The first three days of the Crossroads Cycling Classic are in the books. They have not gone the way I had hoped, at least for me. It is a sketchy bunch, made up mostly of young riders. Many are Juniors. The others seem to be desperate to win a race or get to Cat. 1. I have just been trying to get through the races alive and have yet to make it to the finish. Here's a recap of the first three days.
Things started on Tuesday with the Mocksville Criterium in downtown Mocksville, NC. It is a tight 0.5-mile rectangle with a hill between turns 3 and 4. Last year, I got destroyed out of turn 4 every lap, so I was very attentive there this year. We had about 50-60 riders start the Pro/1/2 race for 60 minutes of racing. The course does not suit me as the narrowness keeps things single-file and provides little opportunities to rest. I did not think I would finish this race, but I wanted to last longer than the 4 laps I made with the group last year.
Mocksville course
It was a fast start. The first few times up the hill were all-out. My heart felt like it was going to explode and it got my chest to hurting. I felt like I did no warm-up, even though I did a really good one. My legs were great, but the chest was hurting so bad! The pace dropped after 4-5 laps, then picked up again. I was running 183 heart rate most of those laps just hanging on. Surprisingly, I was strong up the hill and out of turn 4. I was struggling more halfway down the front stretch as they seemed to accelerate their every lap.
At 15 minutes, I heard a screeching coming from my back wheel. I thought the brake was dragging, maybe due to a wobbly wheel or maybe the wheel moved in the dropouts when I hit one of the many grates on the course. I dropped to the back to loosen the brake. I bombed the next corner just in time to see a pile-up on the outside. I had no rear brakes now that I had loosened them. I barely got stopped in time to avoid going down. I kind of slid right into the pile of riders.
I took a free lap and took full advantage of it to check out my wheel. It was not wobbling. I tightened the brakes and they were not rubbing. I have no idea what that sound was, but now at least I knew it was ok and it gave me some peace of mind. They put me back in the race at the front. It was aggressive up there, and very fast as they were chasing a solo break. I had no legs now. The free lap killed them. I dropped through the field on the hill and found myself off the back at 20 minutes. After a lap on my own, my legs suddenly came around. The group was blowing to pieces so I caught a few people. Me and one other rider began to do a two-man TT effort to stay out there as long as possible. It was frustrating because now I felt great again, but our race was over at 26 minutes. I hated getting pulled when I felt so good, but this was just a product of a racing incident and there was little I could do about it. Sometimes free laps make you feel better, sometimes they make you feel worse. At least I lasted longer than last year! I was given 44th place on the results. The race average speed was about 29.0 mph, give or take a tenth. It was fast for such a tight course.
Cat. 3s on course in Mocksville
Onboard video with Marcel Gutierrez during the Cat. 3 race
Day 2 was in Kannapolis, NC for the Kannapolis Criterium around the NC Research Campus. This was a new event, replacing the tiny Concord Criterium from year's past. The course in Kannapolis was D-shaped, with two tight corners and a brick roundabout halfway around the curved backside of the course. We had beautiful weather again. It was slightly overcast and not at all hot or humid. It was perfect for racing. You can't get any better than that in July! We had 60 starters tonight for another 60 minute race. I had a mid-pack start, but found myself at the very back before the end of the first lap. I was slow to clip my feet in and then got stuck behind two riders with mechanicals on the first lap.
The two corners were very narrow and bottled the pack up significantly. We were doing 10 mph through the turns, then sprinting back up to 32-33 mph on the straights. The accelerations of a strong Pro/1/2 group kill me. That is definitely my weakest area right now and this course pointed that out twice per lap.
Kannapolis Course
Cat. 3 winner
Dan Underwood in the Masters race
Tim Hall in the Masters race
I could see the first 15-20 riders sitting up coming off turn 1, while we sprinted at least 20 seconds after the turn in the back due to the bottleneck. So, I pushed hard to move up on lap 4 or 5. I hammered the whole backside of the course and passed half the group. I was on the outside going into turn 2. And then came another crash on the exit of the turn. One guy totally misjudged the turn and went over the curb. He hit a hay bale that was up against a light pole and was balancing on his front wheel as I contacted him. I kind of shouldered his back wheel as I came by. I had almost stopped so I don't know if I hit him hard enough to flip him the rest of the way over or not. I never looked back to see what happened.
