Two-wheeled (and other) misadventures

Not sure if the best part is the money, the doomed bunny, the Jefferson Cup I never got when I went to UVA or the stupid smile I can’t get rid of, but I won my first road race today. I sprinted to the win in Cat 4 at the Jeff Cup in Charlottesville, racing in a field of 125 riders drawn from Virginia, Maryland, D.C. and North Carolina.

I’m also not sure I can say for sure how it happened. I talked to several people about the race and absorbed the advice. Stay close to the front going into the big climb; be in the top 15 on the final turn; don’t go too early.

I followed their advice as best I could. I found the race a bit frustrating for how it yo-yo’d, speeding down descents, then crawling up climbs. I had to ride my brakes on the downhills, since I descend like a stone as a big guy, then no one would carry momentum up the next roller. I attacked twice, once in the first lap and again in the second lap, but 4s tend to not let anyone get away. I spent much of the third lap recovering from the last attack and drifting too far back in the field. But I was able to move up throughout the fourth lap.

I think I rolled through the final turn in exactly 15th. The final mile seemed almost as if it unfolded in slow motion and not just because it’s uphill. With about 1K to go a group of three separated off the front by about 10 meters. Someone said later they started sprinting too soon. I sat in the next group about 6th wheel, feeling comfortable and sort of waiting for someone to do something. About 500 meters from the finish, the Carytown rider in front of me jumped to bridge, I went with him. We caught them with about 250 meters to go. He went around them to the right and I jumped left. Suddenly there was no one in front of me. I kept waiting for someone to pass, but I even got to lift my arms as I crossed the line.

I owe thanks to new teammate Nate for driving up there and back, Art for being there and the rest of the Tripower crew for making me stronger every time I ride with them. And thanks to the race organizers for putting on a good race.

Hope someone out there got pictures from the finish.

That’s the podium for the Medusa’s Revenge alley cat race, er, scavenger hunt in Norfolk on Saturday. I’m in the middle with the “Helm of Hades” (the cap of invisibility used by Perseus to slay Medusa), David in second with Adamantine Sword and Liz in third with the mirrored bronze shield. Kurtz came up with a cool theme and course, calling for visits to statues in across Ghent, ODU and downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth. Well done, young man.

I rolled on my new fixed gear Specialized Langster to level the playing field some. I’d been riding my cyclocross bike on the last three of these.

After meeting at Colley and Harrington, we started over beside Blair Middle School, locking our bikes up and doing a LeMans style start. After riding 40-some-odd miles hard in the morning, I was not sprinting for my bike. We started at about 10 ’til 4, so I had 25 minutes to collect information from assorted statues in Norfolk before the next ferry left Waterside for Portsmouth. Since the wind had shifted around to the north I decided to start against it and rolled up to the St. Mary’s Cemetary, near the zoo, where I needed to get some dates off “the biggest Jesus.” He was easy to find. Liz rolled up as I was leaving. I rode down Monticello, then Armistead to Princess Anne and Elmwood Cemetary, where I had to find out when the Confederate Dead Memorial was erected.

Then I shot downtown to the MacArthur Memorial to find out when the general was born and over to Main Street to the big Civil War monument to learn when was the final reunion of veterans of that war. I hadn’t seen anybody since leaving Liz at the cemetary, but they were all waiting for the ferry when I arrived. Liz caught up in time to catch the ferry too.

We enjoyed a peaceful ride across the Elizabeth. For some reason the ferry makes two stops in Portsmouth within blocks of each other. Kurtz assured us that we could hit the three Portsmouth monuments in time to catch the ferry back to Norfolk at the second stop. He and I rolled down High Street, hitting the statue of William Cra(w)ford and another Confederate monument ( lot of those around here), then up to North Street and what I can only presume is a Spanish-American War monument, since the answer we were looking for on it was “Cuba.” Back to the ferry and we actually had to wait for it.

Another pleasant boat ride, though that north wind was getting cold, and we were back in Norfolk. Quickly collected the name of the sculptor of “The Tourists” outside Waterside, then rolled along the waterfront past the Wisconsin to the “Lone Sailor” statue. Back into Ghent, I hit the big statue in front of the Chrysler and the carved saints on Christ & St. Luke’s before making the haul into the wind up Colley to 24th St. then Killam Ave. through Park Place. At Norfolk Machine & Welding on 41st St. I found the number on the “Iron Man’s Hat,” then scooted onto the ODU campus to see how many columns supported the Monarch Lion at the end of Kaufman Mall. Again, I hadn’t seen anyone since leaving Liz at the “Lone Sailor,” where she asked that I just not finish a beer before she finished. No worries, Liz.

With all the answers I needed I beat it back to the finish line at the Tap House, scrambling down Bowden’s Ferry, across Hampton and through the underpass on the sidewalk. I locked my bike up, went inside, bought a beer, visited the boy’s room and went back outside to enjoy my St. George Porter. As I was sitting down David and race organizer Kurtz rolled up nearly five minutes after I arrived.

