Cup Half Empty

     I came out of the State Crit weekend more sick than I went into it. With heavy congestion the day after the road race leading to coughing in the middle of the week, it was looking like both of my target weekends for the end of the summer were spiraling toward the ground.

     It was a short week to recover with racing starting on Friday at Gateway Cup in St. Louis. I took two days off the bike, then did two very light days to get the body moving and dislodge some mucus. By the time we departed the Volunteer State for the Show Me State, the congestion was gone. A little cough still remained. Only time would tell if the cough would be aggravated by the intensity of racing.

     We took the scenic route to St. Louis, rolling along the Mississippi River bank in Illinois. For once we were not in a hurry and had time to enjoy the route. Once in Missouri, we stopped at the Mastodon State Historic Site in Imperial, a sign we have looked at many times as we drove past. The site is just off I-55. It features a museum and a few trails where you can hike to the site where a mastdon skeleton was recovered in 1839 from what was known as the Kimmswick Bone Bed. The site was active several times over the years, most recently in the 1970s and early 1980s when evidence of human hunting was also found amongst the bones. The site is thought to be the first place where solid evidence of the coexistence of humans and mastodons has been found. One of the trails takes you right through the bone bed, which is mostly overgrown now and shows no signs of fossils. Still cool to walk through. The museum has many exhibits. We never learned about the time period of giant mammals in school, so it was nice to see all their displays of giant sloths and peccaries. Those giant sloths got 12 feet tall!

Mighty Mississippi

Mastodon skeleton at the Mastodon State Historic Site Museum

On the trail to the old dig site

     The race situation at Tour de Lafayette was pretty much worse-case scenario. We arrived at Lafayette Square in a downpour with lightning in the distance. A storm rolled over the venue a little over an hour before our scheduled start time and the races were halted due to lightning and torrential rains. We waited it out in the van, checking social media for updates from the race. No updates came across as we watched the gutters swell.

     The storm finally lightened up enough for me to jump out of the van and run up to the registration tent for an update. Nothing. Back to the van for more waiting. 

      It was now just 20 minutes until our start and the rain was now light. Back to the tent and this time got a different update than expected. The races that were halted would be canceled and the schedule would pick up with our race, now less than 20 minutes away. I sprinted to the van and began throwing the bike together. I got the bike ready, spare wheels ready, clothes changed and numbers pinned in less than 10 minutes. I jumped on the bike and hopped onto the course as the rain picked up again. I got in a quick three laps before being called to the line. My warm-up was a whole 10 minutes, less than ideal on a day of having fried lungs. Oh well, time to get it on.

Wet start line for the first race of 2019 Gateway Cup

     More than 80 riders were on the start line for the Cat. 2/3 race in a steady rain. For once, I was not nervous about riding with a bunch of squirrels on a wet course. I was nervous about my lungs after that sad little warm-up. The first lap was fast, but reasonable in the wet. Then things got scary fast. I went from chill to eyeballs hanging out from the end of lap 1 to the end of lap 2. Ouch. My heart rate was over 185, which is higher than I have seen in a long time. I had good legs, but my heart and lungs were screaming with this hard of an effort after only 10 minutes of warm-up. I started to cough after just a couple of minutes and was struggling to breath at that pace. Visibility was terrible between the spray off everyone's tires and the lights reflecting off the wet road. I hung on until a big crash happened a few laps in. That busted the group up and forced an increase in speed from those of us caught behind. That was another level I didn't have tonight and out the back I went only 11 minutes into the race. I stayed on the gas until they pulled me seven minutes later. Not the way I wanted to start the weekend. We were averaging 28.3 mph when I came off the back. Pretty fast for in the rain. It looked like the race slowed down a lap after I was pulled and was pretty tame until the finish. Errr.

Video: A couple of clips from the wet Cat. 2/3 race at Lafayette Square

     I loaded up a dripping wet bike and took my soggy, coughing butt over to Saturday's course in Francis Park, where an AirBNB was waiting for us just a few feet off Turn 4. At least we wouldn't have to travel at all on Saturday. The place was pretty sweet. We could see the racing out the windows and from the front porch. I was able to verify that each of the races were starting on schedule without even leaving the house.