That sent me to the back again, just as the pace picked up and riders began to blow up. I had to close a few gaps the next lap. I was already gassed from pushing my way up in the field the lap before. I began to suffer off the turns. The accelerations were just too much. I popped off the back out of turn 1 and immediately went into TT mode. I had good legs again and was able to hold the gap at 5 seconds for a few laps. Then I started to fade. I had been running 27-28 mph on the straights, but had to eventually slow to 25 mph. I was dropped at 15 minutes and got pulled at 22 minutes. It was disappointing. Again, I felt like I should have been there, but I need a perfect race to stay on and getting behind crashes is too much for me to overcome right now. I'm just not strong enough yet. They gave me 58th place on the night. We had been averaging 29 mph while I was in. I think they slowed down a little after 30 minutes when a two-man break went away. The two made it to the end and had a good sprint for the win, taken by Alder Martz of Hincapie Devo. We have a little video posted below, followed by highlight video shot by Aaron Beaver.
Video: Kannapolis Criterium
Video: Kannapolis highlights video by Aaron Beaver
Last night was the third race, the Salisbury Criterium, held in downtown Salisbury, NC. This was a fun race last year and I was excited to be back. It seemed like a good opportunity for me to get the monkey off my back and have a good race. It's also the most convenient race of the series, taking place not even five minutes from the group of hotels that house most of the riders.
The forecast was for 50% chance of rain. The radar looked like the green would miss us, but it did not. The early races were dry, but then the rain came just as the Masters finished. The Cat. 3 and Pro/1/2 races were held in a steady downpour that made for a slick course. We had 51 starters tonight. I wanted to get a good start spot, but found myself 3/4 of the way back. Again, I had a poor start, this time self-inflicted as I did not get my feet clipped in right away. The first few turns were scary as hell. Some people had brakes, but most did not, myself included. I almost ran over a few people in turn 2 and almost got run over as well. There was a lot of metal here in the form of manhole covers, sewer grates and metal plates. They were beyond slick. People were crashing on them last year in the dry.
Salisbury figure-8 course
Rocking the new Swiftwicks Grant gave me at Rehab Summit last week...and a really bad sock tan line
Cat. 4/5s racing in the dry
Video: Cat. 4/5 race in Salisbury
Chris Harkey leads the Masters field
Masters just before the rain started
Right away, I was out of contention. I was 45 sec. behind the front halfway through the first lap. There were gaps everywhere after just four turns on this eight-turn course. Then came a crash in turn 7 that further busted things up. I almost went down in turn 1 on lap 2. In the dark and wet it is very hard to pick out what's on the ground. I couldn't see the manhole covers until I hit them. It was like ice skating in turns 1, 2 and 3. You could not pass through the turns without crashing, so I had to follow the slower riders until the two long straightaways. I had good legs again and would almost sprint the entire straights. I passed a lot of riders, but there were huge gaps everywhere. The front group was less than 20 riders after just four laps.
First lap
Crash on the right
I got with two other riders and we worked together for a few laps. There was a big crash in turn 1 one lap that I was glad happened ahead of me. It was pure chaos out there. My group got pulled at 12 minutes, even though we were just half a lap behind. They pulled us early "for safety reasons." We sprinted it out to the line. I led out the sprint, but the other two pipped me on the line in a photo finish. There's no way they looked at the camera though. I was placed in 46th. There's no way I was that far back. I never went all the way to the back and I passed a lot of people, way more than five. I think a lot of guys took free laps when there were crashes, even though they were not even remotely involved in the crash.
Just outsprinted to the line
Honesty was not happening in this race. There was another big crash a few laps after I was pulled. The race was stopped for a few minutes while they cleaned up things. The race took forever to restart because people were trying to start in the front group. There was supposed to be 17 in the front and 30 were trying to restart in it, so they had to go number by number and pull out all the riders that were in the front group. It's sad that guys can't be honest and go with the group they belong with. In the end, two riders broke clear from the front group and won the race. There ended up being at least three small groups that finished the race. It was a messy, messy night. I ran the GoPro and you can watch the footage below.
