finishing

Finishing a race, sometimes that is all one can hope for. That was my day today. Today was Race 5 of the Greenville Spring Series and it was held @ the River Falls course. This is a great course, but today was a horrible day for bike racing.

The forecast called for about a 40% chance of rain at Noon as of last night. I thought "well, that means 60% chance of no rain!". We got the 40% all right, in fact, it rained for the entire cat 4 race, and it seemed that it rained for all the previous races as well (and the following!).

The Greenville Spinners Racing Team had a great showing in the peloton today. Seven of us (Randy, Peter, Brian, Abhay, Plantec, Moser and me) lined up for the start. We had a plan and the goal was to put Randy or Peter or Brian on the podium. We all had assignments, the question was how well were things going to play out?

The start line for this race is at the top of a hill, so of course you go downhill almost immediately. Worse, at the bottom of the hill there is a right hand turn that seems to be more than 90degrees. Worse than that, add in wet brakes that really weren't working at all going down that hill and you had a recipe for disaster! Thankfully, no-one went down and the peloton made it through unscathed.

Almost immediately, there were attacks off the front. All along Devils Fork Road there was a group attacking the front. Abhay was up there in the mix and Peter and Randy were playing it safe near the front of the main peloton. I was a little further back in the peloton with Brian, George and Plantec.

Devils Fork Road rolls alongside a river. It has a couple of rolling hills but overall you are descending from the turn off of Gap Creek Road (at the bottom of the hill). As we came down from the first of the rollers, I found a path towards the front along the right side of the road. I took advantage and advanced many positions. I was now in front of Peter and Randy, and could see Abhay working the front, trying to establish a break.

The peloton was not letting a break get away, so we were slowly gaining on those 5 or so individuals who were trying to break. We pulled them back in as we came up to the Tankersly Lake. I had a clear path, so I took a lead position. I was surprised to be pulling away slightly, so after the right turn onto River Falls Road, I put down the hammer a little. I began to pull a gap. I was pretty surprised by this, my intention was not to make a break, but to push the pace.

However, since I was out there, I decided to make them work for it. I did my best to stay out front, and soon Peter came up behind me. We worked together for a ways, and as we neared the right turn for Gap Creek Road, another rider came up next to us. He got in the mix and did some work. We were quickly approaching the 1/2 mile climb up to the start / finish line, and I knew I didn't have the fitness to stay with them. I watched as the peloton swallowed me, then quickly closed on Peter and this other guy.

The pack set a solid pace up the climb, and I didn't have enough to hold it, despite my efforts. I fell off the back and briefly thought my race was over. I wasn't going to give up this time, after all, the conditions were really nasty, and I kept thinking to myself "This is Ranger weather"!

I chased, and chased and chased. I could see the pack again when we got to the rollers on Devils Fork Road. They were mostly together, but there was a small group of about 6 who were falling off the back. I managed to get in with them, and a couple of guys in there worked a little harder, then the peloton slowed to turn onto River Falls Road. We caught back on to the pack.

I worked my way up in the pack until I got up next to Brian. If nothing else, I wanted to offer encouragement to those guys. I didn't have enough in the tank to get out and drive the pace, but if I could show them I was still in, maybe it would help. No clue if it did anything for those guys.

Peter and Randy were looking strong in the pack as we rolled up and over the climb for the 2nd time. Brian was still in the mix, and I think I saw Abhay mixing it up at the front! Over the top, and descend to turn right on Devils Fork Road. I dropped back in the pack as we came up the climb, but managed to stay on the tail end of it as we descended.

It actually takes a lot of effort to stay at the back of a peloton. The constant accelerations due to the accordion effect play hell with you. If you are already hurting, these accelerations slowly break you down. I was at the back as we turned onto River Falls and was watching as small gaps opened up in front of me, only to be closed with another acceleration. I was back there with Brian and Abhay. I think George and Plantec may have dropped back by this time.

As we made the 3rd lap turn onto Gap Creek Road and approached the ascent, I worked my way back up near Peter and Randy. Again, I wanted to give those guys some encouragement. This time, I was able to chat briefly with them. Of course, the pace had picked up as we began the climb, and I quickly fell towards the back.

I tried to stay with the pack. My poor legs just didn't have it. Those guys were blistering up that hill, and despite my best efforts, I couldn't hold the pace. I could hear Duke (moto-ref) behind me, and finally, I waved him around. Thanks Duke for the kind words as I dropped off the back of the peloton. I was hoping that Randy and Peter were going to be able to stick with the pack - they were our remaining hopes for a good result.

Although I was no longer in the mix, I decided that I was going to finish the race. No dropping out like I did last week, if I was going to suffer, I might as well get a workout! At the top of the ascent, I got into the drops and into the big ring, and started in my time-trial mode.

The next three laps was all about me and finding the zone. I stamped out a solid cadence and tried to keep anyone from passing me. In that I was successful - I passed maybe 4 or 6 other guys who fell off of the back, and no-one passed me.

It was cold out there. I was having trouble shifting with how stiff my hands had become. I could barely wave as I passed the corner workers. I knew it was just as bad for the other guys in the peloton.

