May has been a ho-hum kind of month for me. I've been productive, but unfortunately, most of the production has not been on my bike. In the last blog, I described my streak of dehydration from long days of trail work on the first hot days of the year. It seems the body is slow to adjust to the first really hot days. I feel that every year, usually in June but it has become hot much earlier this year. After suffering for about four days, I felt my body become more efficient and suddenly all the work was not so tiring. I usually don't have too much in the way of allergies, but all the trimming on the trail and mowing of the yard messed up my sinuses. I fought it off for a few days, but eventually the nighttime drainage turned into an upper respiratory infection. I got it under control quickly, but the effects lasted almost two weeks with a lot of coughing and difficulty breathing. I sounded like a had black lung. That made riding difficult. I've been able to do some rides, but they have been maintenance rides. I was already feeling like I was losing focus with my training plan near the end of April. It's been much worse in May. I dropped two pounds over the past two weeks and seem to have actually improved my endurance, so I guess it was not a complete waste of a month.
I did get out to the Bells Bend Time Trial #2 in Nashville last Wednesday night. I decided to ride the Merckx class this year. I want to improve my time trialing, but I don't plan to do any time trials this year, so I opted to go without aero bars to prepare for improving my TT power for getting into breakaways. For those of you not familiar with the history of cycling, the class is referred to as "Merckx" because the legendary rider Eddy Merckx set the world hour record on the track before aero equipment was invented. He set it on a simple road bike with drop bars. His record stood until technology allowed for new positions that were far more aerodynamic than the standard road position. For a while, the new records were accepted. Then they were thrown out by the UCI after the UCI deemed the records must be broken by someone riding a bike like Merckx rode. That rule lasted for a long time before it was finally dropped last year. The most recent rule change has made the hour record much more popular again and has boosted time trialing popularity in general. So, the Bells Bend Series features an Open class, where all aero equipment is legal, and a Merckx class, where only a standard road bike with no aero bars can be used.
I had rough legs that night. The 12-mile course beat me up. I had no legs in warm-up and not much more in the race. I could spin a good speed on the downhills and flat areas, but the climbs killed me. The legs pumped up and got so tight they felt like they would burst. And I was coughing like a smoker. All I could do was watch as Jason Chatham blew my doors off at mile 4 after starting 30 seconds behind me. I still caught and passed my 30-second man and managed to get into a good rhythm despite the lack of legs. I was thinking a good time would be 32:00 without aero bars and I finished with a 31:30, just 40 seconds off my time from the first race I did last year. Not bad for feeling bad. I finished 7th in Merckx.
The highlight of the night was the starter arguing with me on the start line that my last name was Green, then making me back up two inches just five seconds before my start because I was "up to the line." Not over the line, but up to it. The race is still fun, but it is way more serious than last year. Almost everyone has a TT bike now. I remember when it was weird to see a TT bike. Now it's weird to not have one. It's just like the cyclocross evolution a few years ago. When I first started racing, nobody had a cross bike. Now, nobody races on a mountain bike. I like seeing the sport grow, but it is amazing at how much money people spend on bikes. I mean, do you really need a $6,000 TT bike for the two Cat. 4 TTs you do each year? There are more triathletes participating in the series this year and they are not as friendly as bike racers. There's much less chatter going on before the race now. It makes for some awkward "Hellos," that are followed by silence.
Last weekend, I planned a big mountain bike weekend. I had intended on doing the Little River Bicycle Tour in Hopkinsville, KY, but it got canceled this year due to lack of volunteers. I picked the worst weather weekend of the Spring to hit the trails. It rained Saturday morning, but Shannon, my Mom and I decided to ride anyway. We all worked too hard on the trail not to ride it. We have blown off the leaves, trimmed the weeds and blown most of it off again to clear the trimming debris. About two miles of the trail were PERFECT! That part may have been in better condition than I have ever seen the trail be in. We rode in the mud and had a good time. I felt terrible again. My legs from my new level of fitness I hit at Roswell and Sevier Park are long gone now. I tried to do an XC effort, but wound up in survival mode about 1/3 of the way through. It didn't help that I was looking around for Shannon and hit a tree about 20 minutes in. That's what I get for trying to lap her. I pushed through the bad feelings and at least got in some good miles even if it was at a much lower intensity than I had hoped for. The trail really benefited from the wet laps. Our trail never gets sloppy, just slick on top. It doesn't rut at all unless there is some freeze-thaw. The trail packs more as it dries and it got drier all afternoon as we rode. We logged some serious laps and really wore in the main line.