Video: GoPro handlebar cam of my race in the rain
Again, I feel that I never had a chance to show what I could do. With starting so far back, I was doomed from the start. The forecast is for more rain Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. I sure hope we can race in the dry. I really, really want to finish one of these and break my 0-9 Crossroads record. Right now it is raining, but we still have several hours before race time in Statesville tonight. Tomorrow we do a new crit. in Asheboro and then wrap up with a crit. around the City Park here in Salisbury. Check out the Recent Race Results column on the blog home page for the quickest updates on my races. I post the placing as soon as I get the results. Thanks again for reading and supporting!
My legs decided to show up for this week's Music City Crits race. It was the 8th of 12 races in the series, so we are nearing the home stretch now. I was much more aggressive this week, going after all the moves to try to make the break. I did not want to miss another field split like last week. Going that hard makes for a long race. I was thinking we were about 30 minutes into the race and was a bit dismayed to looked down and see we had just hit 15 minutes.
Pro/1/2/3 group early in the race on a hazy afternoon
I was very pleased to be able to cross many gaps during the race. I tried to follow attacks across to small splits, but sometimes you just can't wait for somebody else to do the work. At least five times I went on my own and dug very deep to cross the gap. I always made it across, but the group always followed me. Only once did any sort of split occur. I saw we had about eight riders off the front, but I had nothing at that moment to go to the front and drive it on. Besides, Tim Henry missed the split and I knew he would be coming after us. And he did, dragging the what was left of the group back to us. We had 33 starters and less than 20 were left in the group after 20 min due to the pace.
Entering the hairpin
At the finish, I found myself in a good position. I rode hard to stay in the front the final two laps. I had to pull out of line on the last lap and stick myself into the wind, but it was one of those things where you have to move up or get swarmed by the riders behind. I did not want to be blocked in so I pulled out. I got on John Carr's wheel on the backstretch. He seemed like a good one to follow. Matt Schupp attacked first. I was in a position to follow him, but I did not want to open it up that early. My legs were getting tired and I knew I couldn't make it from that far out. I stuck with my plan to follow John. The first few riders chased Schupp like I wanted. I got a good run at the end of the backstretch, but one of the riders ahead sat up. It was a moment of chaos as everyone went around him. I had to give up my momentum to pass him and I never got it back. John got gapped coming out of the chicane and that was the end of us. I held his wheel into the final turn. I took a peek on his outside coming off the turn, but I didn't stick it too hard as there is not much room for two riders to exit that turn at sprint speed. I was the one looking eye to eye with a wall of concrete so the smart thing was to back off a little.
Me in the green and black rolling in line behind Jason Chatham
Schupp hung on for the win. I took 7th which is my best finish of the year. I am very happy with that result. Again, I was active in the finish of the race, just not at the very front of the sprint, but I will get there soon. I thought this was the hardest race of the series, even though we had a slower average speed at 26.0 mph. The wind kept the speed a bit lower, but the multiple accelerations kept the pain and fury high. The weather had been a threat again tonight, but it held off just enough to get the race in. There was a huge thunderstorm approaching with heavy lightning just as we finished. I was so much in the zone that I never noticed the lightning until the race was over.
The sideline pictures from this week were courtesy of my sister, Dina. She made it out to her first race of the season to cheer me on. I ran the GoPro on my handlebar again this week. Highlights of my ride are posted below. There's plenty of attacks to watch on this one.
Video: Pro/1/2/3 Handlebar Cam Highlights
The end of our week was full of classes for both Shannon and myself. We signed up for the Rehab Summit in Nashville to knock out some of continuing education credits. It was 10 lecture classes spread out over three days. With these courses and one online class that we also completed this weekend, we have knocked out all of our credits for the next two years for our PTA license!
Rehab Summit was fun. I liked the different topics and speakers. I learned a lot about the shoulder that I will use on my patients daily. Also, there was a lecture that builds on the glute program that I have been so interested in for the past few years. It was good stuff. My brain is a little fried after all the info uptake. That's a lot of info to cram into three days.
