rain was initially predicted as well. I was on the fence about going until Friday. Then I suddenly got excited and was ready to go no matter what the weather. Race day rolled around and it was a clear sky that accompanied the cooler temperatures. March seemed to have forgotten that it was supposed to come in like a lion and out like a lamb. It was definitely going out like a lion today. The temp topped out at a 52 degrees, but only for a few minutes. Lucky for me, that was right at the start of my race. Then the clouds began to creep in and the temperature dropped before the end our race.

     I did the Cat. 2 race in the afternoon. That gave us time to drive down in the morning. We took I-65 to Birmingham this year, rather than the usual route of I-24 towards Chattanooga. The last two years have been traffic nightmares almost making me miss my start, so we chose a different route this year. With the exception of one gas stop where none of the gas pumps were working, it was an uneventful drive...just how we like it!

    I had a decent warm-up. Time seems to fly when you are getting ready. I ended up with less time on the trainer than I had hoped for before time to line up, but it was a sufficient warm-up. We had over 50 riders even on a chilly day. The start was fast and the pace never really let up much the whole race. Hincapie had several young development riders in the race and they were launching attacks from the very start. No break really materialized the first 15 minutes, then a pair of riders slipped up the road and began to build a gap. I stayed in the front half of the group. I was working hard, but in no danger of getting dropped. My fear was that I would get shelled out the back in this race with it being the first really intense effort of the year for me. The hill up the front stretch is always a hard sprint and doing that over and over will take it's toll on under-trained legs. I could tell straight away that, like at Chickasaw, my legs were a little off today. But I was hanging tough on the hill and not getting gapped out of the corners.

An early solo move

Me at the back of the main group. I stayed ahead of all the splits today...just barely a few times.

Pack on the backstretch

Another solo move that went nowhere

The first serious move of the race

Me on the inside

     The breakaway was ahead for several laps before a real chase began. The group chased for one lap before there was a single-rider crash in turn 4. It was one of the Hincapie riders that was 4th or 5th in line. We all checked-up and that split our group. It was a small gap to four riders, but nobody wanted to put in the work to close the gap. It began to grow and then riders began jumping across the gap, eventually growing the chase group to seven riders. Up front in the lead break, one rider attacked the other and set off solo. The dropped rider was caught by the chase group, making it eight chasing one.

Solo leader

Chase group

     Things got ugly after that. It was constant attacks from the main group to attempt to bridge to the chasers. At one point our group nearly caught the chase group of eight. At another point, the main group was split into three smaller groups and I found myself in the fourth group on course! I was hurting at halfway an my legs were fading. I started to get gapped out of turn 4 and up the hill. There were a few laps where I had to really turn myself inside-out to stay on the wheel ahead. There was no way I was attempting to bridge anything today.

     It was single-file suffering for the last 20 minutes. Finally, things came back together in the main group, but we never caught the leader or the chase group. The one rider stuck the break to the end for the solo win, while the eight riders scrapped for second. We were left to sprint for 10th. I found myself suddenly feeling good again with a lap to go and I went with a surge up the hill. I got stuck out into the wind out of turn 2 and that zapped my legs. We were going around the outside of a slower rider in turn 2 and I didn't clear him before the headwind hit. I wasn't in the wind long, but it took everything out of me. When the surge came from behind before turn 3, there was nothing I could do about it. I lost several spots going into the turn and got pushed wide. My legs were toast coming off turn 4 and I had little left to sprint with. I lost at least six spots before the line.

Me behind a Columbia Paralympic Team rider

photo by Dave Gill (http://davidgill.smugmug.com/Sunny-King-2015)

Suffering in the line during the closing laps

photo by Dave Gill (http://davidgill.smugmug.com/Sunny-King-2015)

     I finished 25th, which I was pleased with considering the off-season I have had and the speed of this race. We averaged 25.6 mph for the 45-minute race, which is the fastest average speed I have ever had at Anniston. That is scooting on a course this tough on a cold, windy day. My legs may not have felt great, but I was able to hit a HR of 195 early in the race and go above 190 five times. I have not done that in a long, long time. My calf was a little sore after the race. It wasn't painful, but it definitely felt abused. Deciding to only race once this weekend was a good idea. I didn't think I was ready for back-to-back races yet and the calf soreness was a sign that I was correct. It's getting better, but it's not 100% yet. I still have to respect the injury. Doing the 81-mile Ft. McClellan Road Race on Sunday would have been a mistake for sure. My GoPro handlebar cam highlight video is posted below. Another rider from Infinity Racing posted some bike cam footage from during the Cat. 2 race and I have reposted it below as well. I saw myself on his video a few times.

