Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Bob Dopolina
09-20-08, 09:59 AM
Found out on Wednesday that I had been registered for a race today (damn, I've been busy). A short, flat circuit race and I was racing in my age category. All right, I thunk, what the hell. I'll go.
Then I remembered that my wife would still be away so it was me and my 18 month old son all week. What the heck, he'd go with me. The wives/girlfriends could look after him during the race (he loves the ladies) and it would be his first bike race.
All good.
Then I woke up really tired, had to get us both ready and drive an hour and a half to the race. I soldiered on.
The race was a mix of all the masters cats (from 30 years old and up). There was one former track pro now in his mid 60's. That was kinda cool.
I am riding for this club which is basically most of the guys I've been training with and some of their friends. They reg'd me and tossed me a jersey to wear. I still don't know what the name of the team I was riding for is...
Bang and we're off. It's 4 laps and we decided to let the team with 6 guys play their hand for the first 2 laps. 4 km into the race one of my team mates decides that the plan is out the window and he jumps. When he is reeled in the other guy goes (there's really only 3 of us to mix it up). So then I take my turn (which seems to be the new plan).
A few laps of this the field is thinner, the team with 6 riders never got a chance to play any card and we're at the bell.
The course started out along a 2-3 km long steel girder bridge that, I guess, was really old, recently restored and the reason why we were racing on it. It stretched across a very wide river, was totally exposed and had a nasty cross-head wind.
Then a quick right, up an on-ramp and onto a closed section of the hi-way and a cross-tailwind that saw me jump over 60km/h, repeatedly. Coming off the highway there was a sharp right that dropped down, slightly off camber, off the hi-way bridge onto a wee gravely road. 50m after that was another hard right corner and then into the last 1.5km that was a dog-leg shaped wind tunnel. Right in your face to the finish.
Each lap I made sure I lead through these turns and I kept ramping it up a notch further every time. Just testing.
Going onto the hi-way bridge, the last time, I had a team mate up the road in a 4 man break. The group was slowly bringing it back and I wasn't sure if they could hold it to the end. They were getting awfully close...
As we got near to the end of the bridge I had another team mate on the front setting a false tempo and, knowing the line I was going to set through these corners was going to be TIGHT and FAST, I told him to hold the pace steady.
I attacked just before the corners, blasted through them and bridged into the nasty head wind. I Caught them just as we passed the 1km to go point. I knew who's wheel to grab (the team mate) and I rolled onto his wheel just as he got up to sprint. He rolled across the line sitting up, I was a bike length behind him and there was open road behind me.
I was second.
But wait a minute! Hold the phone! I totally forgot about the age category thing! I won. Yipee!
All in all a small race but it was good to get back and get my head in a race for a while. I just wish I was feeling better.
It also gave me an indication of where my fitness is and what I need to work on now.
Bike racing is still fun.:D
Then I remembered that my wife would still be away so it was me and my 18 month old son all week. What the heck, he'd go with me. The wives/girlfriends could look after him during the race (he loves the ladies) and it would be his first bike race.
All good.
Then I woke up really tired, had to get us both ready and drive an hour and a half to the race. I soldiered on.
The race was a mix of all the masters cats (from 30 years old and up). There was one former track pro now in his mid 60's. That was kinda cool.
I am riding for this club which is basically most of the guys I've been training with and some of their friends. They reg'd me and tossed me a jersey to wear. I still don't know what the name of the team I was riding for is...
Bang and we're off. It's 4 laps and we decided to let the team with 6 guys play their hand for the first 2 laps. 4 km into the race one of my team mates decides that the plan is out the window and he jumps. When he is reeled in the other guy goes (there's really only 3 of us to mix it up). So then I take my turn (which seems to be the new plan).
A few laps of this the field is thinner, the team with 6 riders never got a chance to play any card and we're at the bell.
The course started out along a 2-3 km long steel girder bridge that, I guess, was really old, recently restored and the reason why we were racing on it. It stretched across a very wide river, was totally exposed and had a nasty cross-head wind.
Then a quick right, up an on-ramp and onto a closed section of the hi-way and a cross-tailwind that saw me jump over 60km/h, repeatedly. Coming off the highway there was a sharp right that dropped down, slightly off camber, off the hi-way bridge onto a wee gravely road. 50m after that was another hard right corner and then into the last 1.5km that was a dog-leg shaped wind tunnel. Right in your face to the finish.
Each lap I made sure I lead through these turns and I kept ramping it up a notch further every time. Just testing.
Going onto the hi-way bridge, the last time, I had a team mate up the road in a 4 man break. The group was slowly bringing it back and I wasn't sure if they could hold it to the end. They were getting awfully close...
As we got near to the end of the bridge I had another team mate on the front setting a false tempo and, knowing the line I was going to set through these corners was going to be TIGHT and FAST, I told him to hold the pace steady.
I attacked just before the corners, blasted through them and bridged into the nasty head wind. I Caught them just as we passed the 1km to go point. I knew who's wheel to grab (the team mate) and I rolled onto his wheel just as he got up to sprint. He rolled across the line sitting up, I was a bike length behind him and there was open road behind me.
I was second.
But wait a minute! Hold the phone! I totally forgot about the age category thing! I won. Yipee!
All in all a small race but it was good to get back and get my head in a race for a while. I just wish I was feeling better.
It also gave me an indication of where my fitness is and what I need to work on now.
Bike racing is still fun.:D