There was an expo area in the lunch hall. I was surprised to see Swiftwick had a booth there, showing off some new medical compression socks and line of scrubs. Of course, they also had a huge selection of athletic socks. I stopped by on Friday and found Grant Castle working the booth. It was nice to run into a friend and get to talk mountain bikes for a while. He gave me a few pointers on picking out a new 29" mountain bike and then kicked Shannon and I both a free pair of socks! I was pumped. I really love the Swiftwicks. I was even wearing a pair at the conference that day. Before we left that day he also gave me a Pro discount for future ordering. Does that count as getting sponsorship?! Thanks Grant! It was good to catch up with you and thanks for the socks! Check them out online at http://www.swiftwick.com/.
The Summit was held at the Omni Hotel, which is probably the nicest hotel I have ever set foot in. It is when I go in to places like this that I realize how much of a simple redneck I am. It was very fancy and I could not have felt more out of place. The decorations were ridiculous. No wonder they charged $195 per night with the Rehab Summit discount. I can't imagine how much it would be without a discount. I guess I'm just a Super 8 kind of guy. I'm all for having nice things, but when you buy something just because it costs a lot and it has no function, well that just seems kind of wasteful. My opinion though.
Walking through downtown Nashville during lunch at Rehab Summit
Lunch was probably the fanciest thing, at least the first day. They had lots of froo-froo sandwiches and salads. I felt like I should eat with my pinkies in the air. I got some random meat sandwich that I really had no idea what it was. It had a strange texture, but I was hungry and did not really care. I was almost done with it when I finally examined the meat. It was salmon fillet...raw. I'm not much of a fish person, especially when it's not cooked. Sounds like a good way to get a new friend...an amoeba. At least it had bacon on it. The second day was much better. It was a build-your-own sandwich buffet. They had piles of ham and turkey so I made a nice sandwich my way, with lots of mustard. For dessert, the hotel provided GooGoo Clusters and Moon Pies, two Tennessee staples. I always laugh at tourists when they come here and flip out over Moon Pies. I guess I didn't realize how local they really are.
GooGoos and Moon Pies, there's nothing quite like them. All that was missing was a can of RC Cola.
I got mixed feedback on the barrel ride video. Most people have expressed their opinion on how stupid it was. Several times I heard, "How many times do you have to fall on your head before you stop trying to make it." Well, it only took three falls before I made it. The idea was one I wasn't even sure would work, so I thought it was great to not only make the ride work, but actually complete the ride as well. There were a few that thought it was cool and gave me props on my skills. Thanks guys! I have more plans for fun rides this fall. It's going to be a "Freeride Fall" this year.
Found a new gravel road in our area.
Saw this on a ride this week. Those are three goats standing in the loft of this barn. Goats can find a way to get anywhere.
I'm back in the pool now, doing some swimming. I'm up to swimming about 600 meters right now quite easily. I'm not training for anything specifically. I just felt it was time to work on something that would complement my bike training. Swimming really builds up the core and we could all use some help in that area. Plus, the compression from the water is great for recovery, not to mention it cools the body down nicely on the 98-degree days we had this week.
I dug up dozens of carrots from the garden this week. What's up doc?
The Tour de France is over, but my "Tour" begins tomorrow. Crossroads is the closest I get to a stage race. It's six days of crit. races in North Carolina. We begin tomorrow evening in Mocksville. I am excited to do the full week. I am riding much better than last year. Mocksville will be hard for me, as it is fast, narrow and provides little opportunities for rest. Day 2 will be in Kannapolis this year rather than in Concord. The course looks narrow, but better than the short Concord course. Thursday night should be a good one for me in Salisbury. Friday is another hard one in Statesville, then we visit a new venue in Asheboro and finish up on Sunday with the difficult City Park Circuit in Salisbury. I am not very excited to climb that massive hill over and over on tired legs. It is going to hurt!
When I get back, it will be time for some local racing in August, with the Music City Crits Series, Bells Bend Time Trial Series and a new running event in Clarksville at Rotary Park. It will be a night trail run, which should be a lot of fun. I have not been running and will suffer like a dog for the 4.5 miles, but I could not pass on the chance to do a night race. I'll try to post updates next week from Crossroads if time permits. I'll be working on some more coaching education programs next week so I am not sure how much blog writing I will be doing each day. Thanks again for reading!