As I approached the final climb, a single rider - a pro /1/2 rider, turned around in his warm-up to ascend the hill. I used him as my rabbit to keep me motivated up the hill. I don't think he was going all that hard, although I was pushing for everything I had. I wanted to finish this race, and I was going to do it as if it really counted.

Spinners REPRESENT! Day 6 of the Greenville Spring training series

Wow! What a great day of racing! The weather was nearly perfect (some wind late in the day) and the Greenville Spinners brought it to the table and kicked some serious butt!

I arrived at the final race of the spring series near the 2nd half of the Cat 4 race. There was three Spinners out there working the peleton - Tim, Clark and Robert. When I arrived, they were just coming through for their final lap.

What a sight when they came around for the sprint! Since I had been otherwise occupied in the morning, I wasn't sure who was out there, but what I saw when they came across the line was two Spinners' kit at the front! Clark and Robert brought it home for the top two podium spots! What a great job by those guys. Really great to see team-mates getting those podium positions.


The cat 4 race results from Day 6 of the Greenville Spring training series - Spinners Represent!
As for other races that the Spinners were involved in, the race in which I would normally be participating had just one of my Teammates representing - Ed (my Polka Dottay team-mate from the Austin Ride) rode to finish with the peleton.

Where was I? I was taking a chance that I would be able to stay in the Spring training series ominium top 10 without racing at Donaldson today. Instead, I represented the Spinners in an off-road triathlon.

These off-road tris are a little different from the traditional tri - the off road tri (of course) includes three events - a trail run, a flatwater paddle (kayak or canoe) and a mountain bike ride. I had signed up for this event weeks prior to signing up for the spring series, so I decided to get out there and have some fun. After all, there will be plenty of opportunity to get out and ride laps around Donaldson center this summer!

I loaded up my boat and my mountain bike saturday afternoon, so I was ready to leave bright and early sunday morning. I was about the 2nd person to arrive at the event site, and immediately met a first timer as she was off-loading her boat. She asked me a few questions, and we had a nice chat. She would be doing the 'sprint' event, while I would be doing the 'endurance' event. I outfitted myself in my Greenville Spinners Racing kit so I could represent the team.

What's the difference? The sprint event is a 3 mile trail run followed by a 2 mile paddle and a 7ish mile mountain bike ride. The endurance event is a 5 mile trail run, followed by a 4 mile paddle and a 12ish mile mountain bike. When I had checked earlier in the week, the field for the endurance event was only about 20 participants (women and men). When I asked about it during packet pick-up, they told me the field would be about 35 participants. A good number of peeps waited until the last minute to get signed up it seems.

The two events would start together and follow the same course for the first ~1.5 miles of the run (and the last mile), the early part of the paddle and parts of the mountain bike. This made it interesting as I was doing my event - At times, I wasn't sure who was doing the sprint and who was doing the endurance.

Another of my Spinners team-mates was also there at the off-road tri. Abhay came out with his rowing skull and his mountain bike to give it his shot.

The run started on an uphill, but thankfully, my buddy Pip suggested a warm up so I started off feeling good. By the time we crested the climb, a clear seperation had formed between the top 10 or so runners and me. My first mile was 7:24, which was a bit faster than I expected - especially with that hill. Pip was up in that front pack as they pulled away from me. I could hear some peeps behind me, but it was pretty spread out.

The run came through the transition area on it's way up to a trail called Grinder. You can imagine - this trail is aptly named. It is a long grinding uphill about a mile long. Not terribly steep, but you feel it - every step of it.

We came out on a paved road for a short distance before plunging back into the forest to run down the Clemson Freeride Club's downhill course. It's pretty fun to run down that course.

Before we arrived at the boat transition (about a 1/2 mile from the boats), the leader of the sprint race was already on his bike and heading out. Super strong effort from that guy (he did end up winning it).

I arrived at the transition with three other runners from the endurance race. The three of us ran together for most of the run. I got suited up with my camelback and my pfd and jumped in my boat.

I knew I had to make up some time on the boat - I would only be able to make up so much on the bike. As there were many peeps from the sprint event out on the boats for the first half of the race, It was difficult to tell who was who, although the speed differential was somewhat obvious.

The sprint boaters turned right at the 2nd bouy, but the endurance competitors kept straight to round a third bouy before turning back to the takeout. As I came around a point of land, I could see the endurance competitors spread out in front of me. I counted the boats and I found that I was in about 7th position (or 6th maybe). One of these peeps was the woman who was right behind me for most of the run. That put me in 5th or 6th place at the end of the boat.

I ran up to the bike transition and began to get myself squared away. The woman was staged just a few bikes away, and I saw her take off slightly before me. I got on my bike and gave chase. As far as I knew, no-one had escaped on the bike in front of me (from the endurance event - i.e. left the boat after me, but made a faster transition).

