Weekend Training Race

I decided to do the Two Bee Race last saturday, called Tech Tach Teicher. I wasn't sure what to expect, but usually the races put on by Conn Day and friends are a little bit more low key. They are great options, however, to break up the predictability of training with the same people.

My pre-race train of thought was to make sure I got a good work-out, so I wasn't planning on sitting in the back, or letting breakaways loose, if possible. Once I arrived, however, I was excited to see a much larger turnout than what I expected, 38 starters.

Most notable was the fact that 'Bikes To You' had basically their entire Cat 1/2 team, yet all the Cat 3's were absent (racing in arkansas I believe). Also, was the large team 'Atlas' representation.

Ok, so this was going to be a hard race without me going out of my way, because some of the best of the 'east coast Iowa racers' were lining up.

Basically, the race consisted of Bikes To You and Atlas taking turns attacking, chasing and blocking. I was mostly up for the 'fitness assessment' aspect of this race, since I had plenty of Michelob Ultra stockpiled from the Two Bee time trial races I have been doing. So, I chased the attacks down as well.

This meant I got to follow the wheels of some big hammers like Lee Venteicher (hey is this race named after him?), Tracy Thompson, Josh Madsen, Jim Cochran, Sean Walker, Ryan Jacobsen, etc. I used tons of energy bridging up to these attacks, and really I didn't have any specific reason for doing it (tactics wise).

Towards the end of the 27.5 mile race, a field of 14 was still intact. On one of the incline portions, with about 2 miles to go, I was on the front looking to slow down to conserve energy for the final sprint. Just then, Lee V. (I think, didn't look back) literally pushed me ahead with his hand. I guess this was non-verbal communication to 'go for it', 'take a pull' or perhaps even a great tactic to finally get rid of me, by coaxing me into burning my last bit of energy.

I accellerated/pulled for a bit, who knew, maybe some more people would get shelled off... Nope, only the strong had survived, and strong indeed they were. This was a terrible time to attack, and not really intentional, I just went with the momentum of Lee's 'push'. Next thing I know I was being dropped, along with ryan jacobsen (who had done a lot of work throughout the race, so understandably tired).

I watched the group carry onward, and looked down at my spedometer to see that there was only 1 mile left in the race. Well, I felt sort of silly, maybe embarrassed, perhaps dissappointed. Not sure. Because of my confusion, I opted to get the hell out of dodge immediately after the race, as I needed some alone time to reflect on what had happened.

Definately a great race, and thoroughly rewarding to compete with the group that showed up. Hopefully I furthered my fitness, because race tactic wise, I am more confused than ever.

The 'Cat 3' race had five riders, and I came in 2nd. Ian Robinson won the cat 3 division, and Lee Venteicher won the Cat 1/2. A handful of 4's and 5's were in this lead group, so great work for them. Glad to see former Muscatine resident Scott Fett finishing top 10 (7th) in this race.