Masters in action at Francis Park

Always love this shot

     Saturday was absolutely beautiful weather. It was 82 degrees with plenty of sunshine. Of the four races that make up the Gateway Cup, this is the course I like the most. It's a big, fast square around Francis Park. It's almost boring, but the speed makes it so fun. I think part of the draw to this place for me is that it's so hard to win here. Without a team, you really have to have some luck in riding the right wheels to the front to put yourself close enough to have a shot in the sprint. I love the challenge, even though I have been pretty far from getting the last lap right up to this point. 

     The race was fast as always. I did what I usually do and sat in the pack, virtually doing nothing in the draft. I was feeling better than yesterday after a full warm-up. I had some major mucus flowing once we got racing, but coughing was minimal compared to Friday. I was biding my time, but suddenly I started to fade before the 40-minute mark. It was like I bonked even though I had eaten plenty. I had felt this bonky feeling during my couple of easy recovery rides this week just like at the road race and crit last weekend, so it seems to be related to the sickness. My body just seemed tired, which is inconvenient when there's still 15 minutes of racing to go. I dropped back as I faded and was unable to move up as the pace kicked up for the finish. Instead of sprinting like I had hoped, I just hung on the back of the main group and passed by all those who fell off in the closing laps to take 68th. Another disappointing day, but not totally unexpected with the way things have gone in recent weeks. Another day with a 28.3 mph average speed.

Early in the Cat. 2/3 race

One of many churches along the Francis Park course

In the black and green MOAB kit today

Shannon found me as I hid in the pack

Another church, this time at Turn 2.

At the back near the end of the race after the bonk began

      After a short commute back to the house of about 10 seconds, I started resting up in hopes of feeling better tomorrow on The Hill. Our walk to watch the Pro races was a mere couple dozen steps. A little custard from Ted Drewes didn't help the recovery, but did help the spirit. 

Pro Women strung out

Pro Women sprinting for the win

Hands up for Sam Schneider

Pro Men passing the church in Turn 2

The officials need a stretch every now and then.

Breakaway

Church off Turn 3

Butcherbox commanding the front of the peloton

The O.G. in frozen custard.

Video: Footage from the Masters, Pro Women and Pro Men at Francis Park

     We might not have been located on Sunday's race course, but it was only a couple of minutes from our place at Francis Park over to The Hill for the Giro della Montagna. This race is a classic. It's the longest running race in the city and brings the biggest crowds year after year. The course is much more challenging than the previous two days, bringing a big climb on the backstretch of a rectangular loop with a downhill run to the finish.

     We parked in our usual location and unloaded on another beautiful day. The first time I pulled my rear brake the rear cable stop snapped off the frame. Two rivets and glue all failed. That put me in a predicament as I didn't have a spare bike with us this year. The brake worked but not enough to slow me down so something had to be done. I might could have pulled it off on either of the two course we already raced this weekend, but this downhill would require brakes for sure if I wanted to stay out of the wheel in front of me. I thought about it for a few minutes and came up with a zip-tie idea that would give me spongy, but working brakes...at least I hoped. Two zip-ties and a foot of electrical tape did the trick. It was working for now, but didn't seem like it would last for too long. I crossed my fingers as I rolled up to the start line.

Bandaged up rear brake cable

The zip-tie and electrical tape provided just enough stability to make the brake work.

     We had about 100 riders on the start line for another 55 minutes of crit action. The pace was insane the first lap. We went up the climb like it was the final lap. Thankfully, the rest of the race was at a more reasonable pace. I stayed up front early which makes life a lot easier since this course is pretty narrow and can be harder to move up on. Legs were good again, but like yesterday, I began to have a bonking feeling again at 40 minutes. I took on a gel to try to stop the bleeding. I don't know that it helped any, but the bonk planed out so that was better than yesterday. I was too far back after taking the gel and never could move up. As I suffered I did enjoy the band playing in Turn 2. They were quite good. The crowd was rowdy all day, but one lap it was particularly loud. I looked over to the sidewalk to see a rather elderly gentleman hitting up some hopscotch to the approval of the crowd. He had clearly been partaking in the adult beverages, but still showed some pretty good coordination. Some rider named Connor was apparently out of position the entire race. I seemed to be near him so I guess I was out of position to. He was constantly being yelled at by people on the side of Turn 3 in every form of "move up!" you can think of. I never found out which rider was Connor, but I do know that his support crew does not hesitate to let him know when he is sucking.