It took a few minutes, but I caught and passed the woman (who ended up winning first overall for the women in the endurance event) and kept chasing those in front of me. This first two miles was on a fire road and there was a good number of sprint event peeps out there. The only thing that made it obvious who was doing the endurance was their relative speed - we were traveling quite a bit faster than the sprint folks who were out there (because the fast guys / gals in the sprint event were already out on the singletrack part of the course).

I can't say for sure if I passed any of my endurance event competitors during this initial fire-road portion of the ride. I was tucked and in the big ring going about as hard as my legs and lungs would let me go. These fire road portions of the course had to be taken advantage of.

When I crossed into the singletrack and onto the Lawrence trail, I noted a rider behind me (to be called red shirt because of his red jersey). Anyone I saw on these trails was an endurance participant, so I knew I had to do what I could to overtake and prevent myself from being overtaken during these periods.

I learned a little about this guy on the climb up lawrence trail - I am a stronger climber than he is. I pulled a larger gap on him on this little climb coming out from the five forks intersection. He was a better mountain biker though as he reeled me in a little on the flatter portions of this trail.

There were periods where I was riding in the middle ring on the front and the smaller cogs on the rear. When I was in this configuration, I began to hear rattling from my rear hub! I was also having a bit of trouble shifting - thankfully, there was no ghost shifting, only imprecise shifting - I could live with that.

When we turned to go up collarbone, I could see two or three other guys in front of me. I was trying to count, but I was unsure of where I stood because of the confusion of the shared courses. These guys became my next targets and I dispatched two of them on this climb up collarbone. The third would fall (as in I would overtake him) as I rode down the dam road.

The Dam road was really fun. Once again, I was in the big ring and pushing for all I had. A big part of this fire road is downhill, so the speeds were probably over 30mph (maybe as much as 35mph). As I approached the intersection with the lake trail, I looked back to see two guys behind me - blue shirt who I passed on the dam road, and red shirt who had been following me since the lawrence trail.

Red shirt had passed blue shirt and began to gain on me quickly as we made our way along the lake trail. As he was getting close, I came upon a root system that stopped me in my tracks. I tried to quickly get out of his way, but was not able to. He had to stop, and because I felt I owed him, I told him to go ahead and pass me.

Luckily for me, his body chose that moment to cramp up on him. I waited for a moment, but when I realized he wasn't going to be able to pass, I continued on my way. I think blue shirt passed him at this point.

The rattling in my rear hub was getting worse - I can remember clearly thinking "ride it until it breaks!" The shifting was getting worse - It's critical to be able to cleanly shift into the proper gear when on a technical trail and I was fighting the imprecise shifting.

We were overtaking a number of the sprint competitors on this trail, and they were really great about moving off to the side to let us pass. since I was in the front of this little 3 bike train, I would call out "rider coming behind" and the would pick a safe spot to pull over for me (and the guys behind).

As we began to run out of lake trail, we came upon another root system that hung me up. Blue shirt was able to get by at this point, but I felt pretty confident that I could catch him on the fire road if I could just keep him in sight.

He exited the singletrack a few moments before I did, and red shirt exited a few moments after I did. I was in chase mode to catch blue shirt when red shirt pulled up next to me. We chatted for a short time before I let him pull a little in front of me. I pulled a roadie on him and began to draft. He pulled for a bit as we passed by blue shirt, then he pulled out to the side and told me "I think I'll let you pull for a while". Who was I to argue - turn about is fair play (only later did I talk to a friend of mine who told me that drafting was usually not allowed in traditional triathlons). I don't think it was an issue, I pulled him for at least as long as he pulled me.

I knew the course, and so did he. He had gone to school at Clemson and started mountain biking on these trails. I knew we had one final climb on this fire road before the trail went down hill to the finish.

I opened it up on him a little as we made that climb - the strength I have gained from road riding payed huge dividends here. As I crested the hill, I looked back to see I had pulled 10 or so bike lengths on him. At the top, I clicked it over to the big ring and started hammering. He was working hard to reel me in, but the gap appeared to hold steady.

I crossed the line with that gap intact. I was pleased. I felt I did well - perhaps in the top 5. Red shirt, blue shirt and I chatted a little as we made a cool down ride up the hill (same as where the run started). It was great fellowship.

When I got back to the bike transition area, I hung up my bike and started to get out of my biking gear. About that time, I looked up to see Pip crossing the line. He was about 5 minutes behind me. Great result for him.

Somewhere in there, I walked over to the folks doing the scoring. I asked how I did overall, and they said I was 29th overall (sprint and endurance competitors). She asked if I was in the endurance race, and told me that I might have gotten third place! Third!! I was stoked, but I was trying to keep myself from getting too excited before she finished with the official results.

Abhay came in while I was at my car getting my bike squared away. He had fun, but he had trouble with his racing skull that delayed him for about 10 minutes on the paddle.

We hung around for the results and I was super-stoked to find that I actually came in 2nd overall for the endurance event! What a great way to finish a race.

JD takes 2nd overall for the Clemson Off road triathlon!!

And what about the spring series for me? Without racing today, I dropped in the ominium standings from 6th to 8th place. I'll take that - a top 10 finish in my first ever road racing series, to include a win.

