Keepin' the Faith - Race #1

After an looooooong winter and a cold start to spring, it was time to open my account for 2013.  Early this past Saturday morning I headed upstate to Coxsackie for the Trooper Brinkerhoff Memorial Race #3 for my first race of the season.  Training had been going well until late February when a mild cold resulted in some lung issues which proved extremely difficult to get over.  Four weeks later I was finally healthy enough to resume hard training although I still had to avoid real cold days.  So going into today's race was a bit of an unknown with less than two weeks training at full intensity.  Regardless of fitness, I wanted to get a couple of races under my belt before Tour of the Battenkill. Unfortunately it is no longer a target race for me due to the delay in my training, luckily it is a long season with many great races.

By the time I arrived at the start, it was a balmy 34F with full sun.  Unfortunately the nights are still very cold upstate and the peak temperature often doesn't occur until 4-5PM.  I delayed going out to "warm up" in order to stay warm for as long as possible.  I went a little light on the clothing, choosing to dress for the end of the race.  This meant standing at the start line shivering with nearly 100 other entrants.  Luckily we were under way quickly and my attention was soon focused on the race, distracting me nicely from the fact that I was under dressed.  I chose to ride on the right side of the peloton but ended up having to battle a little wind at times.  The up side of riding on the right was that offered me opportunities to move up as well as hopefully having an escape path should I need it.  I rode in the front third of the peloton all day, trying not to get caught out and shuffled to the back.  It was a little tougher to move up at this race however there were two good opportunities every lap if necessary.  Speaking of which, the race was a circuit race on a 12 mile course that was mostly flat with a few mild and short kickers.  The race got off to a fast start and maintained a hard pace for the first 18 miles.  Thankfully things eased up and a few guys slowly rode off the front near the end of lap two.  I decided it was a good time to test the legs, apparently I wasn't thinking clearly given my recent training...brain must have been frozen.  None the less, I pressed off the front in pursuit of the break.  I quickly made it about 3/4 of the way across when the headwind started hurting.  I realized this was going to end up being a painful bridge.  I checked my gap to the peloton only to see things all strung out single file by an Expo Wheelmen guy.  I continued to press a little longer, again checking the gap to the peloton.  Still strung out and now closing, clearly the Expo Wheelmen guy didn't want me going anywhere.  Given that our team was pretty well represented and teammates had been very active in the previous week's races, I guess he perceived us as a threat.  I sat up realizing even if I did bridge that it would be a waste because they clearly weren't going to let us go.  From there on, I rode smart trying to stay as hidden as possible yet near the front.  Unfortunately several of the guys in the peloton were riding pretty sketchy, forcing there way by guys on the right when there was no room or blatantly moving over on someone so they could move up.  I could hear many guys calling others out behind me, even a little shouting.  Funny this amateur racing thing we do, very similar to the Wednesday night softball league yet some guys act like it is the cycling world championships every race.  Get a grip, we are amateurs and we do this for fun!  None of us will ever be pro.  Anyway, with all asshats forcing there way around, it was only a matter of time until a couple guys got together.  I was just hoping it wouldn't be anywhere near me.  Unfortunately for me, it happened two bikes up in the middle of the peloton with a guy getting tangled up and taking a hard right while unclipping, trying desperately to stay up.  The guy in front of me was a goner as best I could tell and it wasn't looking good for me...that is until I took a hard right for the grass for a little cross action.  If I've learned anything from Battenkill, when you hit bad terrain, drop the hammer.  I powered through some very soft and muddy grass, easily clearing the crash, until I came to a gravel driveway to work my way back onto the road.  I did get bogged down a little bit and the crash formed a natural break in the peloton which I found myself on the wrong side of.  I kept the power on and dragged myself back up to the front of the peloton, ending up quite gassed after the ordeal only to hit the longest uphill grinder on the course.  I was suffering but kept in it and hung on over the top, recovering nicely on the gradual descent.  By the end of lap 3, I had managed to move up to the top 10 riders and my goal for the 4th and final lap was to preserve as much of that as possible.  With all the argy bargy going on, I knew it wouldn't be easy.  I had another near miss on a slow corner when the guy outside of me nearly rode me into the guy on the inside of me because he didn't want to give a few inches.  Good thing because races are usually won 6 miles from the finish idiot!  About 4 miles from the finish, one of my ridiculously strong teammates attacked and got approximately 100 meters on the peloton and then sat there for the next 3+ miles solo into some nasty headwind while guys took their turns trying to run him down.  I was actually quite comical watching the whole thing play out.  I kept myself as well positioned on the right as I could in case Mike got caught which I figured was likely.  Unfortunately guys started forcing their way in the front and I heard no less than 2 wheel rubs behind me, thankfully no one went down.  By now I had been shuffled back to probably 20th position with 1k to go.  I kept holding the right and kept telling myself that it would open up...it always does.  We rounded the last sweeper onto what I thought was the final straight and the 500m sign.  OK, it's going to open up any second now, keep the faith.  Not long after that, I noticed the leaders peel off left.  Who knew?  Turns out the finish was on a side street we hadn't used and wasn't marked on the course map!  Luckily I easily made the left sweeping turn which was thankfully rather wide.  Not so lucky for the guy in front of me who completely missed the turn.  Sure enough, once we had use of the full width of the road the peloton pulled left and things opened up.  The only down side for me was that I had no idea where the hell the finish line was!  One guy rapidly jumped through the opening and passed me quite quickly.  I hesitated and then figured I'd better go now.  I opened my sprint only to see the 200m to go sign shortly after.  Uh oh, this was going to hurt.  A 250m sprint, seriously?  I hammered only holding back ever so slightly hoping to stretch as long as I could to the line.  I came into the clear with only a few guys in front of me and started hammering for all I was worth because I could now see the line.  Despite my best effort, I lost several places coming to the line as I started running out of steam and finished 7th.  I sat up, looked around and realized that I had just pulled a top ten...starting from somewhere around 20th position all the while having no idea where the finish line was.  Not a bad day's work for my first race out.