Cat. 2/3s on The Hill

A few more colors on my kit today.

     The last five laps were not just fast, but we were literally 8-wide several rows deep from the Start/Finish line to Turn 1, which is the best passing opportunity. Even if I had the strength to move up, there was nowhere to go. I dodged not one, not two, but three crashes on the final lap to end up in 55th. We were just one corner crash away from winning at Connect 4 that final lap. I didn't cough much today which was good, but this bonk thing is going to keep me from getting any kind of good finish this weekend if I can't get it to go away. On the bright side, the brake modification worked and is intact enough to use again tomorrow.

Up the hill in the closing laps

Video: One of the crashes on the final lap of the Cat. 2/3 as seen by dwarfedcentipede

Pro Men on course

Early breakaway

Michaelee Bowes in action

The break that stole the day

Kyle Perry came across the gap to the break

Bryan Gomez wins for the third day in a row

Video: Cat. 2/3 and Pro Men footage from The Hill

     The hardest course of the weekend would close things out on Labor Day Monday. We rolled into Benton Park on yet another sunny and cooler day. This weekend started wet, but the final three days made up for that with plenty of sunshine and cooler temperatures for a little relief from the summer heat. I went with a harder warm-up today to be ready for the fast start and to leave nothing in the tank. I wanted to be active today, even if that meant I would run out of steam at 40 minutes again. I actually went hard enough today in the warm-up that I got hot and needed an ice sock before the start. 

     Over 80 riders charged off on the Benton Park loop. The pace was high the opening laps, which are about double the length of the other courses. It's also much more technical with 10 turns. The pace went even higher laps 3-5. It was three laps of hell. I just clung on to the wheel ahead of me. Finally, things calmed down and I recovered. I moved up some, but then things got fast again as we approached the finish. The group went single-file and moving up further was difficult. To my surprise, no bonk today! I had some good legs left and knew I could produce a good sprint. Unfortunately, I was out of position at one to go. I did my best to move up, but there were lots of tired legs on the fourth day of racing. Gaps were everywhere. Instead of moving up, I was wasting my energy closing gaps. I never had a shot at the sprint and ended up 45th. Still, I was happy just to have felt decent in another fast race with an average speed of 27.1 mph. Too bad it was the last day. I finally felt like racing! The rear brake held up again. It was sketchy relying on tape and zip-ties on such a technical course with a scary Turn 9, but it did the trick. 

Early in the Cat. 2/3 race at Benton Park

Back in black today

At the back and hurting here during one of the faster moments of the race

Pro Women through the leaves

Pro Men

Frankie Andreu on the mic

Noah Granigan was able to keep Bryan Gomez from sweeping the weekend

Video: Cat. 2/3, Pro Women and Pro Men footage from Benton Park

     It was a super fun weekend as always at Gateway Cup, but I was frustrated with how it went. That frustration doubled when I went out to the local group ride the following day and felt awesome. Great legs and no respiratory issues at all. REALLY?!!! The poor group didn't stand a chance. I took out all my frustrations on that loop. I rode away a few miles in and was joined by one rider. He wanted to wait for the group, but I just wanted to ride as hard as I could. We ended up sticking the break all the way to the end. They chased us for the first 2/3 of the loop, getting close to us at one point when we got hung at an intersection. I think they held back a little after that trying to let us sit out there and suffer, but they underestimated us. We crushed the hills at the end of the loop and ended up a couple of minutes ahead at the finish. It felt good to get some inner anger out, but man I wish I had felt like that just a day or two earlier. That's how it goes in bike racing.

Ozone

     In the last post I talked about getting a little sick during and after the DINO finals in Indy. I rested all week in an attempt to be ready to rock by the weekend which brought a road doubleheader, the first day being a major target for me this season at the Tennessee State Criterium Championship.

