This was the first race of the season for me.

We drove to Austin on Friday and stayed with our friends Matt and Angelica Mings in Cedar Park. In addition to our usual accommodations they had made up a “bachelor pad” air mattress in Matt’s study for me to sleep in so I could get uninterrupted rest during the night and so when I woke up in the morning I could get ready for my race without waking Heather or the girls up.

My Cat 4 race began at 8:30 am on Sat morning in Walburg, TX. This was about 45 mins from the Mings house and Matt agreed to drive me out and back. I woke up at 6am, got dressed and packed my gear in his truck.

We arrived at the starting line around 7:30 or so which gave me plenty of time to use the restroom and warm up. It was pretty chilly morning (maybe 45 or so outside) so I wore arm warmers but no leg warmers and went with hot embrocation instead. The clouds blowing in from the north during my warm up looked really ominous and I had a hunch it might pour on us at some point.

I was glad to start warming up since this usually helps calm my nerves. I rode for about 20-30 mins on the hills around the starting line. Then I saw the 4s starting to gather so I rode over and found my teammates.

One of the race officials went over all the new rules for this year and how we could easily get ourselves and our team DQ-ed. She then told us race volunteers out on the course were reporting that the rain was beginning to fall.

She also explained that for this race we would be doing a neutral roll out. I had seen neutral roll outs on TV when watching the protour events but had never been in one myself. A neutral roll out is when the riders take off at the starting gun but the race doesn’t begin until the officials in the pace car give the riders the signal. Neutral Roll Outs are usually done when the road is technical and will likely cause crashes at the beginning of the race as all the horses are rested and eager.

Eventually the starting gun sounded and just as it did the rain began to fall on us. The temps also dropped about 10 degrees but we hardly noticed since we were rolling and everyone was itching to go. The NR made the first few miles of the race pretty relaxed as the bunch decided to get used to the rain the road and conditions while we got to the designated starting line and looked for the car to give us the signal.

One rider decided he was going to go out early and broke free from the peleton and rode up front just behind the pace car. He had maybe a hundred meters or so on the peleton as we started the race but no one seemed interested in chasing him down so early. After all it was a 48 mile race (2 x 24 mile loops) and we had plenty of time to reel him in.

PACC was at the front of the peleton and I was riding with Glen R., Scott B., Mike S. and Kurt P. as we took turns pulling at the front. Glen was our strongest rider so mostly the rest of us took turns pulling and keeping him protected.

At this point I should back up a little bit and say that my expectations for this race were very low. In a marked contrast from last year where I tried to win every race I entered, this year I broke out my racing season into “A”, “B” and “C” races.

“A” races are few and far between. They are races that I will try as hard as I can to win. I will taper my workouts and rest my body for the express purpose of doing as well as I can. I have 2 “A” races scheduled for this year in June and October; both in Copperas Cove, TX.

“B” races are important and usually come around the time I am beginning to peak for my “A” races. They are very important races with specific objectives but ultimately are training races where the most important thing is not to win but to glean what you can from the race as a workout.

“C” races are races which I participate in solely for training purposes. My training schedule is never altered to rest before these races and the race is essentially a hard workout for me. If I fail to finish these races or do poorly in these races it is very likely because my body is tired and worn down from my training.

With this in mind, you should know this race was a “C” race for me. My main goal for this race was to hang on to the peleton as long as I could, ride strong and get a feel for what it’s like to go really fast shoulder to shoulder again.

So back to the race…

I rode at the front with my guys for the first 7 miles of the race. I took turns at the front and got used to the rain and cold temps. It felt great to go fast (30+ mph). About mile 7 or so we hit a pretty big hill. It was on this hill where I went from the front of the peleton straight out the back. In one hill I was popped off the back! In my mind I thought to myself, “Oh great. Here we go again just like last year.” I had honestly thought I would have lasted in the group a lot longer than mile 7 but that’s how it worked out.

So I was sliding off the back and riding by myself. I got about 75 meters off the back of the bunch and I noticed the gap stopped getting bigger. I rode about that same distance from mile 7 to mile 18. At times I closed the gap to 25 meters and at other times it was about 100 meters. This meant that I was riding at the same general pace as the group but I was doing it without the benefit of the wind break from the group. I was pretty pleased with this. So perhaps I shot off the back so quickly on that hill because I wasn’t fully warmed up yet. That’s very possible. Oh well.

At mile 18 everything blew up. The rain had subsided but as we made a sharp right hand turn everyone was met with very stiff crosswinds coming from the north. These winds shattered the peleton and strung everyone out very quickly along the road. I began gobbling up riders as they couldn’t hold their pace in the winds. I found myself jumping forward from group to group trying to find a few riders who were willing to work and ride at the same speed as me. I have to say, the winds on that course were very strong that day, some put the sustained winds at 40-50 mph which I could believe; though I have no way of knowing for sure. They were definitely some of the strongest winds I have ever ridden in. Ultimately, I found one rider who was willing to work with me and the two of us took turns riding to the finish line to complete the first lap.

When we completed the first lap, I looked at the guy I was riding with and he told me he was done. I looked around and saw that many of the other riders were quitting too. I was very surprised. I knew the winds were hard, but I wasn’t about to quit racing just because of some wind. Luckily, I found an independent racer from Austin who was willing to make the second lap with me. He and I rode into that cold strong wind for the entire second lap and worked together the whole way trading pulls.

I was sure we would be lapped by other heats of racers which started after us but only one group ever did. The Pro/1/2 racers lapped us with 5 miles to go on our second lap. They were only managing about 12-14 mph in the fierce winds which actually made me feel pretty good about my 10-12 mph speeds during that time.

By the time I crossed the finish line I was ready to stop. It was a long hard race and a great start to the season. I ended up placing 48th in a field of 78 which I felt was respectable considering the conditions and that it was a “C” race for me. Despite the winds I really enjoyed the course and will probably race that event again next year.

Here are some pics of the race taken by my friend Matt Mings:

Warm ups

Waiting to start

More waiting and joking

Starting

Neutral Roll Out

Finishing the First Lap

For all the pics, click here.