Cat 5, 35+ ominium standings as posted at Donaldson this afternoon.

Making choices - Day 5 of the Greenville Spring Training Series: River Falls

It seems to me that when it comes to racing, you have a choice. You can sit in and let everyone else do the work, or you can get out there and make a race of it. After last week's win, I really didn't want to 'sit in to win', I wanted to make something happen out there at River Falls.

I felt a little nervous going into the race despite the preview ride I did on Thursday with a number of my Spinners teammates. I understood the course and I was prepared for it. We had three spinners lined up in the Cat 5, 35+ group. The field was about 25 to 30 riders.

As we stood at the start line, I looked over the field and saw 6 riders from the Spirited Cyclist team. I knew these guys were serious. Two guys from the Harris Teeter team lined up near the front.

Today was different from all of the other races so far. A break went and it stuck. After cresting the climb for the second time, two of the spirited cyclist guys attacked and pulled a gap quickly. I saw it happen, but didn't react quickly enough. Although I was near the front of the pack at the bottom of the hill, they had hit it really hard. This was my first mistake - letting them make that gap. I set off in pursuit to see about reeling them in.

Half way between turn 1 and turn 2, I was still gaining, but I could see that one of the two had dropped off the pace. I managed to get past him and was within 200 meters of the leader when I decided it would be better if I had someone else up there with me. Looking back, that was my second mistake. I should have just kept at it and made the bridge.

When I became absorbed back into the peleton, I realized how foolish these two mistakes were. This guy's five team-mates were doing a textbook block on the peleton. They would get out in front and sit up. Taking up the whole lane and coming over on other riders to squeeze them out.

I wasn't interested in a 'sit in' mentality, so me and my team-mate Hudson started kicking the pace. We pushed it pretty hard, but those guys kept trying to block us. They would ride in second or third position and as soon as Hudson or I rotated out, they would sit up and do their best to block us. We had another guy or two occasionally get out in front, but it seemed they would drop off the pace and no-one would come in to help out. Of course, Hudson or I would be right there.

So, while the rest of the peleton was sitting in, the Spinners began to dismantle the field. If no-one else was going to work, Hudson and I were going to punish them as much as we could. Hudson worked super hard out there and was always there when I needed a break. When I could sense him slowing up, I would get out and do what I needed to do. We drove the pace up to nearly 22 mph in those last two laps.

I had something happen to me several times today that hadn't happened before. It seems I was a marked man. At times when I found myself recovering in the pack, two of the spirited cyclist guys would single me out and block me directly - one to my front and one squeezing me to whichever side of the road I found myself on. I didn't exactly catch on to this immediately, but by about the third time it happened, I figured it out and decided I wasn't going to play by their rules - so what did I do? I got back out in front and continued to hammer the pace.

In order for me to get past them, I had to do some squeezing myself. As they tried to squeeze me, I drifted towards them. Nobody wants to crash, so they would give way. It was pretty interesting, and I suppose I should take it as a compliment that they would see me as that much of a threat.

With all these hijinks going on, it was still Hudson and I driving the pace. The field had completely shattered and there was only about 10 guys left in our chase group. We did what we could, but the break stuck and the Spirited cyclist guy won the race. The teamwork by those guys was textbook. Their tactics were very well executed. I have a healthy respect for this team and the way they worked together.

How did it play out? Despite the work I had done on our preview of the course - finding my markers on the climb so I would know where to begin my sprint - On the final climb what remained of our original field started earlier than I thought. I let them go - mistake number 3. When my marks came up, I was on the gas, but it wasn't enough to take back more than a few positions.

How do I feel about this after last week's win? Today I had a choice to make - sit in and go for a group ride and go for the sprint (like last week), or get out there and try to make something happen - make a race of it. For better or worse, me and Hudson got out there and made something happen. There's a lot of satisfaction in that, even if it only results in 7th place.

Meeting goals - Day 4 of the Greenville Spring Training Series - Donaldson

I'm finding the learning curve I'm on in this bicycling racing is quite steep. Each race I learn something else. Today's lesson stemmed from advice I received from my Cat 4 team-mate Brian yesterday - "Patience" he said was the key to winning races.

Before I get into that, I have to give a huge shout out to Rich Hincapie, Papa, Joey and everyone else that puts forth so much effort to make this spring series happen. It has been an incredible experience and for the most part things have gone very well. I haven't been aware of any real hitches in the program.

More shouts out to my Greenville Spinners Team-mates. Great results from Robert in the morning's first race - the Cat 5, 34-. He rode a really smart race that he capped off with a win! Great result for him today. Allen finished in ninth position and Bo Z rode in his first race wheels up with a handful of experience to carry into the next race.

In the ominum for the Cat 5, 34-, Robert is sitting 2nd, 18 points down from the current leader. Allen sits in 8th with 9 points. Great showing to have 2 Spinners sitting in the top 10.

I have to give a shout out to my lady friends. In her very first race, my friend Courtney pulled a 2nd place! Congrats to her on a great ride. Bo's wife Nikki came in 6th and Jenn pulled 8th place and Jeni pulled a 9th. Excellent results for all of them this weekend!