     During my rest week down time, I cruised over to an old backroad I like to cut through from time to time. I've written before about the rough climb on this road well call the "Capelmuur." It's named after the legendary Tour of Flanders climb, the Kapelmuur, which you might recognize from many famous photos of the race with the riders climbing the cobbles in front of a chapel. But our climb is "Cap" with a "C" because the road has been filled with bottle caps for as long as I can remember. It started out with a strip across the road right at the top of the climb. It was like a finish line of sorts, with a stripe of shiny bottle caps about 4 feet wide embedded in tar that had come to the surface of the road. The county finally decided to resurface the road two years ago with a fresh coat of chip-and-tar. That covered up the original strip of caps. It was a sad day, but time has worked in our favor. Cars have pushed off the extra gravel and the sun has melted the tar repeatedly and bubbled it back to the surface. The tar didn't form a stripe across the road this time, but made several smaller patches just over the crest of the climb. I had waited for a hot summer day when the tar was soft so I could implant my own caps that I have been saving up for over a year. I was pleased earlier this year to see when I climbed the hill that the caps were starting to appear again. I bet the people that do that have no idea that some bike riders think it is so much fun to sprint to the caps. The tar was indeed soft in the August heat so I stomped in my own caps and ran them over later with the car to push them down deep. My caps are a bit different as I added all sorts of soda caps we have collected from across the country. Most of the others are bright blue Bud Light caps. I hope the other people see them and our cap project continues to grow as more tar comes to the curface. The Capelmurr lives!

Adding a few caps to the tar on one of my favorite roads.

     Dina joined me in the trip to east Tennessee for the State Crit in the small town of Rockwood, about 45 minutes west of Knoxville. It was a hot day, but not as steamy as the recent weeks so it actually felt like a little relief. I liked the course. It had very little elevation change and was fast. The chances of a sprint looked higher than on most courses in our area and a sprint is what I was prepared for with my training. The course had 8 turns in about 0.85 miles through the town center. The Start/Finish line was 3/4 of the way down a fairly long straightaway. It was flat to Turn 1 which was a 90-degree left. We went one block with a very slight false-flat up before turning right. The exit of this second 90-degree turn was a little narrower and started a loop around a single block. Two 90-degree left turns followed and the road stayed fairly narrow. Turn 4 was blind and had an option on the inside where you could cut the corner a bit on the sidewalk right next to the building that sat just off the roadside. Another 90-degree left brought wider roads and a slight downhill as we finished the loop around the block. Next up, the course turned right, this time with a more sweeping turn. It continued with an oh-so-slight downhill grade for two blocks before another sweeping left and back to a narrow course as we shot one more block to the final turn. This corner was fast and tigher, a bit sharper than 90 degrees. There were some scattered gravels in parts of this turn and the pavement just didn't seem fully trustworthy at full speed. Thankfully, the sidewalk on the outside of the exit of the turn was at the same height as the road and could be used to carry a bit more speed through the turn. It was slightly, and I mean slighty, uphill from the exit of the following turn to the finish line over about 300 meters. Getting to that last turn first would not only give you the best chance of winning the sprint, but it would also be the safest option in what could be a sketchy corner.

     I have expressed my dislike many times in the past for taking any kind of sinus medication due to it raising my heart rate during intense efforts. I was sick enough this week that I had no choice. Things felt under control by Friday morning so I got off the meds in hopes that I could clear most of them out of my system before the race. It usually takes several days for me to feel normal on the bike, but 24 hours was all I was getting for this race. I feel like getting off of them sooner would have jeopardized my next week which again ended with a target race at Gateway Cup.

     To my surprise, I felt pretty good in my warm-up. The heart rate was a little high, but not crazy. I found several small climbs near the course that were good to prime the heart, lungs and legs. The Pro/1/2 race was a bit short for my liking at 50 minutes. Everybody in that class can go hard for 50 minutes so it was guaranteed to be super fast. We had 25 starters, a bit smaller than I am used to, but a good group size. The first 20 minutes of the race were blazing fast with almost constant attacking. There were plenty of riders that wanted the break to go while Richard Keller and I were hoping for the bunch sprint. My heart rate was pegged. I am not sure it was due to the meds because we were flying and I was definitely going all-out many times in those opening laps. I was thankful for a few moments of respite when the group bunched up.

