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What Richard saw:
Category: 4
Result: Off the back
Let's get the complaint about the early start out of the way immediately.
It wasn't fun getting up at 3:30am to get on the road for Snelling, but at
least I was in a good humour about it, especially with it being the first
road race of the season for me.
We rendezvoused at Garry's place and Frank, Carlos, Garry and myself headed
down, two cars in convoy. We got there in time to park right next to Matt
McN's awning, so we had shelter from the drizzle which was falling whilst
we warmed up. Also there were Matt I, Chih, German, Biker Bob and Linda.
Audible by his absence was Brian J - what happened?
Carlos and I rode the 4's, with around 65 others. This was brutally fast,
and I must admit to getting a little over-excited the first time up Keyes
Road, covering moves and generally enjoying myself. By the right turn
though, I had decided that I should take some shelter in the bunch. Riders
were already being dropped on this lap.
I say a bit too far back, so that as the shedding continued on the second
lap, I was regularly moving round riders going backwards. On the run after
the twisty section, there was a splintering of the bunch and I was behind
the gap, so a big effort was required to bridge to the front group.
The shedding of riders continued on lap 3, and by the time we passed Garry
there must have only been around 25 riders in the lead group. Unfortunately
for me, my efforts caught up with me on the cross-wind section. I was
grovelling in the gutter at LT when my body suddenly informed me that I had
exhausted everything and would have to slow down. Bugger.
I recovered as much as possible, and was now riding off the back. A group
of riders formed and we began to work together fairly well and were picking
up more riders who had been shed by the bunch. I think that our average
size was 4, though the members of the quartet changed fairly regularly.
Indeed, I was one to bow out when I got a flat.
I used this as an opportunity for a rest while I changed the tube, and got
back on the bike in time to team up with another 4 who had gone out the
back on lap 2. We rode the final lap together and were probably the last
4's to finish. A hard day, and it is clear that I need more LT work to get
used to race intensity.
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What Matt I. saw:
Category: 5
Result: Off the back
I second the fact that it wasn't easy to wake up so early and drive 2 hours and 10 minutes to Snelling!
The drive back was even worse. Right at the altamont pass, there was a huge accident. I counted maybe 8-10 tow trucks heading to the crash site up the side of the road and maybe 4-5 ambulances. Saw Richard, Garry, Chih and German on the altamont pass in their cars. I counted one hour to get pass the mess!
On to the report:
The short version: Very Crappy warm up ( less than 15 mins, 5 mins of stretching ) bucket of nerves, and split der.cable, finished off the back
The long version:
I got up at 4am and left the house at 445am, drove straight there without stopping. I was really curious to see if it would be raining or not. Garry mentioned we might need snorkels for the race ( haha ).
I arrived at 705am, and went straight to registration. Got my number and paid--and heading back to the car. I think I could have done a few things differently: #1 I should have left at least 30 minutes earlier. #2 I should have dressed with my uniform before leaving. #3 I should have mixed my accelerade and water beforehand. The first thing was the most important.
When I arrived, I spent too much time setting up, registering, etc. etc...This gave me a really crappy warmup-only 15 mins, which I think contributed to my somewhat terrible performance.
On to the race: I found the tent with Matt and the team, and was very very pleased to see 4 people in the category 5 race!
I was such a bucket of nerves, since this was my first road race. I didn't know what to expect or what strategy to employ--I thought I would just draft as much as I could and see how it went. It was very cold waiting for the cat 5's to take off..me and Chih were shivering..we both had three layers on.
When it was our turn, it was a very easy ride down the promenade to the course. I asked Chih, is this the race? He replied that it was..we were all going maybe 15 mph. When we got out to the course, the pace was very comfortable and the 4 of us ( Frank, German, Chih and myself ) started out the back and just casually sat in checking things out. We were able to move up and stay together for about the first lap or 10-15 miles and then the 4 of us sort of broke apart.
Frank stayed continuously up near the front. I just surfed around moving around as much as I could. The first part of the course has some nice rollers, and I was surprised to see the peloton go up at such a slow pace the first time around up the hills. I had to hit the brake a few times to keep myself from bumping into people.
Right about midway through I noticed my chain was slipping off continuously from the big ring to small. It only happened when I shifted to a smaller gear on my back cassette. The last stretch of the course was brutal. There was a huge headwind and the road was absolutely terrible! I tried to hide behind some riders to draft..but it was still hard and I found it difficult to find a gear to ride in comfortably.
There were just about 2 breaks by this time but they all got caught. Right about the 25 mile mark, in the middle of the course, was a huge attack, and I completely missed it. I wasn't paying attention and next thing I know about 20 riders are shooting off. The next minute or two I worked my butt off trying to catch up, but I was all alone fighting the wind and heading to the dreaded back stretch.
The race was over for me by that time, so I looked around to see if there were anyone I can work with. I spotted German and hooked up with him. We rode the rest of the course together and took turns. German and I spotted Frank on the side of the road towards the end. Heard Frank got 2 flats!! Poor guy! I was very determined to stay and finish the course. I saw a lot of riders quit and turn around. I was surprised...
Towards the end, I was very relived that I stayed in! My legs were shot, and I really think I need to do more miles, especially during the week and some intervals. Hopefully I'll be able to hang with the field next time!!
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