cmh

I've been off line for the long weekend of the Mt. Hood Classic. It was quite interesting to see Vino's daily reports since he was up front where the action was all weekend, and I was busy getting severely humbled and duking it out for DFL. It almost seems like we rode in a different race.

I did get to meet the legend this weekend and rode with him for a few miles. On top of being an incredibly strong and sadistic bike racer, and an entertaining author of race reports, Vino is a really nice guy.

I usually don't read race reports that are over a couple hundred words and occasionally complain about their length. So, if you don't feel like wasting a good chunk of time skip this report. (Or maybe just print it out and put it in the bathroom to read later.)


Day 1 - Cooper spur circuit race 66 miles, 7200ft of climbing (4 times up an 1800' climb ending at Cooper spur resort). It was a really hot day - I think about 90-95 degrees. On lap 1, I got spit off the back hard about 1k from the top. I could believe how fast the guys in front were riding, but I couldn't believe how few people were dropped with me on that 1st time up. It was quite demoralizing. I chased like crazy alone for a while, then with 2 other riders but didn't even come close to getting back on. The next 3 laps I was alone or with 1 other rider so it was a really long day. The last 2 laps I was fighting really bad cramps in my legs - quads, hamstrings and calves. The cramps were the worst on the descent when I'd stop pedaling. It was also really tough to stand up. I sort of had to ride the 33 miles at 1 cadence and power output. Any harder and I would cramp up, and any easier and I would cramp up. Every lap had a feed zone so I would get 2 bottles for my cages, plus a third that I would drink some, pour some over my head, then toss. I also had plenty of gu and sports drink, but no solid food. 72nd place of about 90 starters, 36 minutes back on GC. Ouch. I had to lie down in the grass next to my car for a long time after this one. I also had to drink water and recovery drink very slowly as I felt like I would toss it back up. It was about 9pm before I had to pee.

Day 2 - TT from The Dalles to Hood River, 18.5 miles, 1950' of climbing, stiff headwind. I rode the TT on Shawn's bike that I had taken for 2 rides prior to the event. I started thinking I would put in my best effort hoping for a decent place (like 30th). I just about caught the guy 30" in front of me by the first hill, but also was caught by 2 riders (I assume 30" and 1' behind me) shortly into that hill. Being that far down on GC and caught by 2 people already, I knew I wouldn't be lighting up the results on this one and backed off a bit. I still rode pretty hard, but intentionally saved some for the coming days. 55 minutes (20.2mph avg), 69th place, another 6-7 minutes down on GC. The winning pro time for this TT was 40:25!

Day 3 - RR -Coopers spur to Mt. Hood Meadows via Dufur and Tygh Valley. 89 miles, 9200' climbing, 85 degrees at the start (10:40am). After cramping badly on Day 1, I bought some electrolyte caps ($19 for a bunch of salt!). I also brought more gel and a cliff bar. The race started with a short downhill, then a climb over the ridge from Hwy 35 to Dufur. The climb was steep, but it was much slower than Day 1 and I was able to stay with the pack. I did seem to be breathing harder than a lot of people around me, but it is hard to tell who is hurting. 2 riders broke away on this climb (5 miles into the race) - one of them was Vino. Over the top of the climb and we came screaming down the descent at 45mph (49mph max on my computer). Then we had a fairly flat 15 minute stretch that was pretty easy - I think this was the flattest stretch of road we were on outside of the crit. I chatted with the 16 yr old race leader for a while - nice kid. At the end of this stretch was the first feed zone. At the start of the feed I tossed my 2 empty bottles to the side, then was told there was no neutral water left! The next feed scheduled feed was in 30 miles 2500' of climbing. Only riders with team support received a bottle. Luckily a rider that had grabbed a water bottle from a team (not the team he was on) felt sorry for me and gave me a 1/2 full bottle. I don't know why he gave it to me because a lot of riders were without water at this point. I thanked him with some salt pills later in the race. The next big climb was on a major road (97 I think), about 1400' of climbing. It started out at a slight grade - maybe 3-5%, but word had gotten around the pack that the break had 3 1/2 minutes and the 9th place GC guy was the virtual GC leader. So we went up this thing at 19-20 mph. Towards the top it got steeper and our speed dropped to 15-16 mph. I got dropped very close to the top with a bunch of other riders. Near the summit they had set up an interim feed zone where they had bottled water (crystal geyser bottles, not bike bottles). I was able to grab 2 of those and shove them in my back pocket, 1 fell out about 1/2 mile later. My small group chased back on and caught the pack shortly into the descent. This was another screaming fast glide down into Tygh Valley. Climbing out of Tygh Valley is a pretty steep grade for 600' that blew the pack apart. After the steep section is a bunch of rollers with a lot more up than down. I worked pretty hard in a group of 6-8 riders for a while, then that group kind of split up. With about 30 miles and 3500' I dropped back and turned it into a recreational ride. A really hard recreational ride. I rode with various other people at times, and alone at times. I was bummed to see Vino getting a new wheel, but we did get to ride together and chat for a few miles. The final two feed zones were well stocked so I didn't have a problem getting water after this point. The last 2 miles up the 8-10% climb into Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort were pretty painful. I can't imagine how those last couple miles would feel if I was actually racing them and trying to hold a GC position. Overall I felt much better than on Day 1. No cramping, just the normal fatigue that I would expect after that hard of a ride. 5:13 minutes, 65th place, another 0:47 down on GC.