     The tightness of the Turn 2 through Turn 4 area really strung out the group. It just seemed like a matter of time before somebody went all-in with a move off the front and turned this into a single-file drag race. Just before the 30-minute mark that very thing began to happen and it did damage to the field. A break of five formed up the road with a trio chasing ahead of the bunch. You could see the strain in everyone's riding style. I knew I had to go now so I attacked as we crossed the Start/Finish line. I had a head of steam and sprinted across to the three chasers, joining them as we exited Turn 2. They sat up as soon as I got there. I rolled by them, then realized the gap to the front five was too much for me to do after just making that effort. We were quickly caught by the group who was chasing after me. The attempts to bridge continued and the pace was very high for 10 minutes. I was hurting after my bridge effort and fell back in the group. 

     Depiste the high pace the break pulled away slowly. At this point, I knew I wasn't getting across. I had to try to recover enough to go for the sprint from our group. The pace slowed a bit before another group of five jumped ahead of the pack at four laps to go. I had to use what I had left to get into a decent position for the final lap as we prepared to sprint for 11th. I wasn't up as far as I needed to be at one to go and got gapped a bit from the main sprinters who took off a little earlier in the lap than I expected. The went between turns 5 and 6. I had hoped to be on Keller's wheel, but he was several spots in front of me when things took off. I slowly closed the gap to the sprinters and was able to get by one rider in Turn 7 and a few off the final turn by using that sidewalk. I reached a wad of riders right at the line, but didn't get by any of them. Turns out a Cat. 2 medal was less than a bike length ahead. I ended up 5th in Cat. 2 for the state championship, 15th overall in the Pro/1/2 race. I was hoping for a bit better finish, but what a good ride considering how sick I was just a few days before. The training is paying off and I can't wait to get up to Gateway Cup.

     Dina raced the Cat. 4/5 Women for her first ever attempt at a state championship on the road. Their group was very even, with a solid group of seven staying together for nearly the entire race. As a spectator, I could see the attacks were going nowhere and tried to guide Dina in the final laps. She and I had broken down my race. She knew I made the mistake of being too far back the final lap and getting jumped earlier than expected. I started to yell at her to go where it went in my race. I yelled it to her every lap the second half of the race. She never heard me. Her group waited a little later before the surge to the finish began. When the attack came, there was no change in position from there to the line. They were all so close in speed! Dina was third to jump and finished 3rd, second Tennessee rider. A great result for her, but I am convinced that if she had jumped first she would have won.

Cat. 4/5 Women in the State Crit at Rockwood

     Sunday brought a road race in nearby Kingston to finish out the Three River Rumble Omnium. It was not the State Championship Road Race, but I wanted to stay for it. I was still riding a road race high from the Devil's Backbone race the month before. Dina and I drove the course Saturday night after the crit. It looked to be very fun with several fast, flowy sections and a few longer climbs. The course had a lollipop layout, starting with a 3 mile stretch on Hwy 58 from the parking area to the main loop which was 24 miles in length. The second half of the lollipop stick was a 1.5-mile climb. It had a steady gradient all the way up. I rode it several times in my warm-up as I was worried about getting past this hurdle with it coming so early in the race. It didn't help my nerves to see other Pro/1/2 riders sprinting the climb at full speed before the race. Yikes, this could get crazy real quick.

     After joining the main loop, the course went up one more bump before a big descent, then a long flat section for 7.5 miles. After a left turn the course began a more gradual climb compared to the first climb. It was followed by a gradual descent on a more main road. A right turn led to a backgroad with a smaller climb followed by some fast rolling sections that brought the fun flow I was looking forward to. One short, steep climb came next at mile 22 before more fast riding to the final turn back onto Hwy 58. It was then just 1.5 miles to the finish, ending with 0.9 miles uphill. The final climb of the lap was much like the first climb on the lollipop, steady all the way up. Riders would turn left just before the finish line to start another lap. I was worried mainly about that opening climb and then the finish climb each lap. The rest looked like a lot of fun.