Finally, I'm getting caught back up on my blogs. It has been a whirlwind year so far. To date, I have raced 30 times this year. It feels like much less than that, but the scary thing is that now that Indy is over, I have just two big races left and the season will be over. It makes me sad just thinking about it.
Last weekend was one of my target races of the year at Indy Crit. in Indianapolis. I really liked that race last season and had my best finish of the year there. It is one of the few chances I get to race in front of family as well. With Shannon's family living in northern Indiana, they can get down to Indy quite easily. This race also draws a stacked field each year so it really is a good one for them to see.
We like to visit Todd & Lyndsy up in Muncie whenever we can. They always open their house up to us whenever we need it. I enjoy hanging out with them and their four kids. Plus, they live only a few miles from the really nice Cardinal Greenway so it is perfect for an early morning spin.
Shannon on the Cardinal Greenway
Field alongside the greenway
The weather forecast looked grim for Saturday afternoon's race in downtown Indy. The radar was a big spot of green that was moving more south than east, looking as if it would not clear the city until after our race began. But to everyone's amazement, after an initial downpour, the rain moved away. The clouds looked ominous all afternoon, but the rain never fell again.
I felt great in my warm-up and was good in the race. I got a decent start spot in the middle of the 96-rider group. On the start, the rider ahead of me had trouble getting clipped in and we sank to the back of the group. That has happened to me at almost every crit. this year. If there is one guy out of the pack that can't get his foot in the pedal, you bet I will be lined up behind him.
The pace was brutal the first few laps. The course is flat and fast. It has 8 turns in 1 mile, but the turns are wide so even a big group does not have to slow down much. I enjoy the brick portion from turn 6 through turn 8 around the monument. It's something different that we don't get to ride very often. We had a 28.5 mph average speed at the 12-minute mark. I was 3/4 of the way back in the peloton, but I did not try to move up. The pace was just too fast. I saw my highest heart rates of the race during the first 15 minutes, topping out at 187 bpm.
Indy Crit. Course Map from my Garmin
Once things calmed down a bit, I began to move up through the group. With so many corners coming in 1 mile, the straightaways are short. Add in that you are traveling at 28-30 mph and that leaves you with little time to pull out and pass on a straightaway. With the speed so high, I had to pick my way through the group instead of passing a big bunch all at once. It took me many laps to get into a good position. I made most of my passes on the outside of the last turn, which was where the family had set up their cheer camp so they got to see me being a little aggressive at times. Once on my way up through the group, I got run over to the left on the final straight stretch. There was a barricade on that side blocking us from running over a very deep pothole that was full of water. When I got forced over, I had nowhere to go. I squeezed me way between the two barricades, which were not as wide as my body. I had to do a wiggle maneuver to fit through and then jump the pothole. It slowed me down, but I still gained some places for my troubles and Shannon got it on video.
Video: Me splitting the barriers at Indy
The race was a longer one at 75 minutes for our Pro/1/2/3 group. I finally got to the front after about 35 minutes, then got shuffled back behind a few pedal drags from other riders and a few near-crashes right in front of me. I had been finding that the left side was the spot to move up while on the backstretch. It started to get more crowded on that side as everyone saw the move-up potential, so I changed to the right side just in time for a big crash to happen on the left. We were already rolling at a good speed, then a rider tried to attack. He hit a pothole as soon as he pulled out of line and it took his front wheel right out from under him. Down he went collecting at least 10 others. I took advantage of the slowing and moved up into the top 10.
Attacks were going left and right. I did not want to follow any so I dropped a few places farther back. Then I got stuck behind a few slower riders and found myself 3/4 of the way back again. I tried to move up the rest of the race, but I was fighting an uphill battle. I would pass 10 riders, get stuck behind someone and drop 10 places. Then go up 15 places and slide back 15 places. Looking back on it, I think I was trying to move up without using any energy while I should have been more aggressive and used the good legs I had. I actually got so frustrated once that I coasted until I was at the very back of the 75 riders that were left and then moved to the opposite side of the road and started working my way up again. It seemed like the side I picked was always the slow side.