Sunday, I tried again to log more laps, but the weather was against me yet again. It rained around lunch, so I waited for the afternoon to hit the trail. I got in one wet lap before a big storm rolled in. I tried to wait it out, but after 30 minutes of torrential downpour, lightning and strong winds, I called it a day. I could hear trees breaking in the wind as I waited. There was no way I was going back in there with tree tops snapping.
I finished most of the trimming this week. There are four trees down from that storm that I still need to cut out. My sidekick has been hanging out with me most days. Snoop is getting older and is not excited about going on the trail every day, especially if it's hot. But she does still have those days where she is with me every step of the way all day long.
Snoop
It has rained a lot lately, causing me to miss a few rides, including this Wednesday's second race of the Music City Crits Series. I'm now 0-2 with making these races. The races were held this week despite the rain, but I chose not to go. I still don't feel 100% from the respiratory infection and did not want to race in the rain. I don't mind a wet course, but the heavy rain really works on your bike. It did not seem worth it to stress all my bearings that much when I did not even feel like racing. It poured the whole Pro/1/2/3 race and the course had to be modified, so I think I made a good decision.
My other area of production for May continues to be the garden. We have had our fair share of problems this year with seedlings. The ones that survived all the other afflictions and made it into the ground had to contend with a bunch of birds that broke off many of my pepper plants. I wound up having to replant many of them and even go by some plants from the local greenhouse in Pleasant View. The bugs have already been out in force. Usually, I don't have to fight potato bugs and caterpillars until June, but they have been snacking on my plants for two weeks now. Some days all the troubles start to get to me and make me want to scrap the garden, but then I get some reward for my work. So far this year, we have harvested carrots and spinach once, kale twice and are currently getting a steady stream of sugar snap peas, spinach and three different kinds of lettuce.
More irises than last year. Last year,w e only had purple and white flowers. This year, some yellows bloomed too.
Spinach and Romaine lettuce
A row of kale with cucumbers growing around it
Peas
Strawberries
Green beans
Broccoli and cauliflower
I'm finally getting caught up on my blogs. I think the Roswell and Sevier Park blogs might have been the most detailed blogs I have ever published with all the additional pictures and videos I accumulated. I'm still working on my handlebar cam video from Sunny King, but it will be completed soon. I've added some stuff to both the Sunny King and Cedar Hill Crit. blogs so go check them out if you want to see more. Thanks for reading!
The week after Roswell was a fun one. I pretended I was at Speed Week, doing practice crit. races at home on Tuesday and Wednesday. I was curious how well I could recover from racing several times in one week. And also I did them out of frustration that I was not in the Charleston area at Speed Week. I found two good loops in neighborhoods near the house and treated them just like a race. I did my warm-up on the trainer, took a few sighting laps, then went as hard as I could for 45 minutes. While I could not simulate drafting in a pack, I did my best to add in accelerations out of turns and do attacks like what I would see in a real race. I had awesome legs both days and really was able to go harder than I have been able to go in training at any point this season. It feels like I really broke through a barrier at Athens and Roswell. The Wednesday course was super fun with some tight corners that you could see around, allowing you to actually push through them at race-pace. I had a lot of fun and got in two great workouts.
Thursday was tougher as I spent the entire day planting our garden. I tilled up all of our plots, leveled the dirt, transferred our seedlings and planted all of our other seeds. Shannon helped me for a few hours, but mostly it was me out there slaving away for about 14 hours to get it all done. We were also doing a family fast that day, which made things even more interesting. I was weak and tired by the end of the day to say the least.