Afterwards we gathered in the parking lot, traded war stories, and then grabbed some grub at the local cafe.  Despite the race being a bit sketchy, it was great training for maintaining proper positioning.  I also realized that tactically I made the most of the race as well.  Both are critical for staying out of trouble and racing smart and strong.  I just wish there were a Trooper Race #4 this year.  Oh yeah, and from now on I'll always ask about the finish!

Go time...

Now let's just hope it stops raining/sleeting and warms up a little by tomorrow morning!  Ready or not, it's time for Battenkill.

A Thousand Words?

If you missed the Strade Bianche this year, you missed out on an awesome race.  Great tactics, beautiful scenery, and Moser and Sagan riding likes bosses!  And if there's one photo that sums up the beauty of cycling, look no further than this great shot of the finish from Saturday's race courtesy of A. Frederico and PezCyclingNews.

Yeah, that's what 18% looks like.  Ouch!  Check out Cyclingfans for the latest live feeds.  One tip however...sometimes you have to find the almost hidden "x" to close the add window if one covers the full screen button at the lower right.  Once you go to full screen, the other adds are no longer be visible.

The Strava Life

I've been losing a lot of Strava KOM's these days that I never even knew existed or that I even held.  I find it quite amusing.  I guess the rest of the country is catching up to the larger cities.  Take NYC for example, a typical Central Park ride has me hitting on average 8.6 segments...EVERY MILE!  It's not that bad when I leave the city however there are still a lot of segments.  Every little rise or even worse, the downhills.  All for a little self promotion and to feed the ego.  At least Strava got the social forum part right, that has served our team well.  I guess you can't expect them to control all those egos that need feeding!  Finally, someone summed up all those segment chasers, quite entertaining!

NYC Snow Storm

So what happens when a snow storm hits a city with 1.6 million residents? Some hide out inside and order delivery...and yes the delivery guys were out in force throughout the entire storm. Delivering precious take out food. By bicycle. And then there are the others who descend on Central Park to play...and yes, even the cyclists were out to have a good time.

 

#CPsnowrace from Team Sixcycle-RK&O on Vimeo.

A little surprise on the ride...