The pace dropped a bit near the end despite Texas Roadhouse starting their leadout train at 10 laps to go. It seemed like the perfect scenario for me with a bunch sprint looking imminent, but I never found my way through the pack. We were often 7 and 8 wide through the corners the last few laps and there was simply nowhere to go. It was getting sketchy at 2 laps to go and I decided that it was best that I not push it too much. I was 60 riders back and the chance of winning was gone now. It wasn't worth getting in a bad wreck over 30th place.
The pace was fast those last two laps and I found myself closing many gaps at one to go. I was actually drifting off the back when another crash happened with just half a lap left. It again happened on the backstretch. I rode by to see a guy laying face down and not moving. Spectators were coming to his aid, so I rode on to find an official. I didn't see the guy's bike anywhere when I went by. Then I saw it. It was 150 meters further up the road hooked on a another rider's back! He was dragging it down the road as he tried to stop. Now I have seen it all! I found an official and told him there was a crash and one rider looked to be rather injured. He showed not one sign of caring. He actually looked at me like I was bothering him. Other than the disgusted look, there was no response. I yelled to the head officials as I crossed the finish line and they gave me a good response, calling for immediate help to be sent to the backstretch. At least somebody acted like they cared.
I finished a very disappointing 60th. My goal was a solid top-10 and I was never close to that today. The field was very strong and there were many riders who could've won the race. I had good legs, but not as good as last year. My heart rate was never very high after those first 15 minutes. It was like I couldn't push hard after that. I was sad to not do better in front of the family. I know they want me to do well and I was hoping to put on a show for them tonight. They weren't crushed that I finished so far back, but I was. It was like I was never in the right place at the right time. Then again, maybe I was. I did manage to miss both of the nasty crashes so I guess it wasn't all bad. We ended up with a fast 28.0 mph average speed for the 78-minute race. Sarah and Shannon shot a few video clips on Sarah's new phone that are posted below.
Video: Indy Crit.
We stayed with Sarah on Saturday night. She lives in a nice little neighborhood on the south side of Indy. It was nice to be able to sleep in beds and have kitchens this weekend. Hotels get old after a while. We were hauling an extra load with us today. Shannon's Mom brought down 10 boxes of canning jars for us to take home. We were running low here at home so we were happy to take on some new boxes when someone offered them up. I was expecting like 2-3 boxes, not 10. The car was packed on the way home!
Sunday brought another race in the Indianapolis area, this time in Speedway for the Speedway Cycling Grand Prix. I was hoping it would not be a flop as many Sunday races tend to be when they follow a big race. Last year's race in Ft. Wayne the day after Indy Crit. was very disappointing. Add in the other Sunday disappointments like the Sandy Springs Crit. in Atlanta and NoDa Grand Prix in Charlotte and you could see why I was a bit worried. One thing that gave me hope was that this race was the Indiana State Criterium Championship. It also had good payout. They gained some additional sponsorship just over a week before the event and were able to add another $500 to the Pro/1/2 purse. Money always helps people stay in town an extra day.
The course looked boring on paper, but turned out to be lots of fun to ride. It was flat and wide with all right turns. You could pedal through every corner. The challenge was provided by the wind today. Storms were blowing in from the west, giving some brief showers, but nothing that even got the pavement fully wet. The wind was straight in your face on the backside of the course, especially on the straightaway leading to the final turn, which came just 200m from the finish line.
Speedway course map
We had time to go to church with Sarah before driving over to Speedway. I got changed and began my warm-up to find tired and stiff legs. Shannon and I rode over to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and tried to get a glimpse of the track through the fence. The speedway was less than a half mile from the crit. site. There were some cars out on the track, but we could not see them at all. It was still awesome to hear the sound as they came roaring by. The crit. course actually went alongside the Dallara IndyCar Factory. I am a race fan through and through so I found it all very exciting and fascinating. Now I just need to get into the track and see a race!
My legs felt terrible the whole warm-up. Crappy legs combined with intense wind made me worried for this race. We had a good amount of very fast Cat. 1s and even a few Pros on the start list. Just finishing this race was going to be a feat. The Pro/1/2/3 Women didn't give me much hope either as they blew apart into the wind. A break of five stayed away to the finish. I expected a break would win our race as well.
