Paying Dues

This was one of those weekends.

I signed up for the Memorial Day Crits down in Morgan Hill. My Kaiser health insurance was back in full effect so green light for the Road stuff. In the meantime I've been getting some quality training in, as well as, MTB racing (single speed) while focusing on school, so the timing acually worked out pretty good to have a small break.

More pic's

Masters 1/2/3

Race Report: ST Bikes Memorial Day Criterium. 5/28/07
Course: 5 right-hand turn office park setup.

Catagory: Elite 3
Place: DNF (Crash).
Teammates: Channing

Using only one word to describe this race it would be: LUCKY. I felt really prepared going into this race. After the start, I spent a lot of time in the bubble, even pushing the wind a bit and closing gaps. I hooked up with Channing and from halfway on we rode together (as much as you can in a crit). Things were going great. I felt good, as did Channing.

With 4 to go, we head down the backside section of the course that is only 1 lane. It had steel barriers to keep guys out of the oncoming traffic. Lap after lap things were more or less fine going through that part of the road. Until 4 to go….

Things happen so fast it’s hard to tell for sure what happened but here it is:

I’m on the outside 2 guys behind Channing and I am thinking about where I will move up into position and all of a sudden there a ripple effect of over corrections that I know aren’t going to be good. Short story is a guy gets tangled up in the barrier and crashes right in front of me and I can’t move. I’m on the brakes and trying to slow down, as quickly as possible and then whoosh, front wheel gets taken out and I’m sliding on the ground before I know it. Hoping no one will run me over I make myself small as can be and hope for the best.

Lucky me:

I didn’t get run over.
My bike was hardly damaged at all (except for my new bar tape of course)
To not have broken my collarbone, like the guy who went down in front of me.
Minor amounts of road rash
Pulled it together to race the Masters 1/2/3

Despite the obvious disappointment of crashing, I have to say I am extremely happy with my fitness and strength. I felt capable of doing something special, if making it to the finale. Instead of heading home, I wanted to “get back on the horse” and not leave with a sour taste in my mouth for this venue. So, I cleaned myself up, saw Channing off, and then got ready to roll again.


Category: Masters 1/2/3
Teammates: none
Place: Mid-pack somewhere?

I rolled up to the line and got a front row starting spot on the outside. Nice. The field was over 80, so pretty big for a M 1/2/3 race. My plan was to work hard and just stay near the front and alert for any good moves. I was willing to take my chances in a break and watched -- Morgan Stanley, VOS, and Safeway, as they seemed to have the most teammates.

Talking to Mike Hernandez (Safeway rider, bad ass mofo) earlier in the morning, I was joking around that he was going to win and he just laughed and gave me his cute smile and said” whatever, naw..” I may be new to bike racing but I wasn't born yesterday! (he won). Needless to say, I watched the goings on and managed to get away with Mike for a lap. Ouch, after only 3+ opening laps, I was not quite ready to go that hard. I had to sit up and get back in the pack to recover.

I spent the rest of the race up near the front and did some work here and there. The pace was fast and when we had no brakes “in effect” it was pure speed. I wish it were always like that. With 2 laps to go, I got stuck on the inside (trying to stay away from the barriers) and had a hell of a time trying to move anywhere. Of course by now it’s to late, the speed (avg 28 mph) is picking up, and time is running out. I try, but just can’t seem to be in the right place at the right time. I would be in a surge of riders, then it would slow up and all the holes would close. At this point, I was more concerned with just finishing the dam thing. I moved up where I could and finished on the back of the main group after weaving in and out of guys blowing up, on the way to the line. Not my best performance but it was really about not letting the 3’s race get to me and knowing I raced well. I felt solid and rode well.

Lucky me…..

Special Thanks to: Russell the EMT stud, the Masters 1/2/3 riders for racing like it should be, wing-man Channing in the E3 race, and my Dad for hanging out and cheering.

If things go smooth I’ll be at the EMC crit, probably for the Masters 1/2/3…

Power Tap data from the M 1/2/3