     I felt good again in my warm-up ride over to the start from our hotel. Once the race started, my worst fears came true as things got heavy in a hurry. We were neutral rolling onto Hwy 58, but as soon as the officials turned us loose the group let loose. I was up front and hit the climb third wheel. I felt good and rode strong up the climb, but the pace was crazy. We were flying and still guys were able to attack and sprint nearly the entire climb. I fell off the back about 3/4 of the way up the climb along with several others. Those of us dropped did not get together in a group and instead were all chasing solo. I could still see the group after the first descent and felt like I had good legs so I chased hard for several miles on the flats. Then suddenly, I had no energy. My legs went flat and I had to back off, losing sight of those ahead. I faded quickly and was crawling by the time I reached the end of the flat portion. I struggled along the easier climbs, getting caught by the Cat. 3 group. By the feed zone just over halfway through the loop, I was in survival mode. Dina was there waiting for me with a bottle. I stopped and told her I was toast and probably just going to finish the lap. I really didn't even feel like finishing the lap, but I didn't want to miss those fast rollers. They weren't much fun by myself crawling along like a snail, but I did get through them and up the final climb back to the car. I guess the sickness caught up with me. I felt great on that first climb, but clearly my body was not ready for that kind of effort again today. I don't know what else I could have done to stay in the group early on. I don't think I could have have bettered my climbing time on any other day of my entire bike life. I flew up it, just not fast enough to keep up with the likes of Brendan Housler and the Novo-Nordisk guys. Even with my poor one-lap effort I still placed 5th in the Cat. 2 Omnium and got a little money which made my body feel a little better.

     After I cleaned up and took in some food, I turned my attention to helping Dina get ready for her first ever road race. John Carr and I jumped in the car to drive to the halfway point of the loop and watch our riders come through. He was supporting girlfriend Marsha Williams in the Masters Women class that started with the Cat. 4/5 Women. I still felt drained, but had a good time watching some bike racing and cheering on the ladies. The group split just before the final climb. The previous day's crit winner, Melinda Spiva, climbed away to the road race win as well. We also heard she won a triathlon Saturday morning before the crit so she went full beast mode this weekend. The top two were ahead entering the last climb. Dina was able to outclimb the others in that main group to take another third place.

Cat. 4/5 Women and Masters Women on the opening climb of the Kingston Road Race

One of those flowy roads along the course

Dina climbing towards a 3rd place finish

Marsha Williams about to take the Masters Women win

Video: Clips of the Cat. 4/5 & Masters Women at the Three River Rumble Road Race in Kingston

    After the race we had another adventure at nearby Ozone Falls before driving home. This waterfall has been on my radar for a while. I didn't realize it was so close to I-40. It is located within the Ozone Falls State Natural Area. There isn't much parking which looked like it could be a problem most summer days. Today, however, it was not too crowded. The hike to the top of the falls is short and easy. Like short as in one minute of walking. Fall Creek comes in across a flat rock and then drops 110 feet into a circular gorge. If Fall Creek sounds familiar that's because Tennessee's tallest waterfall is also on Fall Creek, though it is a totally different creek. You can't see much of the water after it goes over the edge. The better view is from the bottom.

Dina leads the way across the flat rock to the top of Ozone Falls.

     A trail to the side leads down to the bottom. Some challenging rocks along the way down make you earn the spectacular view that follows. You can see the full waterfall from halfway down the descent. From the bottom you can view the entire gorge wall and take a dip in the pool of water below the falls. The water valume was lower being late in the summer, but there was enough to form a perfect ribbon of water from canyon top to canyon bottom. We had the bottom to ourselves for a few minutes before hiking the 0.35 miles back up to the top, my legs screaming all the way. Check this little gem out if you are traveling I-40 and have a few minutes to spare. There's no better way to stretch your legs and get a smile this big. A visit to one of nature's splendors was a great way to wrap up our weekend.

Following this cliff down toward the bottom of the falls.

The first view of Ozone Falls.

The beautiful Ozone Falls.

Refreshing pool at the bottom.

For size perspective, that is Dina walking behind the waterfall.

Back up the rocks and feeling the leg burn.

Just Enough

     That drained feeling was gone for the most part the week following the 2019 DINO race at Versailles. I spent the week working hard on both sprinting and TT efforts, setting a new PR on that 18-mile loop I have been running regularly without a warm-up. 