The Unforeseen Challenge

With 2012 wrapped up and planning for the 2013 season well under way, it's time to take a quick look back.  I have to say, I never would have imagined 75% of how this past season unfolded.  A death at a race, getting run down, and the aftermath of the "accident" that dragged on and on.  By the end of this season, I was cooked.  Physically I was fine, mentally I was done.  It really hit me in early to mid November when at first it was just skipping one weekend ride and taking a day off.  Why not I thought, it's the off season.  Work travel had picked up to a relentless pace keeping me away from the bike more days than I liked during the week.  Overall I didn't worry; it was time to let the body recover anyway.  Besdies, there was no reason to ride other than fun, plain and simple fun.  No training, no intervals, no hill repeats, just fun.  But as work began to wear on me with long trips and longer hours, I began skipping more and more weekend rides in favor of resting and relaxing.  There were days that I didn't even want to touch the bike. What was going on, I always want to ride?!  It wasn't long before I realized how much I needed a break.  Eventually work subsided and I started thinking back.  Crap, 2012 was a rough year for riding! 

After an extremely solid start to the season, the first bump came in mid March.  Markus Bohler's death in the Bethel Spring Series was certainly a shock to the amateur cycling ranks in the NE, let alone the fact that it happened only a mere handful of bike lengths behind me.  After racing cars for over 8 years, I am certainly no stranger to the risks we take and the possible consequences...including death.  Despite that, Markus' death seemed wrong, out of place.  My teammate Jimmy Jung rode with me that day to and from the race and recently penned a nice article (as nice as could be given the subject) for Velonews that appeared in their December 2012 "danger" issue.  Check it out if you get a chance (Velonews - A death in the family).  Ironically, I had no idea how soon I would be facing my own brush with death.  Less than two weeks later while riding through a green light on a glorious sunny Friday afternoon, I found myself at the business end of a full size work van with nowhere to go.  I'll never forget the feeling of seeing that van moments before impact knowing I was about to get nailed and there was nothing I could do.  I'll also never forget laying in bed that night, never more thankful to simply be alive...a scene that would repeat itself every night before going to sleep and every morning when I woke for over a week.  As you read that it's easy to think "well sure, I'm thankful to be alive too" but that is to miss the point.  Rarely do you ever experience such pure, perfect, and untarnished thankfulness for your own life until you come face to face with losing it.  That was the first time I ever felt this so clearly and about my own life, a sobering realization of how different things could have been.  Hopefully that's something most never have to experience.  And while the physical injuries would heal and most of the pain would fade with time, the memories and emotional impact proved much more difficult to overcome than I ever imagined.  The thankfulness, then anger, and finally depression far outlasted the physical damage to my body.  With the patients, understanding, and support of my amazing wife along with family, friends, and teammates, I slowly dragged myself through my own process and started rebuilding my body for a second time in 2012.  It took a while...actually, it took a looooong while but I started making progress.  Getting back in the peloton was easy and comforting...even squeezed in a pack of 80 riders plummeting down a nearly 3 mile descents at 45+ mph on beat-up pavement.  Getting back in the peloton was definitely an important step toward moving forward.  Unfortunately the smackdowns I had to withstand were utterly demoralizing at times.  I even quit moments before the start of stage 3 at the ToC, all kitted up and ready to go.  And then a little while later I found Floyd Bennett Field.  Who knew I'd rediscover my love of the bike and the race at an old, abandoned, pancake flat, windy airfield?!  Racing so pure and gritty.  And then a few weeks later my perseverance paid off with an amazing race back in the Catskills...mere miles from where I quit only a couple months earlier.  You won't find my name anywhere near the top of the results but you will find my teammate's name in second after nearly winning.  Miles from the finish line, I went deeper than I have in a long, long time.  I suffered from a deep, dark place when no one else was willing or more likely able.  A place that had eluded me, a place I sorely needed to visit.  And I fought to stay there as long as I possibly could.  I was angry, I was slaying demons, I was making things right...both in the race and deep down inside.  I was also having the time of my life.

After that race, I competed in a couple more Floyd Bennett races with varying levels of success/failure that only that place can produce.  But mostly, I was already coasting into the off season.  2012 was a tough season and now it's time to move on to 2013 and a fresh start.  But this post isn't about 2013 so that will have to wait for another day.  Until then, adios 2012!