Three off the front in the Pro/1/2/3 Women's race
Two bridging across to the break
And then there were five up front
The start was really fast. I started on the front row and stayed in the front half of the 40-rider peloton early on. I chased nothing. Attacks were going everywhere, but I wanted no part of it. In the first 5 minutes a break of four established a gap. The break was made up of two Bissell riders, a Texas Roadhouse and an Upland Brewing rider. It seemed like the perfect combination to go all the way. The break did make it all the way, but only with three riders as the Upland rider fell back after a few laps. For a while there were constant attempts to bridge, then things calmed down.
Bissell rider off the front on the first lap
Me early in the race
The group was strung out on the backside with the raging wind
Halfway through the race came another round of attacks and another break got off the front. I was feeling good and just sat back in the peloton. Bissell was not letting anything go. It took a few laps of fast riding, but they were able to pull all the attackers back except the original three that were now way up the road. Those three would lap us at the 45-minute mark, leaving us 15 minutes to sort out the finish. I was surprised to now have great legs. I think they may have been even better than the day before at Indy!
The first four to get away
The group goes into the wind on a very wide course
The three that lapped the field
More riders attempt to get a gap in the middle of the race
In the closing laps, Texas Roadhouse started their leadout. They were lined up at the front with 8 to go. It was difficult to stay up to the front as far as I wanted to be. You had a line of 6-7 Roadhouse guys, followed by a line of 6-7 Bissell riders. A few times I got mixed into the Bissell train and they did not like it. There were some elbows thrown and a lot of yelling, but I never backed down. They don't like anyone getting in their way, let alone some guy who isn't even on a team. I got onto Adam Leibovitz's wheel. That seemed like a good one to be on as he was the only non-Bissell or Roadhouse rider that was a favorite. Things got crazy with three to go and I lost his wheel. I got shuffled back, but fought my way back to within a few riders of the back of the Bissell line with one to go. Roadhouse was still controlling the front. They did a better job in Speedway than they did in Indy.
The final lap was ridiculous fast. I gave it everything I had just to hold my position as we raced single-file across the back stretch. The rider in front of me slowed at one point and then swerved toward me, forcing me up onto the sidewalk for a few feet. I quickly hopped back into the road and did so rather smoothly, not losing any speed. But it happened as the surge forward was happening ahead and I lost a few bike lengths to the main group of sprinters. I spent all I had left to catch the group going into the final turn. The legs were spent and I had little left to sprint with. I came across the line on the back of the riders that were sprinting. I didn't beat any of them, but at least I was there, involved in the finish. When it was all sorted out for the results and the break riders were put in their position, I wound up 16th, just one spot out of the money! So close! Texas Roadhouse were repaid for their efforts as their sprinter, Kyle Perry, was in the break that lapped the field and then took the bunch sprint.
We averaged 27.0 mph for the full race, which I thought was very fast considering how tough the wind was. I was very, very pleased with how I felt. I was never once in danger of getting dropped. Actually, there were even very few times where I had to work hard to stay on the wheel ahead of me coming out of the corners. Either I'm getting stronger or these wide courses are just that much easier. I was disappointed with my heart rate again today, only hitting a max of 182 all day. That came in the finish sprint. Strava backed up my feeling of pain those last few laps. We were definitely flying. The last three laps were the fastest three of the race and the final lap was 11 seconds faster than any other lap! That is insane! I averaged 33.1 mph for the final lap and hit 35.1 mph going into the last turn. No wonder I couldn't sprint! Overall, I really enjoyed this race. It was far from a "Sunday let down." I will gladly come back here in the future. It was very fun and a well-run event. A video from the race is posted below. Thanks Shannon for filming and taking pictures!
Speedway Cycling Grand Prix Video
I found out that I have some blog readers in the Indy area. It's always good to hear that somebody reads this blog more than once. I think most people find my blog while doing a Google search for Twilight. The reason I say that is that my Twilight blog (about Athens Twilight, not the vampire books/movies) has more than triple the views of any other post. It's probably all teen girls finding it and then being all disappointed. Here's a shout out for Frank. Congrats on rocking it at RAIN! That was a fast average my friend. Thanks for reading!