Highlights of my race

Infinity Racing video from the Cat. 2 race

     After the race, we made our way over to Dad's Bar-B-Que for our usual post-race dinner in Anniston. We watched a little basketball while we ate, then returned to the course for the Pro Women's race. It was getting cold now. There were still a lot of spectators present, but more and more were moving to their cars for warmth. All around the course there were cars pulled up as close to the barriers as possible. Shannon sat in the car while I soaked up the last rays of sunshine and then walked the course to watch a rather aggressive women's race. United Healthcare drove the pace the final few laps and blew the field to pieces. It was a small group that sprinted for the win with United Healthcare going 1-2 with Hannah Barnes and Coryn Rivera. Read more about the Pro Women's race here.

My view of the Women's race. My work was done for the day.

     It was down to 40 degrees by the time the Pro Men started. I was in and out of the car trying to stay warm. It was a tough race with the conditions, but that did not keep it from being aggressive. A break of seven riders lapped the field around halfway through the race. We left shortly after that with about 23 laps to go. I wanted to stay, but we had over four hours to drive home and it was already getting late. I had to wait until the livestream replay was posted before I could see the ending. It wound up being a bunch sprint, but Hincapie tried several times to get breaks going for Mac Brennan, who was one of the seven that lapped the field. United Healthcare pulled it all back, but it was not to be for them tonight. Hincapie sprinter Ty Magner slipped by Luke Keough to grab the win, a huge victory for both Magner and the team. Read more about the Pro Men's race here.

     Our race video is posted below and you can watch the livestream replay of all the races at Anniston here. The Masters 4/5 race was a good finish, which you can find at 1:29:00 into the video. The Masters 1/2/3 race featured a high-powered breakaway with a surprise sprint finish. That race starts at 1:41:30. At 3:11:57 see the final lap of the Cat. 4 race, which featured an interesting crash in Turn 1. The last lap of the Cat. 3 race is at 3:59:12. The Cat. 2 race starts at 4:11:45. The Pro Women start at 6:37:01. The Pro Men begin at 7:50:00, complete with a marriage proposal before the race.

Video highlights from the Sunny King Criterium

    The following week was full of training, the final week in my first block involving intensity. I was pretty worn out by the next weekend, more than ready to take a rest week and enjoy Easter. The calf felt fatigued several times during the week, but never became tight or painful. It is improving, but really annoying at the same time. I am ready to be done with this. I feel like I'm always holding back, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. At least it should keep me from getting overtrained. I have been exploring some new roads in our area. It takes a long ride for me to be able to ride something new. I have ridden every road within a two hour distance of the house in all directions. I'm finding new roads just over the border in Kentucky, like the ones I wrote about in the last post. I have actually ridden some of these roads before, when I was 5-8 years old. My Dad took me to that area for some of my very first rides. First in a trailer, then on a tandem and eventually on my own. I probably have not been through those roads since I was 8. One day I'll write a blog about how I first got into cycling. I actually started at a much earlier age than most people know and had some great family experiences with it.

     Shannon and I tore up some of the roads the day before Easter to end my training block. I hammered about 70 miles while she rode the scooter, pacing me for a lot of the ride. It was a fun workout and felt more like a road race than if I had been out there alone. Though I think some of the roads scared Shannon. The small wheels on the scooter don't handle the curves and bumps very well, but she is becoming a scooter master. At least I know she enjoyed seeing some of the greenery that is popping up with the warmer weather.

A nice, green view on our ride

     Racing continued for me this past weekend with the Hell of the South Road Race and the Cedar Hill Criterium. More from those coming soon. Thanks for reading!