Day 4 - 30 minute crit on a 1k course. I warmed up well and lined up right in the 2nd row. Then we were told we had an extra 10 minutes before the start and that we'd be staging 30 yards back from where we were. So we all rode 1 more warm up lap and I lined up right near the back. The crit started out fast and stayed that way. I think I heard the announcer say we were doing 26 mph laps, but I'm not sure about that. I did all I could to move up during the crit and managed to get to about 20 riders from the front. Every couple laps they would ring the bell for a prime and it was all I could do to keep up. I usually lost a few places during those laps. With about 6 laps to go I put in a really big effort to move further up to the front and it just wasn't happening. So, I decided I wasn't going to be contesting the sprint and was happy to finish a stage with the pack. I was pretty nervous going into this about the corners, but after a lap I was surprisingly comfortable. I was actually kind of surprised at how slow everyone took the tight corner and often used the 90 degree corners to move up a spot or two. 42nd place.

Final GC 55th of 62 finishers and about 90 starters, 1:27:16 down.

I was woefully unprepared for this race and it was full of firsts for me, so I am relatively happy that I finished. Other than as a junior 22 years ago this was my first stage race and included my 1st TT and 1st crit. Day 1 was as long as the longest ride I was able to get in this season with about 2000' more climbing. Day 3 was obviously another longest ride of the year with even more climbing. I won't do another stage race like this unless my life changes enough so that I can get in a lot more training time than I have this spring.

mollusk

Nice read.

You are an inspiration. You are NOT a loser. The only losers are those that never try.

MDcatV

+1

cmh

Thanks, guys. I just quickly re-read some of my post. I didn't mean for it to come off sounding like the ride was such a downer. I am not going to quit riding and take up knitting, although, halfway through the 1st hilly road race I vowed to give track racing a go.

Snuffleupagus

A man after my own heart

obra3

C... will you be at Cascade? I think I might be there!

cmh

K-man - I won't be at Cascade. Hood was my only option for a stage race this year.

Have fun at Cascade if you go.

yonderboy

We'll see you out there. The Six Day and AVC are coming up. I don't think I'll be doing either one, but I'll be doing plenty of omnium events until the criterium championships this August.

Vinokurtov

When you lose 1/3 of a Cat 3 field over 4 stages (and my wife said a bunch of guys got pulled in the crit BTW), just finishing is an accomplishment. Great meeting you BTW, sorry I didn't bump into you after the crit so I could buy you a beer. Next year

cmh

Vino - it was great to meet you as well. Me and my family were staying with some friends just outside of Hood River so I was pretty busy after each stage. My family came out to watch the crit. My 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old boys weren't up for hanging out another couple of hours in the sun so I couldn't stick around for a beer and to watch the pro crit.

If you come out to race this as a cat 2 next year I will definitely come out to buy you a beer whether I race or not.

Cheers,
cmh