     The weekend brought another day of racing on the dirt. This time we were up in Owensboro, KY for the Ben Hawes XC. With my only trip to this race ending in a hard-fought W (plus Dina and Dad winning their races too), I have nothing but smiles for this place. Race distance is three laps on a loop that is close to 9 miles long. This year the race was taking place in the opposite direction than what I raced it before in 2017. We would be going counter-clockwise which has totally different flow. I rode most of the loop to warm-up just to see it again since the race two years ago is the only time I have ridden here. The trail was dry and fast and the weather was beautiful, though a bit on the hot side as is to be expected in August.

     The start was the same with a grassy climb up through the woods, followed by a quick descent into the singletrack. Passing can be tough as there are few spots wide enough to get by at the speeds we roll here. I was the only rider in Pro/1 Open. I was to start with the Cat.1 19-39 group, but there weren't any. So I was combined in with the Cat. 1 40+/50+ group. Don't let the age fool you though as these guys are in great shape and most are local so they know this trail well. I would still have my work cut out for me.

     As expected after a heavy week of training, I didn't have the best legs. I was still able to win the dash to the top of the hill and held that lead into the singletrack where I quickly opened up a 30 second gap. I spent most of the first lap just getting into my flow and learning the loop. One rider chased me the entire first lap, still just 30 seconds back as we came to the end of the lap. 

     My front skewer came open early in lap 2. I did a quick stop to tighten it back up. I expected to see the rider coming up behind me, but he was not there. Turns out he had flatted, handing me a lead gap of 1:20. I just rode steady throughout lap 2 and kept the gap at 1:20. Once lap 3 began, I tried to pick up the pace with more effort. The legs hurt, but were strong. After slowing my lap time on lap 2, I was able to flip the clock on lap 3 for my fastest lap of the day. Final gap back to 2nd was over 3 minutes. My legs were tired afterwards, but overall I didn't feel too bad. No weakness or bonking feeling like the week before when I finished at Versailles. Getting better.

     One good thing about racing Ben Hawes is that I always see a lot of people I know, some that I haven't seen in a while. Kiersta Tucker was one of those this year. It was so good to catch up with her and watch her ride like the beast she is. She and Dina were the only riders in Cat. 1 Women. Dina felt like she learned a lot just chasing Kiersta around the course.

Kiersta and Dina on the podium

     After a couple of easy days it was time to line up at the Nashville Speedway for Race #7 of the Music City Crits Series, back on the kidney bean. I was very focused on this one. I knew I was on good form and could contend for the win if I did things right. The finishes of these races have been playing out mostly the same way when we have a bunch sprint. Michaelee Bowes drills it in Turn 2 on the oval the final lap and puts out massive watts down the backstretch. Whoever is on his wheel, usually David Howe, then lays down even more watts as we drop onto pit road and head for the final chicane. It is so fast at that point that positions don't change much between the start of the chicane and the finish. I knew how it would probably play out, I just had to be on those wheels on the final lap. Easier said than done.

     My legs were a little sluggish when I got on the bike that afternoon, but got better as I put in some efforts. I went harder in my warm-up than in past weeks as I wanted to be ready so I didn't miss any splits early on. We had 41 riders for the Pro/1/2/3 race for 60 minutes of fun that would end under the lights. The pace was fast early and I did my best to stay hidden. Things slowed slightly at 25 minutes so I moved up. 

     The amount of attacks increased around 40 minutes. I followed a few accelerations as I was afraid of the late break getting away like it does so many times in these races. Everything came back together though and a bunch sprint looked imminent as we saw 3 laps to go. I was too far back at this point after getting caught in those efforts I made trying to get in a break. John Carr found me in the group and offered up some help in going to the front. I hooked on his wheel and we started marching forward. We were steadily moving up, but not quick enough as we were still too far back at the bell. I saw Michaelee and David Howe getting lined up ahead. It looked like there was nowhere to go to move up, but then the inside opened up going into the first turn and I quickly shot the gap along the edge of the grass which set me up on the outside through the exit of this first chicane onto the oval. I pushed hard to get up to Howe's wheel, which surprisingly wasn't being fought over. I got to him quicker than I expected and had to check up ever so slightly. As I did, Michaelee punched it a little earlier than normal with Howe right on him. I got gapped by 3-4 bike lengths as I had just given up my momentum. I pursued all the way down the back, but was just far enough back to not get a draft. I could not match their power output and could only watch them ride away as we rolled toward pit road. I was out of gas before the chicane, losing two spots into the turn, then one more in the sprint to the line. I crossed the line 6th, my best finish ever in this series, but I was very disappointed. It played out just like I wanted and I messed it up. Dang it! Thanks John for the tow to the front to at least give me a chance.

