I forgot how much fun bike racing is. I also forgot how much I hate waking up at 4:30 in the morning. The alarm rang in the silence, and I slowly got out of bed and managed to open my eyes sometime after I had already made it across the room to the bathroom. Fortunately I had thrown all my stuff together the night before, so all I had left to do is get dressed, get some coffee, and drive to meet my carpool.
Exactly one year ago I raced my first official crit. I am amazed at how fast time has gone by. Driving up the 405 to the same course in Compton was déjà vu. The good thing about morning races in Compton is that all the gang members are still sleeping. A bunch of white boys from SD made it in alive.
It had been so long since I had raced that my nerves were really pumping as I warmed up on the trainer. I wanted to race hard for my teammates so they could grab some points, but it had also been a long time since I had ridden in a pack with 100 other guys at 30 MPH. I knew that my confidence was much higher than last year though.
I warmed up for about 20 minutes on the trainer then headed over to the race start to give the porta-jon a little morning present. I’m sure ‘jon’ was stoked with my little gift.
The start was uneventful as always and the pace picked up quickly. Our team of 5 was at the front almost immediately. We all know that while it takes a little more work up there, it is much safer and easier to control the race. We were all pretty well positioned and about 4-5 laps in I felt my back tire go flat.
Crap.
I raised my hand so the field could go around me and just rode carefully behind the pack to the pit hoping some nice guy would have a wheel for me. No luck. My race was over.
Giving up hope, I rolled over to the side of the road and told my story to the spectators there. This guy was like “bummer man. Do you want my wheel?” “Seriously!?” I replied, “Let’s do this!”
I waved the USAC official over and we changed the wheel just as the pack came back around. I got a good push back into the group and laid down the hammer in order to get back up front. The cassette on the new wheel must have been geared differently because I was having a difficult time turning the pedals. Perhaps my legs were just spent trying to hammer back up front.
About one more lap in a huge crash happened right next to me and the rider to my right fell into me. I was able to ride through it though and I just heard carnage behind me as the crash piled up. I kept pushing on.
My legs were spent, but I managed to stay in the mix to the end. Didn’t really get to help out as much as I would have liked just due to circumstance, but my other teammates managed to do alright snagging 6th and 10th.
After the race I found out that the loaner wheel was out of true and rubbing my back break the whole time. No wonder I had a hard time pedaling! My breaks were on!
The crash next to me was the result of someone riding right into my teammate’s front wheel. He stayed upright, but his wheel was toast. The other guy was not as lucky, but the moron should have watched his line.
The second race of the day went a little better, but my starting position boxed me in for a lot of the race. I was never able to get where I needed to be and I don’t have the balls to just start blasting through people yet. My teammates were literally one rider to the left and no one was letting me in to join the train. In the end it was OK as my teammate took 4th and snagged a few more points on the day. No crashes or drama.
The third race was sold out so I was not able to compete. 2 of our riders got out there though and just rode a great race. Matt once again sprinted it out Cavendish style to win the sprint and get his Cat 3 Points!
I am getting excited for next season. My climbing is better than ever, and my bike handling continues to improve. It’s great to get a little December taste of February! Our team is going to do some amazing things out there.
Exactly one year ago I raced my first official crit. I am amazed at how fast time has gone by. Driving up the 405 to the same course in Compton was déjà vu. The good thing about morning races in Compton is that all the gang members are still sleeping. A bunch of white boys from SD made it in alive.
It had been so long since I had raced that my nerves were really pumping as I warmed up on the trainer. I wanted to race hard for my teammates so they could grab some points, but it had also been a long time since I had ridden in a pack with 100 other guys at 30 MPH. I knew that my confidence was much higher than last year though.
I warmed up for about 20 minutes on the trainer then headed over to the race start to give the porta-jon a little morning present. I’m sure ‘jon’ was stoked with my little gift.
The start was uneventful as always and the pace picked up quickly. Our team of 5 was at the front almost immediately. We all know that while it takes a little more work up there, it is much safer and easier to control the race. We were all pretty well positioned and about 4-5 laps in I felt my back tire go flat.
Crap.
I raised my hand so the field could go around me and just rode carefully behind the pack to the pit hoping some nice guy would have a wheel for me. No luck. My race was over.
Giving up hope, I rolled over to the side of the road and told my story to the spectators there. This guy was like “bummer man. Do you want my wheel?” “Seriously!?” I replied, “Let’s do this!”
I waved the USAC official over and we changed the wheel just as the pack came back around. I got a good push back into the group and laid down the hammer in order to get back up front. The cassette on the new wheel must have been geared differently because I was having a difficult time turning the pedals. Perhaps my legs were just spent trying to hammer back up front.
About one more lap in a huge crash happened right next to me and the rider to my right fell into me. I was able to ride through it though and I just heard carnage behind me as the crash piled up. I kept pushing on.
My legs were spent, but I managed to stay in the mix to the end. Didn’t really get to help out as much as I would have liked just due to circumstance, but my other teammates managed to do alright snagging 6th and 10th.
After the race I found out that the loaner wheel was out of true and rubbing my back break the whole time. No wonder I had a hard time pedaling! My breaks were on!
The crash next to me was the result of someone riding right into my teammate’s front wheel. He stayed upright, but his wheel was toast. The other guy was not as lucky, but the moron should have watched his line.
The second race of the day went a little better, but my starting position boxed me in for a lot of the race. I was never able to get where I needed to be and I don’t have the balls to just start blasting through people yet. My teammates were literally one rider to the left and no one was letting me in to join the train. In the end it was OK as my teammate took 4th and snagged a few more points on the day. No crashes or drama.
The third race was sold out so I was not able to compete. 2 of our riders got out there though and just rode a great race. Matt once again sprinted it out Cavendish style to win the sprint and get his Cat 3 Points!
I am getting excited for next season. My climbing is better than ever, and my bike handling continues to improve. It’s great to get a little December taste of February! Our team is going to do some amazing things out there.
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