Things got weird when I tried to get my kit at one of the Music City Crits races. It should have been a sign something was up when I texted the team leader, Lee, and he didn't know who it was. I guess my number wasn't in his phone anymore. Lee agreed to bring my kit to the race. I couldn't find anyone before I changed, so I suited up in my Maxxis kit and did my warm-up. Less than 10 minutes from the start, I finally see the team gathered on the outside of the track. I found Lee and asked him about the kit. He told me he would only give it to me if I would wear it in the race tonight. I thought he was kidding. Eight minutes is obviously not enough time to change clothes and re-pin two numbers. I laughed, but he didn't. I told him that I didn't have time to change and he said I couldn't have my clothes until after the race then. He said he would leave them on my car.
I did the race and went to the car immediately after to get my new kit. It wasn't there. A few days later I got removed from the team group text list. The team uses a group text to organize rides and communicate about races. I have been a part of that list since January, even though I can't group text with my flip phone. I have to text people one-by-one to participate. It was annoying on my end, but I made it work. There had been mentions on the group texts for a few months of a person on the team that was using another bike shop and needed to confess their disloyalty to the team. I didn't know who they were talking about until a few guys grumbled after the race. I finally realized it was me that was considered the disloyal one. The leaders of the team, Lee and Neil, never spoke to me about it, but a few of the riders on the team let me know what it takes to be a good team member. It was things that I wasn't told before joining and most were e things I was not currently doing, nor do I have plans to do.
They said I should only use Riverside Bicycles for my shop needs. Understandable, but sometimes they didn't have what I needed. Apparently, I upset everyone because I went to MOAB when I broke spokes at Macon and Chickasaw back in March. I went there because MOAB has the incredibly long spokes my Roval wheels use. Riverside didn't have them and I couldn't afford to wait for them to order spokes because I had to race again the next weekend. Seems logical to me as to why I did it. Someone also said I should only ride bikes the shop sells. They are freaking crazy if they think I can buy all new bikes. I race three disciplines and expecting someone to buy three new bikes is unrealistic. I did try to buy a Giant cross bike when we found out Redline would not warranty my broken frame. I made contact with Neil several times about ordering the bike. While he always sounded interested in helping me, he never actually did. He promised to get back to me several times about the price, but never did. After over a month of waiting on him, I gave up. Add that to the six weeks it took them to call Redline after I took my bike into the shop and you can see we have a pattern of not following through on things. I tried to work with the shop, but after three months I lost faith in them coming through for me.
Team members were also upset that I didn't attend team rides frequently. They often ride before I get off work and on the other side of town from which I work on. Apparently, the local Tuesday and Thursday night rides are considered team rides and we are expected to support those rides. I have stopped going to both rides because people on those rides act like idiots. Some nights it was my own teammates that were riding recklessly. I won't support a ride like that no matter who is there. It surprises me that our team would even attend those rides as the local club seems to always be at odds with the Riverside team guys. I have seen them almost fight after the ride several times because one side thought the other pulled too fast.
The last thing I heard about was how I wasn't racing enough, especially locally. I was brought onto the team to do regional and national races, which I have done through the SERC, GSC and DINO series and with my trip to the Pro XCT in Utah. I've made it to every local race I could get to. At that point in the year I had raced 23 times so I'm not sure what they are talking about with me not racing.
Our problems all stem from a lack of communication. The leaders didn't tell the others about the sponsor help, the crit race or what I was supposed to do on the team. They didn't inform me on the sponsor situation (or lack of a sponsor) or keep up with the races I was doing. And nobody seemed interested in trying to straighten things out. I can't even get anyone to have a discussion with me. I would think holding a person's kit and cutting them off from team communications would mean that the person is off the team, but nobody officially told me I was off. At the end of June, I made the decision to remove myself from the team if I was even still a part of it. That seemed like the best way forward with everything that had been going on. Things weren't working out and I felt it was time to part ways. I don't think they were bad guys, just not communicating well to team members and creating situations that promoted tension in the team and took away from bike racing.
One of the main reasons for me going to Utah for the Pro XCT was that I thought I would be reimbursed for some of my expenses. It cost us a lot to go out there and I am a bit irritated that I had to eat all the costs in the end. That race cost me more than all the other races so far this season combined. Empty promises are no good. I will go back to focusing all my efforts on those that have supported me without wavering and always uphold their end of the bargain, Maxxis and First Endurance. I hope this explanation will shed some light as to why I am no longer a part of the Riverside team and so everyone will see that I didn't just jump ship in the middle of the year. I really wanted to be a part of a team and tried hard to be there for my teammates, but it just didn't work out.
The Wednesday after the DINO in Terre Haute was Race #7 of the Music City Crits Series. I was a bit fired up with all this team stuff going on and I wanted to work on my starts to prepare for mountain bike nationals which were now just over three weeks away. I went really hard right from the start. I expected a few riders to go with me, but nobody did. I couldn't believe it when I looked back on the backstretch and there was nobody in sight. They let me have about 20 seconds on the first lap. I was so far ahead that people watching the race thought I was some random guy out riding the course.
I realized that I would be out there for several laps so I quickly tried to settle into a sustainable pace. After four laps the chase was on and a group of four bridged across to me. I had enough in the legs to get on the back then begin working. We worked together well for a few laps until more riders bridged across. Then attacks began going off the front and I did not have the snap to follow the accelerations. I got gapped once and got back on. We started with about a dozen riders, but the attacks split five different riders off the front. I found myself between groups and couldn't get to the group ahead. I chased until I blew up. I was alone now in the gap about half a lap ahead of the main group, which gave me a few laps to rest before they caught up.
The group was going slower than I wanted so I did some longer pulls and followed the few moves that went off the front once the break of five lapped us. This was my last workout in this block of my training so I gave all I had. There wasn't much left in the legs for the sprint, but I did go hard and ended up 15th on the night. The result wasn't anything to brag about, but I was super happy with being able to go so hard off the line, settle into a solo pace and then join the first group that caught me. That's progress toward finally making a winning break.
My Mom got a lot of video from the evening of racing. You can almost watch the entire Pro/1/2/3 race develop. Watch it below.
Video: MC Crits #7
Dina also took on her first crit ever at this round of MC Crits. She did the Women's race and ended up 16th. I don't think she was ready for the 180-degree corners, the hard efforts coming out of those corners and drafting with a group. She has never ridden with more than a bout four other people at one time and definitely has not bombed any 180-degree corners on pavement. She learned a lot for sure and left with a smile on her face, saying she will be back for more very soon.
Women on the track
Dina in her first ever crit.
Found a wheel
photo courtesy of Eric Renshaw
I began a rest week after the Wednesday night race. I had another weekend off from racing, so I could truly take a full rest week, while also get some stuff done around the house and even be a bit social by attending a friend's wedding. The rest week ended with the finale of the SERC and GSC Series in Helen, GA. More on rest week antics and the Helen race weekend in the next post!
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