zimbo

Thanks for the report, guys. I totally understand the psychological highs and lows of racing.

Had I signed up for this race during those few minutes in which registration was open, I would have been up there. My wife has been bugging me all weekend about how we should have gone up to Maryland instead of staying here.

--Steve

dirtyphotons

haha, well 'racing' might be a bit generous, but i was there!

here's my belated race report.

as i've said, this was my first race. i went to a couple ncvc racing clinics over the winter but beyond that i've mostly been training on my own. intervals about once a week, a long ride once a week if at all possible, commuting, general transportation. the occasional run, that's about it. i know i've got some good legs, but i also knew that i haven't been as dedicated as i should or could have been.

my goal in this race was to get my feet wet. i wanted to see if i'm a few hard hours a week away from being competitive or if i should just stick to recreational cycling, which i already get a lot out of. i wanted to be safe and i was determined to finish. everything else was icing.

i got to poolesville later than i'd hoped, due to a forgotten wallet (DAMMIT) and didn't have time to get in a proper warmup. i remember from my high school track days how important it is to warm up and was undersandably upset.

at the line, i was towards the back. i was pretty intimidated by this point. i was one of the few unattached riders, i was riding a very modest bike and i knew no one. some folks were discussing the gravel section, and a rather large fellow with quite a few tattoos was recounting a horror story about a race in charleston. they were riding on wet cobblestones and there was some horrific crash, i was trying not to listen. luckily before i knew it, the race had begun.

in the initial half mile there was one really scary moment where there was almost a crash in the huge pack, but people managed to stay up. everyone was talking about "that kelly guy" who caused it. i didn't really see what happened.

i felt good, staying with the group through the gravel. it really is a lot easier to go fast when you're surrounded by people going as fast. i'd ridden in pacelines before, but never in such a large group that it felt like i barely even had to pedal. on the gravel it did feel like the pace was slower than necessary, but i suppose some people were being overly cautious, and some didn't want to mess up their fancy wheels.

after the gravel was the "kicker" as mdcatv calls it. that broke things up quite a bit, and while i felt strong going up, the combination of nervous stomach and muscle burn caused me to drop back a bit once i was over the top. the field was pretty much scattered, and the 30 or so at the front seemed to be accelerating, while some were still struggling to get over the hill.

i'm gathering my senses as that very same large tattooed fellow rides by me saying something i can't quite understand. i assumed he was yelling at me for doing something stupid, as is often the case, but after a second it registers that he said "hop on!" he had a guy or two behind him and the beginnings of a chase pack was forming. so i took his advice and stuck my nose in, and immediately i was feeling better.

the main pack was already a ways out front but i was back in the game, and ready to work.

this group stuck together for most of the rest of the race. the vast majority of the pulling was done by a member of the capitol hill bikes team. occasionally one of us would try to go out front to relieve him, including myself, but he would just zip around us, laughing and smiling. after awhile it was clear that he intended to pull us trough the course, and for the most part we were grateful. i still feel a little guilty about it, but i tried to pull a couple times, he just wasn't having it.

i would get the occasional pointer from the aforementioned large tattooed fellow, but other than that it just felt like a fast paced group ride. at times i felt almost like we were going too slow, but i knew that i needed the draft in order to maintain this speed, so i just sat in.

about midway through the final lap the group picked up the pace considerably and i fell back a little. i was trying to budget my energy so that i could finish reasonably strong but in retrospect should've done everything i could to stay in the draft. oh well.

as the finish came up i actually managed to catch a couple of the guys who, like me, had been spat out the back of the pack. i feel like i even could've put in a semi-decent sprint, but was very tired and there was no one to catch, so i decided to play it safe and not risk crashing at the end, by myself, in 50th place.

i said thanks to a couple of the guys who helped me out and headed out of there.

turns out i got 47th out of 57 finishers, which i'm perfectly satisfied with for my first effort. next time will be another story.

i feel like i learned a few things about saving energy, when to sprint in order to get in the draft, and how to corner effectively in a race. i also learned that i have some work to do, but that i am in fact capable of being a road racer and maybe even being good at it eventually.

most importantly i learned that while people are really serious about this, they're also willing to help a guy out. even if he clearly has no idea what he's doing, and this was very encouraging.

i look forward to my next race (perhaps a greenbelt crit, i'm not sure) and to structuring my training with more of an idea what i'm working towards.

i'll definitely see you guys again soon.

-john

edit: if someone sees pics online would you link us? thanks!

Lithuania

Great report. I had no idea there was more then one group. I was also riding unattached.

Im curious as to why you chose this as your first race. Anything with gravel in it doesnt seem like the ideal entry race.

