Peoria Poo Poo Platter

Down But Not Out...

I did it, I actually drove 2 hours to Peoria to race in their Illinois State Champs Criterium races. I was unmotivated & undertrained, but not willing to quite yet let my entire summer racing calendar go down the tubes. I figured racing in Peoria would keep my training in line, and give me the insight I needed to know if I should bother with going to superweek (do I even like racing crits?) I was also hoping that racing two times in one day would make up for missing the Time Trial that I missed on Saturday. Yes, racing is like a drug, and I needed a fix.

MASTER'S 30/40 + (CAT 1,2,3) - 11AM
This was my first experience racing with this caliber of cyclist. Dominic Moraniec of Atlas was there and suggested that this would be the harder of the two races I had entered (I also entered the Cat 3 race). Team Mack was dominant with 13 riders (there were only 37 finishers, so this is a huge percentage).

The race started out smooth and not nearly as 'anxious/sketchy' as what I was expecting. I guess these guys truly are 'masters'. I was however, trying to get a rhythm going in the first part of this 20 lap (20 mile) race, so I wasn't really active in chasing the attacks. Dominic and a Team Mack rider were in a early break, however the team Mack guys weren't quite ready to start blocking and that got reeled in.

Ultimately, a break formed with all of the key Illinois teams (team mack, proctor and XXX racing). So the blocking began. I was right where I wanted to be for the last half of the race, but not really confident enough to try and bridge up to the break. With just a lap to go, I got a feeling that I was going to place well in the field sprint (I think were racing for 6th), because I was positioned well.

With two corners to go the team mack guys started telling each other to 'go'. Man the field had a lot left in the tank, and I lost about 20 spots by the time I crossed the finish line. There were only a few guys behind me.

Ok, that wasn't exactly a confidence builder for the next race, but then again, I was racing against cat 1,2 riders in addition to the cat 3's. I had already paid for the second race so I stayed. Good thing, because Sean Walker of Bikes To You in Iowa City, had a great race in the Cat 1/2/Pro field, making the 5 man break to place 5th overall, and provided for some great bike racing to watch, while I waited. He was right behind Pro rider, Steven Howard of Bissell.

A storm started brewing, and I was down wind of the porta-potties. The smell was unpleasant, and combined with the cramping I was getting in my hamstring seemed like foreshadowing for a less than successful Cat 3 race. (the second 'poo' on the platter?)

ELITE CAT 3 RACE - 4PM
A rather large field of around 60 guys lined up. I wasn't really nervous, because I had a great feel for the course after having racing it earlier. I was, however, wondering how my stamina would fare, not really being that familiar with doing two races on the same day.

This race started smoothly as well. We were racing about 30 miles, so the field wasn't too frantic at first. I got in a rhythm right off the bat (because I still had the feel from the earlier race). Unfortunately, I started to get sort of light headed and uninspired very early on. Some of my less than admirable thoughts were
"man, when is this going to be over"
"I think I am going to cause a crash"
"oh, great this head wind section again"
"I would be good at this crit stuff if it weren't for the corners"
"do I have a flat tire"
"I am going to DNF... wait, even worse I am going to be dead last on the results"
"I hope I don't get in the money, because I still have a two hour drive home, and don't want to have to wait around for the results".
etc.

Not sure, think I was actually bonking or something, because I really didn't eat lunch. I would go up to the front section, then slip back to the rear. I just didn't have the 'mojo' to defend my position when I achieved it so I ended up in the rear of the race quite a bit.

With two laps to go, I was in the tailgunner position. Man it was tempting to run my bike into a fence or something, so I could say I 'crashed out'. I am not a quitter, though, and I was determined not to finish in last place.

In the straight-section of the last lap, I put the hammer down, and executed the one aspect of bike racing that I do actually still have confidence in... long sustained efforts. The finish line is also a straight section, so I accelerated there as well. I passed a lot of people to come in 35th out of the 51 who finished.

So, the opposite happened in this race... I made up almost 20 places, instead of losing 20 places. Whew, dodged a bullet there. It would have been hard on the ego to recover from a last place finish. Since I didn't finish last, I will provide a link to the RESULTS.

Overall, yeah, I stunk it up. Optionally, however the other cyclists were having great races. The illinois guys were especially motivated since this was their state champs, and I can imagine it was one of the main events on their racing calendar.

So, I am glad I went, though I am pretty sure I won't try two races on the same day again. 50 miles of crit racing on an hour glass course was a bit much. I didn't have any more crits on my calendar except for the IA state champs, so no real worries that I have sort of burnt out on cornering tactics. I did take superweek off of my calendar, maybe do a leg or two or RAGBRAI instead.

I feel good today, though, I think things will be on the upswing as far as my results go.