With that kind of week, I was not expecting much of myself come Saturday at the Sevier Park Criterium in Nashville. It was to be the end of my "home Speed Week." I was expecting it to be a small race and a boring course. I was wrong yet again with all of my expectations. There were quite a few riders there and the course was really fast and fun. The crowd was big too, with a festival going on just off Turn 2 and concerts blasting music inside the course loop. And I felt awesome! I could tell in warm-up that I had good legs and I put in a really aggressive race, maybe the most aggressive race I have ridden since becoming a Cat. 2. I had a little extra motivation after catching some slack for my performance in the Pro race at Roswell. I thought I did great for my second race of the day, but Shannon was the only person I have encountered that seemed to think that was a decent performance.
The course was square with four right turns. The start/finish was on a climb that was nothing major, but did get steeper as you got near the top. The climb stopped right at Turn 1, then there was a slight downhill and another slight rise to Turn 2. This turn was about 100 degrees and blind as you went over a rise. Luckily, it was wide enough to take at full speed despite the angle. This was also where the crowd was and the main course crossing . Of course, most of the spectators were there for the festival and not really paying attention to the race. Combine that with the fact that the police would not allow us to have a lead motorcycle "for safety reasons" and you had a sketchy part of the course. The course then descended down the backside to Turn 3, which was a gradual turn and plenty wide. Then it was flat to Turn 4 for more excitement. Turn 4 was 90 degrees and narrow on the exit. The good thing was that there was grass on the outside of the turn so if you overcooked it you had a chance to save it before hitting a mailbox or one of the many crape myrtles lining the course. Shortly after the last turn you started the climb again up to the finish line. There was a little construction going on after Turn 4 with orange fencing on the inside of the course that made some riders nervous, but it was never a problem that I saw.
Sevier Park Criterium course map
We had around 40 riders for the Pro/1/2/3 race. It was a real quality field of riders from all over Tennessee and a few from Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Arkansas, and even one from New York also in attendance. The race had a top-heavy payout with a first-place prize of $500 and then minimal payout for the rest of the top 5. Beyond top 5 got nothing. That seems to be the trend here in Nashville. I don't really care for it because it's hard to get into a money spot in these competitive races. But it does add some excitement to the end of a race where everyone is pretty even. There's less chance of everyone waiting for the sprint when there's such a difference between first and second place prizes. The guys that can't sprint as well will take their chances with an earlier attack.
The race was very fast and aggressive from the start. We had a prime on the opening lap that I wanted, but David Carpenter was too quick and jumped off the front before Turn 1 and I could not catch him. My legs were too pumped up from sitting on the start line for so long. The prime was free entry for all four days at Gateway Cup. That would have helped me out tremendously in my budget!
Me behind Tim Hall on the finish straightaway
Just after Turn 4
Jeremy Nagoshiner and I coming off Turn 4
A shot from my handlebar cam as I got forced over the curb and onto the sidewalk in Turn 1
Me sprinting. This pic is a still taken from another rider's handlebar cam. His video is posted further below.
Video: Pro/1/2/3 group going through Turn 3
video by Eddie Clemons
The attacks came often and I was a part of most of them. We were flying through the turns the first few laps. If we did not make any new bike fans out of the crowd in Turn 2, then there is no hope. We were cranking it through that part of the course. The speed and aggression felt like a real Pro race, not just a small TBRA race. Turn 4 was crazy fast. I got into the grass a few times coming off the turn, but it was smooth grass. I never caught a tree or got close to delivering someone's mail. I was very active in the breaks in the first 30 minutes. I thought I had used up all my bullets in the first half of the race, but my legs held out and I could keep making the accelerations. I mostly followed other moves and bridged gaps, getting into no less than four breakaways during the race. None of them lasted more than a lap or two as the group was not giving much rope to groups. Though they did let a few solo riders up the road. Andy Reardon got a big gap at one point halfway through the race, but then the group pulled him back.
In the grass and dirt coming off Turn 4
Video: Catching some grass coming out of Turn 4, followed by an immediate attack
Banging handlebars with Jason Chatham (left) and another rider
Andy Reardon off the front solo
Chasing Andy
Turn 2
Buzzing the hay bales in Turn 4
Me on the inside of Turn 2
At 40 minutes, I decided the group was not going to let anyone go. We were holding a 26.4 mph average speed. Everyone looked tired, but the attacks kept coming. The responses were getting later and later to each attack. I was thoroughly enjoying Turn 4. I had that turn dialed by the last few laps. It was nice going through there single-file as you could use the entire road on the exit of the turn. I thought I saw an opportunity to get away and countered a move with five laps to go. It was the first time in a long time I went off the front on my own, not chasing someone else. I attacked up the hill to Turn 1. That turn had been my weakest point the whole race as we kept going through it slow and forcing me to accelerate out of it. I carried my speed up the hill and through the turn, getting a nice gap on the field. Tim Hall chased after me and joined me in Turn 2. We worked together, but the group did not give us much of a gap and caught us in one lap. Bryan Bloebaum got a nice picture of my attack up the hill, which is posted below. He takes great pictures.