Liz came along almost 10 minutes later. Then the rest trickled in slowly. Wes came along with Abby in tow having hit all the landmarks and borrowed a memento from one of the Confederate sites.

Liz was elated, remarking that this may be the only podium she makes all year and proudly showing off her bronze platter, er, shield.

A little local knowledge and quick, sound planning go a long way in alley catting. It really is a fun way to race. Heck, it would just be a fun way to ride, even with a bunch of slow folks or newcomers to cycling. It’s a great way to learn more about where you live, see some sights and get more comfortable on your bike. It’s a shame more people don’t come out for these because they really are a lot of fun. We started with about nine or 10 people. Tried to get a group shot at the Tap House, but this is what happens when you let someone else take a photo (I manipulated it as much as I could):

Oh, Kurtz was real creative with the prizes. He scored the “Helm of Hades” at Goodwill. Check it out:

The 99th Milan-San Remo rolls Saturday. This flashback from 1992 shows ultimate hard man Sean Kelly attempting to chase down Moreno Argentin on the hairpins descending the Poggio. Kelly sports one of the early hardshell helmets. (I love that you can find these old racing clips on YouTube.)

The classics season has begun. After Italy, Belgium!

Another Norfolk alley cat is in the offing this Saturday. This one looks to cross the river, which could be a great equalizer. Come out and play. This cat will be rolling fixed for the first time (and coming off a long morning training ride).

Ellie had another strong swim meet, cutting a few more tenths of a second off her 50 free and almost winning that race. More significantly she swam a real strong 100 IM, but let her tell you about it.

Unfortunately, the meet was taking so long that she had to skip the 50 butterfly, her strongest stroke, to make U11 advanced squad’s first soccer game of the year. As it is, she left the pool after the IM, jumped in the car and still didn’t arrive until after the game started.

Eighth place seems to be mine so far this year on the road. After finishing there in B race at Snowball No. 1, that’s where I landed Saturday at the VBW Smackdown.

I’m surprised I finished that well. The little ones made sleep short and interrupted Friday night, so I wasn’t a fount of energy. Plus I got up early to take Ellie to her final swim meet, which ran long so I didn’t get to the race venue at Sleepy Hole Park until 30 minutes before my race. After I changed and registered, I barely had 1o minutes to warm up. But enough with the excuses, I honestly just didn’t feel like my legs were there.

The course was a very narrow running track that might safely accommodate four riders abreast at a parade pace. But we were 34 or so running at an average 25mph. The tight first corner was downright frightening. I’m sure I hit my brakes more in this crit than in any other I’ve ever ridden. The narrow course made it difficult to move around in the group, so I spent much of the race deep in the pack. I did bridge to a two-man breakaway early in the race, but right after I made the juncture the officials rang the bell for a prime. I decided to go for that rather than trying to make the breakaway stick. Naturally, a rider from Richmond pipped me at the line for the $10 as shown in the photo above from Kevin.

I moved up on the inside in the last few laps, but didn’t want to get too close to the front. My mistake. I slotted in about 10th wheel, but we rolled the last lap at nearly 30mph and I wasn’t able to move up further. Coming out of the final curve I was only able to pass two riders and the leaders clearly pulled away from me. Nice win by one-time Monday night running mate Dave Erickson from JRVS.

It was cool to watch the 3 race and the 1,2 race after. Bender was superstrong throughout the 3 race, driving a nine-man break that lapped the field. But he got pipped by VBW’s Nisbet in the sprint. Greco bridged to a powerful break early in the 1,2 race and held on for a while. Still don’t know how that race turned out, but he dropped off their torrid pace right before I left.

Results have been posted for the first Camp Hilbert MTB race of the year. The numbers confirm my narrative below - I started strong (probably too strong)… turning fast laps of 37 minutes, 36 minutes, 37 minutes and 38 minutes to lie in 5th about halfway through the race.

Then the wheels came off. My next lap took nearly 46 minutes. Cramping, I almost quit, but I drank a lot and literally slogged through a sixth lap in nearly 64 minutes. Oddly I recovered somewhat about a third of the way into my seventh lap and rode that in 47 minutes.

I finished 20th out of 44 starters in 5:05 as shown here. Not bad, but certainly not great. Jimmy D turned 7 laps, 10 minutes faster than I did, to finish in 18th. Kevin did eight in 5:55 to come in 15th and IF-man Mr. Russell of Staunton rolled eight in just under 5:31 to finish in 8th. The winner somehow did nine laps in 5:36!

As much as that hurt, I’ll probably take another stab at enduro. I’m not satisfied with how I did.

Also found some pics of me racing: here. (The links are wonky.)

Thanks again to organizer RunRideRace.

Mountain bike racing is back in Virginia, baby! Just take a look at the number of people who raced Sunday at Camp Hilbert. Several hundred people showed up and plunked down their $30 to suffer and have fun in the dirt. The parking lot overflowed out the drive and onto the road outside the camp with cars bristling with mountain bikes. Seemed like there were twice as many people as last year.

