Superweek - Day 3 - Pro 1,2 Lake Front Road Race

I entered the Pro 1,2 Lake front road race on Wednesday.  I was excited to be lining up in my first regional Pro 1,2 race with about 90 or so very talented riders.  I enjoyed rolling along next to some of the pros from Team BMC, Fly V Australia, etc.

I was basically having a great time throughout this event.  The field would get stretched out into a single file line at  various points throughout the course, which was an awesome sight, as this was a huge field.  I also found it thrilling during the times we were descending about 46mph along the lake front... The beach was filled with shiny happy people, and lots of energy at the feed zones.

My favorite part of the course were the uphill portions.  The energy of the field made them very managable.  The worst parts were after 90 degree corners, as the guys in the back were 30 or 40 seconds behind the front guys, and usually had to break into a full on sprint until the group came back together. 

About 45 miles into the race, the first crash occured going up Ravine Road.  We were only going about 19 mph but it still took out quite a few guys.  Someone said "we're getting tired", and I knew exactly what he meant, riders were starting to lose some of their riding faculties based on fatigue.

This race did have a somewhat technical downhill chicane.  It wasn't as bad as I anticipated because we were in a single file line, but still an area to be cautious.  It actually had a 10 foot patch of water  running across it, which didn't seem like a big deal, but I guess I was wrong...

With only 7 laps to go, I was smiling ear-to-ear, because I was feeling good, and starting to entertain notions of trying to place well overall.  The peleton had broken up into two, with a lead group of about 11 guys up head of us.  I was in the back group, but still very happy and really focusing on enjoying the moment.

Heading down the chicane, a fatigued rider crashed ahead of me... It seemed like it was far enough ahead that I could get around it.  I steered to the left and applied the brakes as other riders were going down limiting my space cushion.  I hit the wet patch and went sliding down the hill... I ended up rolling and counted 11 different areas where I had broken the skin on both sides of my body.  The only scary one was on my chin... breaking a jaw would have been less than ideal.

Whew, I was basically alright (nothing broken)...I popped right up an got on my bike... crap, it was useless (handle bar turned, break pads rubbing, etc).  This crash took out the entire Iowa field (ok, it was just me and Jeff Bradley, but still a true statement).  Jeff had actually won this event when it was the US National Championship back in 1978, so that was a fun stat... not so fun that he got caught up in this pile up.

Looking at the results, a lot of guys must not have finished.  I am almost certain that I was going to place, as I was 50 miles in with only about 34 to go, and feeling more and more confident with each lap.  I don't regret entering this race, despite the outcome, because I feel that I have gained great perspective and experience that I can use in future races.