Two more riders get a gap
More attacks
Bridging a gap to a breakaway of six
Josh Lewis on the front as the break of six he was leading gets caught. I was in the break too.
Tanner Hurst timed it right with a late attack around two laps to go. I had to drift back after my attack to try to recover for the sprint. I was outside the top 15 for the first time all race. The last lap was fast chasing after Tanner and battling for positions before the sprint. I was at least 20 back as we crossed the line to start the bell lap. I charged up the hill and around the outside of Turn 1 to pick up a few spots, but I was still way too far back going into Turn 2. There was a crash near the front that took down two riders, but I slid right under it. The crash disrupted the chase and allowed Tanner to just hang on for the win ahead of a fast-closing pack. I was only able to pick up one spot through Turn 3, then lost a spot before Turn 4. In the sprint, I held my position despite a hard charge from Matt Baxter on my left. He was ahead of me at one point, but I had just enough left to pip him on the line for 11th. It was a good finish for me, my best placing of the year and definitely my best sprint. We ended up with a 26.5 mph average speed for the full hour of racing. I still want to know how I will do in a long-term break. After the big effort of bridging the gap I want to see how long it takes me to get comfortable again in the rotation. We always get caught before I get a chance to settle in! I maxed my heart rate out at 185 today during one of the breaks. I still think I need to be able to hit 190 to be able to win one of these things. I'm getting closer to that number.
Crash to my left on the final lap
Sprinting Matt Baxter for 11th. He had me at this point, but I pipped him on the line.
Tanner Hurst snagged the win. This shot was taken just a few feet beyond the finish line and he is no longer in front. It was close!
Video: My full race from the GoPro. Couldn't pick out the highlights of this one. The whole thing was great. Some of the bigger moments are marked in the description section on the YouTube page.
First 40 minutes from someone else's point of view during the Pro/1/2/3 race, complete with stats on speed, power and heart rate. I'm unsure who the rider was that filmed this. I saw myself in there several times. It was cool to see the speed stats and understand why the hill hurt so much some laps. YouTube video page is here.
It was a good day all around. I feel like I could have finished better if I had positioned myself better, but I cannot complain about this race. Being able to go in so many moves and be so active at the front is a HUGE improvement for me. I am very pleased with this new level I have seemed to reach over the past week. It's a new level of fitness for me. A new level...of confidence...and power! (Had to get the Pantera reference in there!) If nothing else it has really helped my confidence. I never felt my gastroc at all in this race. No pain. No tightness. No fatigue. I have had no sensations in it at all for over a week now. I'm hoping it's finally gone.
Shannon and I put in a nice Sunday afternoon spin the day after the Sevier Park race, taking our time to enjoy some of the sights of our area. We stopped by a little horse and mule farm for a few pictures.
Shannon loved this shaggy little mule
This was one scruffy horse. He had the thickest and longest tail I have ever seen on a horse.
The next day, I did a long exploration ride on the north side of Springfield and into southern Kentucky. It was one of those rides where I just got carried away with new roads and wound up meeting the man with the hammer. He wailed on me a bit as I ran out of both food and water before I got home after five hours of riding and over 88 miles. I had planned on a max of four hours. Oh well, I rode some really cool roads and I needed the miles anyway.
One of my favorite roads near Cedar Hill, TN. Twisty and fast through the woods with the option of a little dirt.