For some inane reason, I decided to race my first enduro even though I had a new untested fork and a new saddle on my K2. I sort of figured it was early in the season and the more time on my bike the better for my later season form. I wasn’t alone. Kevin, Mark and Jimmy D were also in the 40+ person field. We started fast, or at least Kevin and I did, staying not far behind the jackrabbit leaders. Kevin sat up at the top of one stiff little climb about midway through the lap. I kept the pressure on and kept the leaders in sight until a ways into the second lap.

Naturally I started way too fast, but I felt great, so I just rolled with it. Despite a ton of rain in the two days before the race, the course drained well and was mostly dry save for two big mud holes. Early in either the second or third lap, I saw Kevin through the woods and I hooked a tree and went head over heels under bike. Ouch. I must have damaged the tire as well because twice during the race I had to stop and refill it. Still I cruised through nearly three and a half laps until my right contact slipped out on a climb. I had to pull over and try to get it back in. Kevin passed me back here. After a minute or so I got it back in and gave chase, passing him back later in the lap.

Each lap after two I’d stop in the pit and grab some food. I ate half a PBJ after two laps, a banana after three, another half PBJ and Clif blocks after four. But I think I was eating too much and not drinking enough. About a third of the way into the fifth lap, my back and hamstrings started cramping bad. Every climb my legs would seize up. I could barely move. The pro/expert field began rolling through fast, starting with a flying Jeremiah Bishop. Crazy Hosang came through not long after in fifth.

I almost quit at the end of the fifth lap. My whole body ached. My back hurt. My butt throbbed. My legs seized up when I stopped. And to top it all off my feet were cold.

As I stood there quivering, Marc, Kevin and Jimmy plus countless others rolled through. But I drank a bunch of fluids and climbed back on after about five minutes. I pedaled tough squares through the next lap. Bill G came by me on this lap and even dropped a bottle of Gatorade for me, but I was in such a daze I didn’t realize he did. I hooked up at one point with another enduro racer and we chatted about our mutual misery. He stopped at the end of the sixth lap, I decided to keep rolling.

Early on it was more of the same. I even fell over in the first deep mud puddle. But about 10 minutes in as I rolled along the beside the creek, I realized it was my last lap and I got a second wind. I started moving again instead of crawling along. I don’t know as I made up any ground on anyone, but I felt like I finished strong.

Jimmy finished ahead of me. Both Kevin and Mark got in an eighth lap and the winner turned nine! Much respect. Mark Junkerman and RunRideRace put on an awesome race.

I suffered Sunday. If I do it again (a huge if), I wouldn’t eat sandwiches, I’d regulate my drinking more and I certainly wouldn’t start so fast.

But as much as I suffered, I brought it on myself in the name of making myself stronger. Others suffered far more. Kevin learned on the drive home of a huge loss and my heart goes out to him. Another Tripower teammate’s father also passed away and he too is in my thoughts. And in California a sheriff’s vehicle crossed the double yellow and killed two cyclists training near Cupertino. Puts my little race in a world of perspective.

For me biking is one way to celebrate life, pushing my body as far as I can go and hanging with my friends. I can’t wait to celebrate life again with them.

Ellie scored a hat trick Sunday morning against the toughest team in her grouping at the Icebreaker Invitational this weekend. Scoring three goals in a game is a rarity, even at the level Ellie plays on. These young girls are good.

The U-10 select squad she’s joined is still pretty new to each other. They played a Beach squad to a 2-2 tie on Saturday morning. In the afternoon, they played their worst game, seeming not to trust each other yet and not passing, and lost 0-1. Though luck played a huge role in that game as numerous scoring chances went off the goal post or just a breath wide.

Sunday morning they played like an entirely different team. They passed. They defended with tenacity. The Beach squad they were playing had romped through its first two games, winning 4-0 and 6-3. They were a pressing team, frequently bringing their defenders up to the midline, and they paid for it. Ellie drew first blood scoring on a nice crossing pass on a fast-break play with two other teammates. They simply outnumbered the defenders and passed well.

Her team took a 3-1 lead into halftime. Early in the second half, Ellie scored again on another cross in heavy traffic after the goalie missed the ball. She was right where she needed to be and redirected the ball into the net. A while later, Ellie forgot she wasn’t playing goalie and grabbed a corner kick as it came through. She immediately dropped it, but it was too late. The other team had a penalty kick. Fortunately it clanged off the top-bar.

A moment later her goalie scooped up the ball and hurled it downfield and over much of the other team. Ellie turned on the jets and beat the defender to the ball and suddenly was in a breakaway one-on-one with the other goalie. A quick feint and Ellie was past her with nothing but wide-open net in front of her. Three!

Unfortunately the other team kept pressing and suddenly scored goals in bunches and Ellie’s team lost by a heartbreaking 5-6 score. Still she and her team played great looking soccer and can be proud of it.

After the game, we took the girls down to the Dismal Swamp Canal bike trail, ate a quick picnic and rode a few miles. Audrey rode with Michele. Ellie rode her new road bike for the first time and loved how fast she could go on it. Millie toughed out four miles on her 16″ wheel bike, smiling the whole time, though she said she was ready to go to sleep toward the end.