I recently “fell off the horse” when it comes to keeping this up to date, so now it’s time to play a little catch up. Nothing like missing a connecting flight leading to a long layover in O’Hare to motivate some writing. So, here’s what I’ve been up to…
Hyde Park Blast Criterium (June 27)
The HP Blast Crit is an all-day fitness oriented street festival in Hyde Park (Cincinnati). The morning starts with a 4 mile run event which draws some pretty high-level talent (course record is around 18minutes for a not flat course). Throughout the middle portion of the day things calm down with a sidewalk sale. Then bike racing starts in the late afternoon and continues on into the evening with the Pro/1/2 race finishing under the lights at around 9:30.
Seeing as this was my first crit, I was obviously racing in the Cat 4/5 race. Three friends were racing with me as a sort of unofficial team. Only one of the four of us had any crit experience, so we weren’t exactly expecting to win. My goal going in was a solid pack finish and no wrecks. I wouldn’t want to ruin my tri season with a cycling injury, so I was planning on racing conservatively.
As we staged, there were 50-60 riders in our event, being run on the .9mile route that consisted of 4 right hand turns (1 sharp 180) and 1 left hand turn along with 1 climb/descent combo. They called up about 20 riders to the front of the start, then the rest of us rode to the front in alphabetical order. That placed me somewhere in the middle back of the pack at the line.
The starting line…I’m somewhere in there, not to be seen
As the horn sounded, the front line sprinted away and I was able to clip in quickly, but was blocked by a couple riders in front of me who were slower to get going. My friend next to me at the time has better bike handling skills than I and managed to “jump” to the side and squeeze through a hole to get with the main pack. We went straight into the 180 degree turn, stringing us out a bit more. Unfortunately, my slow start basically did me in before I got started. By the time I sprinted out of the 180, there was already a gap to the main pack. I really pushed the entire first lap, knowing I had to get attached or my goals were shot. I worked with a group of about 3 or 4, but we couldn’t gain any ground. It was frustrating being about 50ft off the pack, but not moving. I tried to make a solo run at them and after making up maybe half the distance, was too worn from the effort. I would not be making a pack finish.
This being my first crit, I still wanted the experience of racing it and working on my cornering in crowds, so I re-aligned my goals to finish. If you were in danger of being lapped by the pack, you were called out of the race. 1 of the 4 in our group got called out in the second to last lap. He is new to cycling and didn’t understand the importance of drafting, so wore himself out solo. I, on the other hand, worked with a small group of 5-8 riders to make sure we didn’t lose too much ground on the peleton. Most of the rest of the race was pretty much a blur…I remember being in a lot of pain and feeling like I had been pushing forever at about 18 minutes in (it was a 30 min race). In the end, I had no sprint left and let another rider use me as a lead out for his own minor glory, but I survived. I probably finished about 1:30 down on the pack with an avg pace of 22.3mph. It was a ton of fun, but I think I’m more suited for road racing. I still plan on giving other crits a go in the future though. It definately will help me redefine my “thresholds”. My other 2 friends both had solid pack finishes, ending 16 and 18 respectively.
Post race, the wife (who took all the wonderful race pics) and I headed back to the car where I cleaned up, put my bike away, and headed back to watch the better cyclists while drinking some beer and celebrating being finished. It was an awesome time.
A shot of the pro/1/2 peleton entering the 180 degree turn (early in the race)
The pro race ended in a bunch sprint, which was very exciting and involved a beautiful two man lead train executed to perfection. Despite the hard effort and plenty of post-race beer, I was able to pump out a solid 53 mile ride early the next morning. My legs weren’t pleased with me at the get go, but it was a solid ride overall.
2 days later I completed the Cleves 10.2 mile rolling TT course in 24:30, blowing away my previous PR…biking is going good right now.
The rest of the past 2 weeks has been pretty uneventful. I finished my summer MBA courses, which is nice and had a solid long 4th of July weekend where I got a 72mile ride in and a 11 mile run along with playing some tennis with my wife and her family. It was the first time I’d played in years, but still a good time. Unfortunately, I caught a cold to go along with the poison ivy I got just before the 4th, so Monday was a pretty unpleasant day this past week. Luckily, I’ve got the cold and rash mostly behind me.
Now, though…I sit in O’Hare waiting for our later than planned flight to Jackson, WY. We won’t get to sightsee at all today as we’d hoped, but we should still have plenty of time to see the sights we will miss today. My family and I will be in SW Montana for the next 3 days, then returning to the Jackson, WY area for the remaining 4 before returning home. If' I’m on top of my game, I’ll take pictures and provide some vacation reporting, but I’m not promising anything. Once I return, I got half a week of high volume training, then I start my Steelhead taper…I can’t believe it’s almost A race time. But first, off to enjoy my vacation.
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