Twisty farm roads through fields of green in Kentucky
I followed that long ride up with two days of packing a blower around our backyard trail to get it cleaned up and ready for some mountain bike action. I was badly dehydrated and fighting allergies on Wednesday afternoon. I felt like crap and was forced to forgo the opening race of the Music City Crits Series in Nashville at the Fairgrounds Speedway. I really wanted to do it, but it would not have been a good idea in the long run. I will have to wait for Race #2 on May 20 to start my Wednesday-night season. My next planned race is the Bells Bend Time Trial Series Race #2. My focus right now is getting the trail cleaned and getting my butt on my mountain bike for some good dirt training. BUMP N' Grind is at the end of the month and I want to be at least halfway prepared for it. I have my eye on the Super D and Air Downhill races, in addition to the overall Omnium. I want revenge for last year's Downhill loss by 0.7 seconds. I have not ridden my mountain bike since Chickasaw, so I need to get going!
With the Athens race course being set up all day there were less things to get the schedule running behind. The races started on time this year and we actually got to the hotel at a decent hour, meaning I got plenty of sleep for Roswell.
It was a beautiful day in Georgia. It was sunny with the temperature hovering around 80 degrees and a slight breeze blowing. It was perfect for bike racing! We found a new place to park this year, which turned out to be much more convenient for me as a rider and also for Shannon walking to the course. It even had some shade for me to sit in while I rode the trainer. I felt good again in my warm-up and was very motivated for this race. While I know I am not in top shape just yet, I felt that I could have a good race on this course and be competitive. I also knew I had good legs the day before at Athens and, by missing the Finals, I saved some energy that others did not.
I started about 2/3 of the way back in the group of over 80 Cat. 2/3 riders. We were scheduled for 60 minutes of racing on the fast five-turn course. The course has long front and back stretches, with a slight climb on the backstretch and also coming out of Turn 5 towards the finish line. Turn 5 tends to be the toughest corner as it is a little sharper than 90 degrees, is slightly off-camber and has a few brick crosswalks in the middle of it. That's where most of the action happens here. One of the toughest things as a rider is judging the sprint here. It is a really long way from Turn 5 to the finish line. It seems like you are never going to get there!
Historic Roswell Criterium course map
Me over on the left during staging. picture comes from a rider's seatpost camera. See the video here.
Our start was fast, but I was more prepared today. I was up to the front in about three laps despite getting caught behind a small crash in Turn 5. Then I found myself on the front. There were three riders up the road at this point. I did not want to pull so I tried to move over, but nobody would come by. I remembered what my good friend Jim Sharp always told me when I was a Junior: "Attack or get off the front!" So I attacked. It seemed like a suicide move considering how much I have struggled in these big races in recent years, but I had some legs today. One rider jumped on my wheel and I drug him all the way up to the three leaders. I actually bridged a gap and was in a break! We made it less than a lap before the group reeled us back in, but still I was very excited to have been able to get there. Shannon even caught my attack on video, which you can see further below.
Me on the outside of Turn 1 on the first lap. Picture comes from a rider's handlebar cam video, which is posted further below.
Same rider following me on lap 1.
Me in the line during the Cat. 2/3 race at Roswell
My heart was about to blow out of my chest, so I drifted back in the group to find some shelter. I stayed top 30, never drifting back too far so I wouldn't get caught in the gaps. The pace stayed very high the whole race. We had a 26.8 mph average speed for the first half of the race. I was really enjoying the speed, especially through the sweeping second and third turns. They were so fun to take at 30+ mph! I moved up to the top 15 for the middle part of the race after nearly getting caught up in a crash in Turn 5, which you can see on my handlebar cam highlight video posted further below. During the middle half of the race, I just tried to be patient and watch things develop. Several breaks of two or three went up the road, but nothing lasted more than a lap.
Two riders are given a little daylight
Another shot of me from the seatpost cam video posted here.
Me getting a drink in the group
I was right at the front as we started the final eight laps. Hot Tubes were constantly attacking, sending one rider up the road at a time, then counter-attacking when that rider was caught. They had a rider off the front with another guy at four laps to go. I got a run up the hill and tried to move up. Again, I did too good of a job at moving up and found myself on the front with a head of steam. I did a seated acceleration to keep my momentum going. It was not a real attack, but Hot Tubes were all over me anyway. It was clear they were not letting any moves go without them being a part of it.