In the Cat 4 race, four Spinners lined up for the battle. Kadien was well placed in the ominum (overall series results) and he was racing with Robert, Chris and Bo. The cat 4 race got a little confusing as the Pro, 1, 2 race actually caught the Cat 4 riders. When this happens, the officials 'neutralize' the cat 4 riders. What this really means is the officials make the Cat 4 guys sit up and pedal easy as the faster Pro 1, 2 riders overtake them. Unfortunately this occurred on the last lap of the Cat 4 race with less than 2 miles to go to the finish. Out on the course, the official told the group they were done, but when the group approached the start / finish line Papa sent them off for one more lap. In a sense this was a good thing as it allowed them to race for the finish, but in another sense, it was a little frustrating for them to have that mis-communication between the officials.

When it came to the finish, Spinner Brian Kadien pulled an 11th place for the day. This gives him an overall (ominum) placing of 7th with 12 points. This is 12 points behind the ominum leader Jonathan Pait with 24 points. In the cat 4 ominum, the Spinner's have a second rider in the top 10 - Clark Galivan sits in 10th overall with two top 10 finishes.

So, what's this about meeting goals? A few weeks ago, the Spinners Co-captains asked each of us to post up a bio on the site to let our teammates know who we are and what our goals are for this year. Among my goals was to learn something about racing strategy in this incredible sport of bicycle racing. While there is plenty more for me to learn, I have learned a few things over the course of the last couple of weeks (4 races now). Another of my goals was to participate in enough races to gain some real experience. As noted above, the learning curve is steep - it's a good thing I like climbing!!

The third goal I stated for this racing season was to stand on the podium at least once this season. There is still a long way to go in the season, but let me tell you about today's race.

The race was out at Donaldson today. After yesterday's race, I wasn't sure what to expect. Mostly because I worked a lot harder than I should have yesterday. I burned a lot of matches in lighting my candle for the sprint to the finish. I had a great finish yesterday (9th), but it cost me a lot.

After yesterday's race Kadien gave me the advice 'Patience'. It proved to be my mantra for today.

Like yesterday, the Spirited Cyclist Team started sending peeps off the front from the outset. There was four of them today. I was expecting them to really push the pace and they didn't disappoint - at least for the early part of the first lap.

Their first attack produced nothing for them except one burnt match. Nobody from the peloton fell for it. The guy got a pretty good lead, but he never got out of our sight and we caught him on or at the top of the Golf course hill. There were a few minor attacks today, most of them led by the same team. Several other guys put forth some good effort to push the pace, but honestly, I thought we weren't really racing, just out for a spirited group ride.

Since my mantra was 'Patience' for the day, I hung back in the pack. Several times on the opening lap I found myself in the very back of the pack. This was quite difficult for me - watching those guys launch off the front had me jonesing for the chase. Each time I saw the attack, I heard Kadien say 'Patience'. I restrained myself and just sat back and watched.

Riding in the back of the pack allowed me to watch Abhay as he worked the pack near the front. He did well - reacting when necessary, sitting in when called for. Overall, with only 2 of us out there, the race was controlled by these Spirited Cyclist guys. No problem, they wanted it, the rest of us just paced them.

In the position I had taken near the back of the pack, I found my outlook on the race completely different. Instead of thinking constantly about responding to the attacks, I found myself thinking about where I would be able to move easily towards the front when it became necessary.

From the back, you can see these opportunities. As we came around to finish the first lap, I had spotted a number of spots where I would be able to advance should it become necessary later in the race. Another important lesson learned from that first lap was about the wind. Although the wind was not strong for our early races, it was there. My objective for that first lap was to understand where it was coming from on the different parts of the course so I could make sure and position myself for maximum protection.

For fun, as I crossed the start / finish line at the end of the first lap, I played to the crowd a little. I was in the very back of the pack, so I came across the line completely sitting up on my seat with my best parade wave going. I also had a huge smile on my face. I was having fun, partly because I wasn't really working hard at that point.

Although I wasn't working hard, I was feeling the effects of yesterday's race. Each time the road turned up, my legs let me know how hard I worked at fork shoals. I did have some internal battles on that first lap - my mind trying to convince my legs that they weren't really tired at all.

The second lap was similar to the first, except I worked on implementing the 'move up' strategies I tried to envision during the first lap. This lap I took a more active role in the race. While I still did my best to pay attention to my positioning and stay out of the wind, I did work the peloton more aggressively.

Surprisingly, the attacks by the Spirited Cyclist team didn't continue at the same intensity as they started with. Nobody was falling for it, so it ended up that their guys spent a lot of time out in the wind. Even when they were caught by the peloton, the peloton simply pulled in behind them and let them do the work. This resulted in a pace that didn't really seem that fast - especially for me as I was sitting in the back and avoiding any work. We actually averaged over 21mph for the race, but it really didn't feel that fast to me.

Sometime during the 2nd lap, Abhay and I found ourselves riding side by side. We didn't talk much, but Abhay must have been reading my mind. He said to me 'Patience'. I commented something about how difficult that concept was.

