A New Level

     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.

On the hill

photo by Bryan Bloebaum Photography

Climbing the hill in the bunch

My attack at five laps to go

photo by Bryan Bloebaum Photgraphy

Following Tim Hall in our short breakaway

     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!

Photo by Bryan Bloebaum Photography

Video: Pro/1/2/3 Men at the Sevier Park Crit.

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!