I was on the front for half a lap, then drifted back to save my legs for the sprint. We caught the two riders off the front and immediately another Hot Tubes rider went off the front. This time it was Johnny Brown, who is a serious threat to stick any break. He had help from another rider for a lap, then dropped his companion and went solo for the win. I couldn't imagine he would stick it because the group was just going too fast. But then at two to go, everything slowed slightly. We bunched up tightly and I was shuffled back just by being in the wrong line. Johnny got a nice gap and it was too much for us to overcome with one lap left.
Me on the inside in Turn 5 from a rider's handlebar cam.
He was behind me as I sprinted off Turn 5. Great perspective that I never get to see. Watch his video further below.
The final lap was slow through Turns 1, 2 and 3. I moved up some before Turn 1, but in hindsight, I should have gone all the way up. I had the legs to sit on the front if I had to. I wound up getting blocked in for most of the hill on the backside of the course. I found a hole up the left near the top of the hill where the road widened for a driveway. I squeaked past a few riders, then had to take to the dirt momentarily before I got back in line. The big surge was coming at the front just as I was trying to move up. I did not have the legs to overcome the sudden increase in speed. I had to drop in line before getting all the way to the front. Just as I did, the guy in front of me got his front wheel taken out. He managed to save it, but our line had to check up and we gave up about 15 spots before Turn 4. I knew I was out of the sprint now. It took all I had to get back up to speed after hitting the brakes.
Finding some dirt on the last lap
I kept it safe through the last two corners and then gave what little I had left to the line. I did not have enough legs at that moment to put in a real sprint. I dodged a crash just before the finish line and ended up 43rd. That was not the result I had hoped for, especially considering how strong I had ridden the whole race. Still, I cannot complain about my efforts today. That was one of my better Cat. 2 races ever. Like yesterday at Athens, I felt like I pushed myself and dug way deeper than I have been able to push so far this season. It's like suddenly I can bury my legs more than before. I could feel my left gastroc a little in the final laps, but it felt good, like it was working.
Crash just before the finish
There are several videos posted below. The first is Shannon's filming, then comes highlights from my handlebar cam, then see another rider's perspective from his handlebar cam with lots of me in front of him.
Video: Cat. 2/3 Men's race
Video: Highlights from my handlebar cam during the Cat. 2/3 race
Another rider's camera during the first 41 minutes of the Cat. 2/3 race. I am in front of him often, probably the most video time I have ever seen of myself. I found myself at 0:29, 11:51, 14:22, 19:05, 19:43, 30:47, 32:50, 33:38, 34:37, 35:22, and 37:08. Some of those clips of me are quite long, nearly a full lap at times. It's cool to actually get to see myself ride. The video is also available here.
After the race, I just didn't feel like taking my skinsuit off. I had the need for speed! I wanted to race more. I decided to sign up for the Pro/1/2 race and get me some of the big boys. The people I work with have been asking me all week what I was doing for my birthday, which was the day after Roswell. I am not much for doing anything special. It's just another day to me. But this year I decided this race would be my "present." I would gift myself more suffering!
I had several hours between races. That gave me time to rest and go eat some ice cream at the Sweet! Roswell shop along the course. I was probably the only Pro rider that had a big ice cream cone before the start. I enjoyed listening to two little girls at the ice cream shop, obviously from out of town, talk about Roswell being "where the alien abductions happen." Wrong Roswell, but funny!
The Pro race was scheduled for 90 minutes. I was hoping to make at least 20 minutes before getting popped. I thought that would be good considering I had already done one race today. We ended up with a 26.6 mph average speed in the Cat. 2/3 race. I expected to see around a 27.2 mph average speed for the Pro race. I was wrong! It was blazing fast from the beginning and I was at the back. I did my best to move up, but the group was always crumbling from the pace. No matter how many I passed, I always seemed to be just a few riders from the end of the line.
Pro Men staging
I sat in the shade during staging. I knew I was going to start in the back so why not be cool while waiting.
We came down the front stretch a few times at 36 mph and were averaging over 28 mph. The pace did not back off for more than one straightaway at a time. We would slow down for a few seconds, then somebody would attack and the group would string out again. If the aggression of the riders was not enough to keep it fast, we were being primed about every other lap. It's prime mania at the USA Crits races. You can count on it. The bunching in the corners is what hurt me most. We would slow to 23 mph in Turn 5, then sprint back up to 36 mph and hold it almost all the way to Turn 1, which is a long way!
