Nationals -
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This was the race the almost didn't happen. For me anyway. Having a target race the first week of January, in Connecticut really presents several challenges.
1. Keeping motivated. It's really easy to slack off and lose focus during the holidays. It's really easy to fall off track and become lazy. It's not easy to keep getting up at 530AM to get on a trainer and bang out intervals in the middle of December. I can't count how many times I almost said fuck it.
2. I'd rather just ride my mountain bike socially and stress free. The ground is frozen, I'm off of work, teammates are riding...ugh.. Nothing I'd rather do. But this day is a specific workout which I really need to hit right. It took a little dedication. I did take some days where I just rode for fun, and i think it actually helped. I was able to find a good mix.
3. Staying Healthy. This is the season of stress, sickness, and lack of sleep. Its a struggle that takes some luck to beat. Getting from the week before Christmas to the week after New Years without some illness is a challenge..Especially when you have kids.
4. Along the same lines as point 1 and 3, not over indulging in the festivities. I came close, but I really tried to limit it. I struggled at times, especially when there is a delicious pecan pie and bottle of 18 year single malt calling my name... and I don't have to work the next day.
I battled with all o these and probably a lot more that I can't think of, but somehow on Tuesday January 3rd , I woke up and realized I survived the holidays.
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Lets pack up and hit the f***in road!
Fast forward to Friday Morning. My race starts at 1:40.
I wake up and look out the window of my hotel room at the Holiday inn. Snow is coming down and looks pretty heavy. Forecast says its going to stop soon, bu theres already 2 inches on the ground.
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The weather was making its presence felt!
I hit the free breakfast and have some conveyer belt pancakes, 2 yogurts, and a cinnamon roll. I also drink 2 big cups of coffee. I had my dad and sister tagging along and we just chilled in the hotel and killed some time. I didn't need to get to the race until 10ish so no rush.
As we're driving to the venue and getting close, I look out the window and see the taped course and some people racing on a snow covered course. I was looking from up above on the highway bridge, and it looked so damn cool. I had a moment of peacefulness from this vantage.
Once I get dropped off while Dad and sis go park the truck, reg and stuff. I run into
@Delish who drive up that morning. Sounds like he had a fun ride up and I was glad he made it. I also saw
@MadisonDan and chatted with him for a few minutes. Then I saw
@seanrunnette who always has words of wisdom and encouragement. Yea! Seeing all the familiar friendly faces helps calm some race day nerves.
The clock kept moving and soon it was time for course inspection. I get on the course and its packed snow, on top of now frozen ruts from previous days races. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being a dry grass crit and 10 being a course that requires studs or ice skates, this was a solid 8 on the sketch-o-meter. Most was ridable, but you really needed to be careful with what you did once you got up to speed. If there was a good rut, commit to it and ride it. Bonk Breaker hill was hell. I tried both lines during inspection and didn't find one to be any better than the other. Whichever path had less traffic was the way to go i figured.
After inspection I hit up the power washer line and waited. I ran into Dan Larino and
@ChrisG. We all agreed one thing... this day was all about the course.
Suddenly, I find myself at the Rapha Tent. They were serving espresso shots and all proceeds went to some charity. I couldn't say no. As I sat there on my bike, a cross race in winter, in Connecticut...drinking espresso from a little paper Rapha cup no less, I realize I had reached the pinnacle of my bike racing career. Not really, but it was pretty awesome sitting there talking to the Rapha guy serving. Jpow and Ellen Noble casually stroll by and actually say hello. I was feeling the vibe of the big event for sure.
I had about 45 minutes to race so after getting my numbers pinned on I hit the Kinetic trailer. I walked in and was greeted by a friendly guy who sat my bike up for me, then once I got on and started pedaling he came back with a bottle of water. That was nice.
The announcer called all Masters 40-44 to staging so I hopped off and started getting my bike off, and dude man comes right over and does it for me. Can these guys come to every race?
So there we are, waiting forever for our names to be called... Me, Eric, and Dan are all in the last of second to last row. Somehow Eric is behind us which makes me wonder how they decide the starting grid.
Once the race starts and the movement reaches us in the back, I sprint as hard as i can. I know if I don't bust my ass here, I am going to finish near the end. By the time I make it to the actual start line I'm passing and making up spots in bunches.
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Once we get to the straightaway by the team tents and pits we hit the now extra sketchy ruts. I thank god I remember my glasses because mud is coming up in chunks. It took about 20 yards for there to be a huge pile up. It's right in front of me and I have to lock up my brakes and come to a stop. In the corner of my eye I see
@Delish get around quickly and he is gone.
The pile up included 2 guys from the same team and had identical bikes. They actually didn't know which was theirs. lol.
Once I get going, I'm not sure if I made or lost spots but i don't dwell on it long...and go back to sprinting. Half way towards bonk breaker hill I almost take myself out in a hidden rut. This throws me off and I take the high line...There is so much traffic here I try to drop down from the upper most ledge and run by people. I have some success but then I start slipping and have to get back to that perch.
Once you remount the bike you have to ride a slick off camber section to leads to a steep downhill. The name of the game here is get clipped in asap so you can comfortably descend this hill. You dont want to be on top of your pedals and not clipped in when you hit the bottom because there are a handful of rutted paths you need to pick from and commit to. The sketch o meter goes way up if you're not securely clipped in.
I do manage to clip in (I think that was the only time during the race) and I carry a ton of speed into the woods. It was clear that the course had changed dramatically since inspection. Gone was the snow and hidden frozen ruts. In their place was an inch of peanut butter mud on top of not-quite-solid ruts. They were softening a bit now which actually helped with traction a little. I think. Or maybe not.
I hammered as much as I could in the woods. There were riders to pass left and right and I knew that these next 7ish minutes would have the biggest impact on my finishing position. I clawed my way though on two wheels, on foot, scootering, whatever. Looking back I'm pretty proud of this effort. I think where I was, with the riders that were around me, I had the better skills and I definitely wanted it more.
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Once I got to the second lap and beyond, making up spots got harder. The conditions deteriorated every lap. The lines and mud on BB hill got harder and harder to clear. The mud actually froze to my glasses making visibility a little less than 100%. Clipping in also got challenging due to the mud freezing in my cleat.
Still, I rode clean. I made sections that other guys were having a hard time with and that gave me opportunities to make a few more passes.
Towards the end of my 4th lap, I am near the rutted watch tower and I hear, "race leader!" Ugh... I'm about to get lapped. As I hit the straight away to the finish, I let him go by and win his silly little race
🙂. I'm not sure if my race is done or not, but not taking any chances so I hammer on. Technically I think I should have been done, but I head out for #5
Half way through my final lap and I feel like I'm the only one out there. I get some heckles, and some encouragement. It was weird, but cool. I was indeed the last one out there because they pulled every one behind me.
I cross the line in 57th place which was actually higher than I thought. I passed somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 racers to get there.
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I'm glad I went out for that 5th lap...
It was insane how heavy my bike was, or that it still worked. I must have had 20 lbs of mud on it and the drive train was the only bit that wasn't coated.
2 minutes after finishing, I see @Harryhamilton and we talk about the race. He snaps this pic of me at finish:
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I hate (HATE) to use the word, it really was an epic finish to cross season. I got off to a rocky start, but this race really put a nice bow on it. I know the results don't scream success, and it's hard to find the right words, but it left me pretty satisfied with cross season.