As we came through the country route turn off on the second lap, I was really surprised how slow the pace seemed. We were heading into the wind so that slowed us down further. I worked the peloton for protection while I watched Abhay working it from closer to the front.

As we approached the last of the hangers before the end of runway dip, Abhay had had enough of the slow pace. He pushed ahead with a strong effort. He pulled 10 bike lengths before peeps started reacting. The peloton caught him as we began the climb up the opposite side of that end of runway dip. As with previous attacks, the peloton simply pulled in behind Abhay and let him set the pace until another guy decided to get out front.

At the end of the 2nd lap, I was still riding near the back of the pack, but I had ideas about how I would be able to implement my move up strategy and had practiced it a little. Despite the fact my legs were feeling the effects of the previous day, I felt pretty confident I would be able to implement my strategy.

Although Abhay and I didn't really talk strategy today, I think he did a great job up front covering what needed to be covered. He gave a strong effort when necessary to keep a break from running away from us (more than once). When he rode up next to me and said 'Patience', I felt he understood where I was coming from. He knew I was sitting in for the bulk of the race. I think he knew what I was working towards. I felt a lot more confident knowing he was up there working the front.

At the end of the 2nd lap, I had worked my way up into the top 10 and was back in serious race mode (contrary to my 'parade' mode at the end of the 1st lap). Through the rollers on the north end of the course I maintained close to the top 10. A few guys may have sneaked past me, but I felt ok with that.

As we started up the golf course hill for the final time, I was watching closely to see if we would have anything happening. As I expected, one of the Spirited cyclist guys attacked on the hill. I found myself in that purgatory between a breakaway pack and the peloton. I had the power to reel in the break, but I argued with myself for too long.

You might imagine what was going through my head - think of the scene in Animal House - the guy has his devil and angel consciences on his shoulders and they are arguing about what he should do. It was a little like that, but without the language.

On one hand, my natural tendency is to reel in the breakaway. On the other hand, I kept hearing Kadien and Abhay saying 'Patience'. The result was I ended up sitting in this purgatory a lot longer than I should have. What I should have done was to simply pull up and let the peloton absorb me. That way, I could have continued to conserve. I don't think it hurt me too much, but lesson learned I think.

The peloton did indeed re-absorb this small break as we crested the hill and began into the rollers. however, the pace had picked up again. There was some jockeying through those rollers, but as we approached 3M hill, the pace slowed once more.

I was working towards moving up to the front, and the pack was a little strung out. The lead riders - who were tired of doing all the work, were actually swerving back and forth across the road. I thought this was pretty stupid and quite dangerous. I was far enough back to not let it worry me, but any crash in front of you has potential to end your race.

Coming through the country loop intersection for the final time, I was only in the top 20. We turned into a head wind and some guys went to the front. These guys pushed the pace a little, which strung out the pack. I latched on to a guy here and there to move myself up on the left side of the pack.

As we passed the hangers on the right, before the end of runway dip, I found myself right about where I wanted to be. On the left side, with a relatively clear path in front of me and in the top 15.

We came through the dip, and I allowed my momentum to carry me a little further up the hill on the other side. I was now in the top 10 riders, right where I wanted to be. The pace was not too hard up the hill, so I just stayed on the wheel in front of me.

Ironically, this wheel belonged to the les amis guy Bobby who spent a good part of the day near the front reacting to the attacks. A couple of times throughout the race I found myself riding beside him. Funny how racing friendships work - when I pulled next to him, I would say something along the lines of 'what up Bobby?'. He would reply in a similar fashion and we would continue racing.

He had put himself in a pretty good position on the final climb - he was on the left side, three abreast with two other guys. These three were leading the pack up the hill. I knew Bobby is a pretty strong rider, so I just attached myself to his wheel.

The hill climbs up through a right curve, uphill on a slightly less grade to a left curve. Just before this left curve is the '1000m to sprint' sign. I kept hearing Kadien say 'Patience'. I held Bobby's wheel through this left curve and along the now flattening straight before the final right hand curve. As we approached the 200m mark, things started to get interesting.

I was still behind Bobby, but it was obvious that pressure was building behind me. It was not something I saw, but rather something I felt. I moved to come around Bobby and started hammering. It wasn't a full blown hammer, but it was definitely an increase in intensity.

About this time, I saw and heard a guy go down on the far right of the road. He got forced off the road and hit a pretty major pothole. I saw him faceplant and lose his helmet. The last I saw, his bike was catapulting into the lane.

There was nothing I could do for him, so I kept hammering. One of the spirited Cyclist guys came across the course, drifting towards me, forcing me slightly further to the left. I reacted with a slight move to the left, but more importantly, I reacted with a harder effort and pulled passed him.

As we crossed the 200m mark, I was leading the pack and was still not in full sprint mode. I knew there would be guys coming. Once again, I felt the pressure of those behind me bearing down on me, so I kicked it up into full sprint mode. I could see my goal in front of me and kept my focus on reaching that goal.