I was relieved to get to 20 minutes, but then the pace got faster again and the relief turned to agony and concentration. I could see a rider ahead struggling and knew I needed to get around him because he was about to let a gap open. I passed him, but somehow he ended up in front of me again on the backstretch. I tried to pass him in Turn 5 as he looked blown, but he had the inside and he beat me through the turn. And sure enough, he let a gap open up. I went by him and tried to close it immediately. I had some legs left, but I was losing ground to the group. I was cranking 34 mph, but I was out of the draft and they were gone. I chased all-out for two laps to get the best workout I could before they pulled me. The officials pulled me after 27 minutes with completely spent legs. Again, I was pumped. I made it longer than I expected and was able to really dig deep yet again. It was a great end to a fun weekend of fast racing. We had a 28.0 mph average speed when I came off the back and the group never let up for the final hour.
Pro Men string out on the front stretch
Me doing my best to hang on near the back of the Pro group. I was always this close, or closer, to the back no matter how much I moved up.
My handlebar cam video from the Pro race is posted below in its entirety. You can also watch the live broadcast of the races here. Skip to about 1:01:10 into the first video to see the actual start of the coverage of the Pro Women. Pro Men start at about 7:00 into the second video posted lower down the page. You can also see the moment I get gapped at 28:45. The Men's coverage spills over into a third video even lower on the page for the final 10 laps. Read the race report from CyclingNews here.
Video: My full race during the Pro Men's race from my handlebar cam
The Pro race made me laugh a little, thinking back to a local group ride I did a few weeks ago. The riders in the Clarksville area continue to label me as the "wanna be," so they feel the need to give me advice on racing and training every time I ride with them. The latest advice was to only do one race per year because "that is all that you can truly prepare for." This is the Lance-effect. America now believes that you can only do one race per year (the Tour de France) because that's all Lance Armstrong did. Actually, he did more races than that, but America only cares about the Tour so that's all they thought he did. With the Tour being three weeks long, it is reasonable to think that you could only be on top form for that one race considering its length. I do 60-75 minute criteriums most of the time. I am NOT preparing for only one one-hour race per year. That's ridiculous...and not fun! I do so many races because I love racing them. I told the guys I would be doing quite a few races with several as target races. They were appalled. Their solution for my awful schedule was to "sandbag" all the races except for the one I considered most important. Ha ha ha! That shows how little they know about Pro races. There is no sandbagging at 36 mph. At least not for me! Oh, and they said I should stick to my strengths, which is mountain biking, and just hang up this road racing thing. I don't think so! I'm not about to back down from this fight just yet...
Like I said above, my birthday was the day after Roswell. It was a mixed day. I was off work, which was nice, but I managed to run over two of my seed trays with the car because I was not paying attention. My poor plants have not only had to survive the intense heat of the greenhouse, but also me! Apparently, it was redneck day as well. Every car that passed me during my ride was a freak yelling, honking and trying to run me off the road, which hasn't happened to me around here in quite a while.
Later that evening, Dina and my Mom planned dinner and birthday cake for me. My Grandparents were there when we arrived and I was shocked. They had not attended any kind of function for me in at least 10 years, with the exception of my wedding. We all went inside and then Grandma asks "What's the cake for?" Turns out they had just stopped by and had no idea it was my birthday. Grandson was not so special after all! If nothing else, it gave us all a good laugh after they left. She also asked me how I stayed so skinny and was surprised to hear I still rode bikes. It's amazing how out of touch family can be sometimes.
I'm going to keep pushing myself during the next week just to see what I can handle. I would love to be racing Speed Week, but I can't justify spending that much money right now. Though we might would have gone had I known there would be Cat. 2/3 races all week long. Last year, there were only Pro races held at the Tuesday and Wednesday night events. Now those venues are hosting a full schedule of races. They are going to Charleston, SC this year, which is a city Shannon and I both have always wanted to visit. Also, Spartanburg is on the schedule again for Friday. I love that place. It's my favorite course and just a good atmosphere surrounding the race. Maybe next year...
The next race for me is May 2 at the Sevier Park Criterium in Nashville. More from that race in the next blog.
