Bicycling BLUES (the race report)

Well, I got to BICYCLE , I ate some BBQ and definately got some BLUES at the Clear Lake Bicycle, Blues and BBQ Weekend. I still have a foot print on my butt from getting my ass kicked, unfortunately, it wasn't from the other racers, rather my own.

Saturday was an enjoyable day exploring Clear Lake's state parks and enjoying their City Beach. The ratio of attractive people per capita is higher than in Muscatine, so it was a nice change of scenery. One can't help but to consider purchasing a summer home along the lake, because it truly is a great vacation town.

I lined up for the Cat 3/4 criterium around 5pm. The course was being described as very technical and fast. 8 corners within a fairly short course that took just under 2 minutes per lap. The straight finishing stretch had a slight incline to it that usually inspired accelerations.

My race was over from the start as I chose to line up in the back with the mentality to ease into the race until I got a feel for the corners. Nope, not gonna happen. The guy in front of me started sketching trying to get clipped in, which caused me to start to stall out trying to get clipped in as well. I hit turn one of lap one in dead last place, which was a deal breaker.

Former Cat 2 Brandon Krawczyk of Speedfix was setting a blistering 1st lap pace that never let up. Combining that with the nervous Cat 4's at the back and my tentative cornering ultimately put me out of the pack. I got sort of depressed and unmotivated during the middle of the race, but then Tracy Thompson started heckling me about not pedalling, which oddly inspired me to go into turbo mode. I recovered 6 or 7 places to finish 12th out of 28. This was basically a horrible result, as I had to use so much energy pedalling around by myself.

The main event, Cat 1,2,3 race was next. Ok, sure, I was exhausted from the first race, however I now had a feel for the corners and knew to hit it hard from the start... Bingo! This race went much better for me. Sure it was probably faster, but much easier, because I stayed with the group. I bridged a gap once, maybe even led for a few seconds, but for the most part, I was just focused on finishing with this group of talented racers. I came in 13 out of 22 starters in this race. The race also featured Evil Kneivel as the pace motorcycle and some hot chic with a revealing black dress handing out the awards, not too mention a great view of the lake.

Finally, the race I have been looking forward to all year arrived, as I lined up for the 81 mile Cat 1,2,3 Road Race. It was a cool and cloudy day, and a mostly flat course. The start was at the famous Surf Ballroom, where Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens played their last concert before their tragic plane crash.

FEED ZONE BLUES

The feed zone was at the 46 mile mark. Still traumatized by the issues I had at the 108 mile state Road race feed zones, I was focused on getting my Mom to the feed zone to insure I didn't lose because the other racers had this strategic nutritional advantage.

The race was going smoothly, a little hard in the cross wind sections as we were all single file, but then let up in the head winds, as Iowa City riders were doing the work to keep the 5 man breakaway in sight.

I started trying to drink faster to make room for the the hand-up as we approached the designated feed zone. I decided to only throw out one bottle in case I missed the hand-up for some reason, in the chaos of the feed zone.

As we entered the feed zone town, I was getting nervous because I didn't see my mom nor any other team helpers. Then, as we turned the corner, I almost crapped my Livestrong chamois to see that my Mom and son Chase were the only ones in the feed zone. Wtf?

I had to make a split second decision... the group seemed to be speeding up, so I couldn't really slow down as much as I needed to get the bottles. Ok, I decided to make a grab at it, but I was going too fast the and bag was too heavy, so I dropped it rather than lauching into the ditch. I looked up the road to see the field was quickly advancing. Your kidding me, this corner/feed zone inspired an attack/chase? I am confused about feed zone etiquette... aren't riders supposed to sort of chill until the field gets through them?

I put the hammer down, first seeing 27 mph, then 31 mph, then 32mph... yeah, the field was riding faster than they had all day. I could see 5 green jersey's rotating at the front and riders at the back standing up to try and hang on to the pace. I got to within maybe 100 yards, but slowly faded away over the next several miles.

I couldn't (and still don't) believe that no one else took a hand-up. If even just one other person would have slowed, we could have most likely worked together to get back on. I really didn't even need the hand-up as it was a very comfortable day, and the course was flat, but I just assumed taking a hand-up could be a competitive advantage.

Well, great, now I get to ride about 35 solo miles at my lactate threshold. I hoped maybe the race up ahead would become hard at some point, and I could advance by overtaking dropped riders. Unfortunately, over the miles only 6 riders lost contact with the group before I finished, so I ended up 24th out of the 30 starters.

This was so annoying. You would think having support at the feed zone would have been to my advantage, but it ended up costing me a shot at winning. A bit of bad luck that no one else took the hand-up combined with the field's inadvertant accelarations at the exact moment that I was slowing down.

Oh, what fun it would have been to sprint it out with the group. Instead I had to settle for sprinting against Lee Venteicher of Bikes2 You. We were both tired (for different reasons, as he was in the early break), but he asked if I wanted to sprint it out for the workout and I obliged, blasting away at the 200meter banner.

I didn't bring home any glory from the weekend (Results) , but the races were well organized and the venue was entertaining and relaxing. I did bring home a bit more fitness and wisdom, so maybe I will get to cash it in one of these days. Either way, this is a great hobby and I am happy to be healthy enough to take part in it.