It was a bit surreal for me. There was nobody in front of me and I was less than 100m from the finish. I felt certain that the crash had taken out a huge part of the pack. This is that little insecure kid that resides inside each of us. I didn't feel worthy to be in this position this close to the end. After all, I didn't really do any work today. I sat in the back, in parade mode for parts of the race.

That little nagging feeling wouldn't leave me though - there was that pressure from behind. So, I kept at it. If I learned anything from yesterday's race, it was to race to the finish. I had open road and I was in full sprint mode and there was pressure from behind. I wasn't going to give up without a fight.

As my goal got closer, the pressure from behind increased. Finally, in the closing meters of the race, a wheel appeared to my left. I pushed hard, and surged at the line. It was going to be a close call.

We crossed the line, too close for me to call. I thought I had it, but he came on me strong and it was really close. The camera would tell the tale. At worst I had pulled a 2nd place on the day.

You can imagine how stoked I was! I saw my friend April from The Living Pixel taking photos at the finish and hoped she got that one - it's one for the personal record books!

My Cat 5, 34- friends were at the start / finish line along with a number of other friends when I came back from a short cool down loop. They had had a great race and were just coming back to play spectator when I was launching my final sprint. We shared some great comradery before I went back to my car to change.

There was still the question whether I pulled the win or got 2nd, so I was excited to hear Bo scream 'YEAH JD!!!!' shortly after Papa announced the posting of the 35+ results. I DID IT! I pulled the win! Even better, the guy who I just beat was the guy who had won both of last weekend's races! That quieted that insecure kid - the competition was not eliminated when the crash occurred.

I was concerned though about Abhay. I asked if any of the Spinners had gotten wrapped up in the crash and how many went down. Apparently there was about 6 guys who went down. It was only after I had changed that I found Abhay and he told me that he went down on the fringes of the crash. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt.

So, with today's win, I am now ranked 5th in the ominum with 12 points. That is 17 points out of 1st overall. The only way I could pass the leader is for me to win both of the next two races and for him to do poorly or not show. I am planning on racing the River Falls race, but next Sunday is the Clemson off - road triathlon, so I wouldn't be racing in the spring series. Perhaps a 1st overall is not in the cards for this series, but at least I can check off my goal of standing on the podium. When I set that goal, I wasn't thinking I would be making that check from the top step of that podium!

Race Practice with the team

WOW! Finally, a day to get out on the bike and get a ride outside! It has been a while I have to admit. Today was not the best day for an outdoor ride, but there was a window of opportunity from maybe 830am till about noon. The plan was for the Greenville Spinner's Racing Team to meet at Donaldson Center for some race practice.

We had a good turnout - At least 15 folks showed up (although there is only 12 in the image above). Randy broke us into 3 teams - the black team (about 5 guys were wearing black jerseys / vests / jackets), the polka dot team (I brought some of my polka dot ribbon from the Austin Ride) and the Everyone else team (Easy to distinguish actually, because they weren't wearing black, and didn't have a polka dot ribbon on their seat).

The plan was to do 5 laps on Perimeter Road.
1. Warmup
2. Race pace and team tactics
3. Tempo
4. Race pace and team tactics
5. Cool down

For the warmup lap, Randy got us working on a double paceline. With as many peeps as we had, basically, the fast lane just maintains the pace and as soon as the lead rider clears the front rider in the 'slow' lane, he pulls right over and lets up his pace a little. This makes for a constantly changing double line of riders. It was my first time to actually participate in this type of pace line when it was actually working (not super efficiently, but it was working). It was a little difficult to get used to. With the 'fast' lane moving quite quickly past the 'slow' lane, it is easy to get a little confused on your speed. It takes a lot more concentration than a single pace line. As we practiced, we did begin to improve.

As the warmup lap came to a close, the teams broke up a little and talked strategy for the next lap. For the polka dot team, our strategy was going to be ATTACK! We talked about how every time one of our riders was caught, another should take off. Initially, we talked about going two at a time, Randy and I were going to go first, then to be followed by two others.

Randy and I did attack as we passed the National Guard / Marine Buildings. We got a little gap, but it didn't take long before they reeled us back in. Other attacks were launched and each time, the peloton reeled them back in.

Randy made another attack a little ways past the Golf Course clubhouse. He pulled a good little gap, and I sat in trying to cover whoever might give chase. He managed to hold that gap until we started up the 3m Hill. As it became evident that we were going to catch him, I made a big rookie mistake, although I thought I was being smart.

What I did was put myself in a position to block a move that Kirk may have been thinking about. Essentially, I trapped him behind Randy. I had a little speed on Randy, so I ended up beside him. He pointed out my rookie mistake by telling me "Attack or get off the front". I understood quickly I had made a mistake, so I tried to attack. It was a bit of a feeble attempt as we were pushing up the 3m hill.

However, another one of our Polka Dot guys - Jake, made a strong attack just about the time I was swallowed up by the peloton. He was going strong and got a really long pull out of that attack. We (I should say they as the Polka Dot team was not doing any pulling at that point) didn't reel him in as quickly as we had the earlier attacks. I think people were feeling the pace. As we rolled past the Michelin plant, it started to become apparent that we would catch him, but he gave a heck of a ride out front for a while.