Early last week we finally got the news on our exams. We passed! Shannon and I are both Certified Personal Trainers and I am also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I was so nervous about the scores. I wanted both certifications so bad! I really studied hard and I guess it paid off. We were actually very far from failing them. I couldn't believe how well I did on both tests. I guess they weren't as hard as I thought.
Last Wednesday was Race #7 of the Music City Crits Series. I rested for two days after the Indy weekend, so I expected to have great legs. Usually I am a little off right after a rest week, then after a race or two I find great form. Not today. I had bad legs in warm-up, but they got better after 10 minutes of racing. I sat on the back of the group the first 15 minutes, then moved up. It was a fast pace and there were many attacks. It seemed as though the elastic was bound to snap at some point and a break would go away. I was fine with 3-4 riders going up the road since I was not feeling 100%.
Start
The break formed much like in Race #5. Two riders went up the road, then a few bridged. Then a few more bridged and before I knew it there were 8 riders up there. I knew I had to go, so I followed the next move. It just so happened to be two of the strongest Cat. 1s I know. Ryan Sullivan went first, followed by Tim Henry, then me. I never got to Tim's wheel, but I was pushing hard. I knew this was it. As I started to hurt, two riders came by me. I jumped on their wheel and then they sat up. I slowed for a second and then it was game over. I have no idea why they passed me and then sat up. It makes no sense. The break eventually became 10 riders as Ryan and Tim crossed the gap. We never saw the break again. I made one attempt to bridge, but they were going too fast and the riders in the main group were watching me like a hawk.
Me chasing Tim Henry trying to make it to the break
Craig Evans attempting to bridge to the break
Photo by Josh Cook
After a few laps of recovery, I tried to bust up our group. I attacked several times, but never could get a real gap. They would collectively chase me down and then sit on me. I did manage to blow some riders off the back, but that left me with four Treehouse and four I Am Racing riders. There were many attacks the last 20 minutes of the race, but everybody wanted to go solo. The only rider that would work with me any at all was Craig Evans. I got frustrated near the end and fired off many attacks in the closing laps. I think I attacked either into, or out of, the chicane three laps in a row. I knew they would catch me, but oh well. I'm not getting any stronger sitting in the slow pack sucking wheels.
Peloton. I'm over on the left in the black.
Photo by Josh Cook
Me on the attack in the left hairpin turn with Riccardo Cannone chasing after me
The venue looks good under the evening sky
Photo by Michael Edens
Needless to say, I was tired at the finish. I started the final lap a little too far back and then got myself blocked in with half a lap to go. I wound up taking 20th in the end. And again, I could not reach those upper 180 heart rates I was hitting a few weeks ago. I managed only 182 today. Congrats to Jason Chatham who won the race from the break! I ran my GoPro on my handlebar using my new K-Edge GO BIG Pro Mount. It's aluminum which keeps the camera more stable than GoPro's plastic mounts. It also mounts the camera below the handlebar so it is a little more discreet. It's perfect for those few finicky officials who are still convinced it is made of glass and will shatter or will fall off my bike. It hides well. Check out the highlight video below.
Off the front with 3 laps to go
Two riders leaning on each other with 2 laps to go
Bike Cam Highlights from Music City Crits Race #7
My Mom also shot quite a bit of video this week. It is posted below.
This weekend was another Tennessee weather rarity. It was 54 degrees Saturday morning. It's July. It's supposed to be 84 in the morning and 100 in the afternoon. It was drizzly on Saturday and never got above 70 degrees so I did not go for a real ride until late in the afternoon when it was at its warmest. I had time to kill in the morning. I watched the Tour de France (go Nibali!) then got an idea for fun. I took a few 55-gallon plastic drums, stacked my ladder bridge on top and made a fun ride. Oh yeah! Give a mountain biker some wood and a few drums and he will have fun all day! It felt good to get back to freeride mountain biking. I don't get to do it near enough these days.
Setting up
The stunt wound up being harder to ride than I expected. I have good balance, but things change when you are standing still on a platform that is moving and tilting. I ate a lot of grass, but had a lot of fun. I made it several times so it was a successful idea. Not bad for a dreary day! Some still shots and a video are posted below. I actually think it is possible to space out the drums and ride it all the way to the other side of the creek. I have a lot of work to do on my balance before that will happen!
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