     David Howe had cameras front and rear for this race. Check out his video below. Last lap starts at 58:05 and you can clearly see how this race shook out and my error behind him.

Video: David Howe's onboard cameras from Music City Crits #7

    After a few days of rest it was time for the DINO finale in Indy at Southwestway Park. It was raining in Indy on Saturday, so Dina and I decided to ride the road at home instead of trying for a muddy pre-ride. Sarah was kind enough to put us up again for the night so we would be in Indy very close to the race site come Sunday morning.

     We had 10 riders in Elite for four blazing laps around Southwestway. I came into this final race 3rd in the points standings. I could not catch the top two, but I wanted to be on the podium. A top 5 today woul surely make that happen. I never seem to do great at Southwestway, but with the way I have been riding lately I would be disappointed being outside the top 5. I was in a similar points situation coming into this race last year and it did not end well. I could not hold onto 3rd after crashing in my warm-up and breaking a finger.

     As always, the start was tough as it goes uphill after a short downhill dash in the grass. A long uphill grade is followed by a big climb up Mann Hill, the tallest hill in Indianapolis. I had a good jump off the line and came off the first turn in 3rd. I had trouble holding the front two as we raced up the grass toward the singletrack. I could tell right away that my legs were not great. I was holding up a pack of snarling lions when we reached the trail. I gave them room to come by and instantly regretted that as the first rider bumped me right off the trail and into a tree. I had to slow almost to a full stop to keep from going down and to get back on the trail. Just like that I was in 10th. I had nothing in the legs at that moment to even try to sprint back on the end of the line. I found myself alone as we started up Mann Hill for the first time. By the top, I felt like I was in survival mode. Not how you want to feel one mile into a race. The rest of the first lap was a serious struggle, but somehow I was able to pick up one position, passing a poor soul who was obviously having an even worse day than me.

     The struggle was still very real the second trip up Mann Hill. I was being caught by Expert riders at this point and did my best just to stay out of their way. Finally, in the middle of lap 2, I started to at least stabilize my position within the group of Experts. In lap 3, I felt a little better and began passing the Experts back and moved into 8th. I chased hard the rest of lap 3 in an attempt to gain points. I knew the rider behind me in points was ahead of me on the trail. I didn't catch anyone despite feeling pretty good the second half of this lap. Mann Hill smoked my legs the fourth time up. After that I was just trying to finish. I did manage to catch up to another rider and beat him in the closing section to take 7th. It wasn't much of a recovery, but that effort was just enough for me to hang on to 3rd in the series by just 3 points. I felt sick for about two hours after the race. I have no idea why I felt so off today, unless the heavy racing load of the past month finally caught up to me.

     Dina had another solid day, taking 3rd in the race and 2nd in the series for Expert Women. Another great DINO Series in the books and many thumbs up yet again from the riders.

Video: Clips from DINO Southwestway

     I still felt off on Monday after Southwestway, then woke up Tuesday with a sore throat. Aha! So that's what was going on in the race. I was getting sick and just didn't know it yet. I took several days off the bike and worked on catching up on easy things around the farm, trying the let my body rest and do its thing. We made some new Dragon's Toe Jam which is made from the very delicious Dragon's Toe Pepper. It's about as much of a relish as a jam and features a little bit of spice mixed with a whole lot of sweet. It might be my favorite thing we have made so far.

Dragon's Toe Peppers

It's a jam, but we marketed it as a relish dipping sauce since most people have never heard of Dragon's Toe Peppers and are afraid to try them.

     I was a little panicked all week since the Tennessee State Criterium Championship was coming up on Saturday. I had really been working hard for it. The course looked favorable for me and my form had good enough to be in the middle of the fight. Medication always makes my heart rate do crazy things duirng race efforts, but the sickness was bad enough that I had to take some or risk still being off the following weekend at Gateway Cup. I'll let you know how the meds worked in the next post.