Good job on finishing and you made the right call not sprinting at the end there. No need to get hurt at that point.

dirtyphotons

excellent point, i wondered that myself.

i really love road riding. i enjoy varied terrain and feel that my strengh is adapting to the road in front of me, as opposed to pure leg strength. this was the only road race in early may that i could make, so i signed up knowing very little about the race.

when i read about the gravel i considered selling my spot and just doing a crit instead. but i wanted to follow through with what i started, that's what this race was really all about to me. so i did it and had a great time.

ironically i felt much stronger on the gravel than it seemed others were. i frequently ride the c&o on my cross bike, so i felt good. now i just need to get my strength and strategy up and maybe next year i'll be able to do some damage. figuratively, of course.

gogoturtle

That Kelly Guy was a menace. He was in the final group to the end, and finished near the top. But, a lot of the lead group was trying to stay clear of the guy and warning each other about him. I yelled at him more than once for not holding his line. There was anpthjer guy from a local team that I witnessed almost take out three people in three separate incidents (myself included). All in all, it was a sketchy race.

The Cap Hill Bikes guys was Ted. He was "complaining" that none of you would pull through. ACtually, it was good for him. He is a strong rider, but a bit skiddish in packs and cornering.

Glad you finished. You will learn that it gets easier from there.

Good luck going forward.

zimbo

There's such a big difference in effort between being on the front and being in the pack that it's likely that both "Ted" and the other guys in the group ALL thought the group was going too slow. Ted pulls at the front for a while but as soon as he's not at the front anymore the pace probably seems to easy for him, especially if he's not used to riding in a group. Someone else feels like the pace is too easy with Ted on the front and pulls in front of him, only to slow down due to not realizing how much harder one must work at the front. Everyone is frustrated, but not because anyone is doing anything overtly wrong per se.

This kind of stuff happens even during group rides where everyone is trying to work together and get a good workout. It's not at all surprising to see it happen in a race where everyone wants to do as little work as possible and stay fresh for the finish.

--Steve

Lithuania

im curious what lsv guy you are talking about because i seemed to be riding behind one most of the race.

Lithuania

this is when the spedometer really comes in handy. When I did that race in arizona a few months ago the pace definitely slowed by as much as 2 mph when I wasnt pulling while I was trying to catch the group.

ElJamoquio

Um... VA Beach is as flat as SE Michigan, if not flatter...

Lithuania

the more i think about this race the more I wish I would have been in position to bridge for one of those times a guy attacked off the front and everyone yelled to let it go.

lesson learned

truckin

Unless the race in question is a 'cross race on Mt. Trashmore! That's at least slightly less flat than everything else in VB

truckin

riskus, have you been in other races where people have yelled to let people go? I ask because that's not usually how it plays out down here. Occasionally when someone we know isn't strong enough to go the distance goes off the front we'll let him dangle off for a while to tire him out, but I've never had a group of people other than teammates of someone going up the road sit up and let people get away like that.

Lithuania

no ive never been in another race where that happened before.

Like I said though. The one guy that went off was definitely a threat and people still said it. So it wasnt just people thinking it was weak riders going off.

truckin

Weird! Also as you said, next time you'll know what to do

MDcatV

Weird. I would interpret "let him go" as "attack, bridge, work together" especially if a known strong rider or member of a team with #s is involved. But I'm goofy that way.

gogoturtle

He is a good rider, but he was not going to stick it for 3 laps. There was an effort to keep him close, but leave him out there to wear himself out. In the end, he still had enough to place well in the sprint.

Riskus, I remember your attempt at a break. You gave up too quick. We saw you go and did not react because you gave up like 50 yards in front of the pack.

Lithuania

it was the first time ive ever attacked in a race so i had no clue what I was doing.

truckin

So I just found out that one of the kids I used to ride with (and who was a young Boy Scout in my troop when I was just about done with Boy Scouts) won the 3/4 race. Congrats to Zack Allison. He rides for NCVC and just started racing last year. He went from no race experience to a cat 3 in his first season- obviously, he's strong!

dirtyphotons

for those who haven't seen, jim wilson' photos turned out great. that's me on the left. and yes, it is a nice visor.

MDcatV

Zack has a real feel for his abilities, puts himself in the right place at the finish, and has a great sprint when lead out. I've finished 2nd to him several times over the past 2 seasons, he's so sneaky, and easily forgotten or unseen until the last 200M. If he's there, he's the favorite in the Cat 3 MABRA world right now. Whereas, I race completely differently by attacking/instigating, generally dont like the chaos of a field sprint, but will mix it up if needed. I'm sure he'll upgrade to Cat 2 soon, so I'll have one less kid to worry about!

truckin

Yeah, sometimes I wish I could race that way. I do it more your way- attack and try to get away in breaks anytime I can. I'm up at the front a lot (not in the wind, but up there and therefore not forgotten about). I don't like field sprints because I don't sprint well- I'm working on that, but I do a lot better by stretching the field out or getting away in a break.