The peloton swallowed him up and as we approached the dip at the end of the airstrip, I made another rookie mistake - I attacked on the downhill. It didn't last long before I was swallowed up by the rapidly disintegrating peloton. As we hit the bottom of the hill, Randy attacked again and took Brian K with him. I stayed back to watch one of the other guys - Robert (I think is his name). He looked like he wanted to chase those guys, so I stayed on his wheel. As we rode up the hill, Robert and I were in our own little chase group behind Randy and Brian.

As I watched the two in front of us, I kicked up my own pace a little. I'm always concerned about a sprint, so I wanted to wear Robert down as much as I could as we went up that hill (which is deceptively difficult when you're pushing the pace). I was surprised to see Brian attack Randy with a strong effort as they approached the 'finish' line. I was even more surprised to see that I was beginning to reel Randy in. I didn't want to bridge and put Randy's 2nd place in jeopardy, but at the same time, I had to push the pace to keep Robert at bay. Thankfully, the finish line came up quickly and Randy's 2nd place was confirmed.

Meanwhile, I was expecting Robert to jump off my wheel and take me at the sprint, so I pushed myself a little harder. Either he wasn't into the sprint, or I really did wear him down a bit as he did not attack and I rolled over the line for a 3rd place for that lap.

For the tempo lap, we again worked on our paceline. We were getting better at it, but I now have a much better appreciation for the skill that the pro teams have with this type of paceline. Randy passed the word that the 'race' would start at the Golf Course Clubhouse for the next lap.

As we approached the clubhouse, I was trying to stay near the front. I wanted to be able to react as things played out at the beginning. The pace did pick up as we passed the clubhouse, but there was not an immediate attack.

It wasn't long though before an attack was launched. I'm not sure who made the first move, but everyone reacted quickly and it seemed like it was a bit more of a surge than a real attack. All the teams were covering, and I was up there near the front.

Since I was up there, when the originator of the attack seemed to peter out, I decided to keep up my pace. It wasn't an attack with a quick burst of speed so much as it was a moderately fast ramp up to a faster pace. I know I can hold a strong pace for a good distance, it's when I try to go straight to 100% that I blow up rather quickly.

I held my strong pace as we rolled past the intersection of Ashmore Bridge Road. Since I was trying to set a strong pace, and I was feeling good, I kept at it. As I started up the 3m hill, I looked back to see Brian and Abhay and I had a little gap on the peloton. I immediately pulled up to let those guys do some of the work.

We got into a little paceline and was working together as much as three guys from different 'teams' could. As we came around the turn (where the Donaldson country routes typically turn off of Perimeter road), I checked behind us. We had a gap and it was surprisingly big. We continued to work together, and I actually told those guys that we had a gap and we should continue to work together - it would come to the three of us at the end, but for the time being, let's work it together.

As we passed the Lockheed Martin buildings, I checked to our rear again, and I then saw a small chase group. I was coming up for the next pull, so I told those guys we had a chase group, we needed to turn it up a bit. I pulled for a short distance then pulled out to let someone else work for a few minutes. Brian was up next and he pulled us down the hill into the dip at the end of the runway.

As we started up the other side, Abhay attacked. It was very tempting to push hard to follow him, but I thought he went too early, so I only put on a little speed to keep him from getting too far away. He gave a strong effort, but Brian and I did catch him as we came to the false flat.

I was in front of Brian at that point so like I did on the previous race lap, I turned up my pace a little. I pulled strong, but as we neared the finish line, Brian sprinted past me to take the win. We had dropped Abhay so I rolled across for a 2nd place.

As we gathered for the post lap debriefing, we began to feel a little sprinkling. Although the plan was to do a cool down lap, most everyone decided to call it a day. About 5 or 6 of us decided to take that cool down lap, then, Brian K and I did an extra lap on top of it. Although it was raining as we finished the 5th lap, and all throughout the 6th lap, it felt so good to be riding outside that I really didn't mind. It was a really great time. I definitely learned a few things. I'm really looking forward to the next opportunity!

Upstate Winter Bike League Rocks!!

Today was the first in a series of rides put together by the capable hands of Steve Sperry and the folks at Carolina Tri. The UWBL was supposed to begin last week but was canceled due to weather. This week looked touch and go for a little while, but in the end, it all came together.

We met at Carolina Tri for a 10am start. It seemed to be a pretty good turnout for a cold and overcast day. I'm thinking about 80 riders or so for the A group. As we gathered around outside the shop, I looked around to see who had come out to play. I saw a lot of my cycling friends. Gary, Owen, Randy, Kirk, Eric and a bunch of others I recognize but don't know their names. One guy who everybody knows was also there - Big George himself came out to ride with us. That is a cool bonus to living in Greenville - our hometown cycling great is along for the ride just like everyone else.

The first installment of UWBL for the season had a fun sprint zone only for the category 4, 5 and unclassified riders. It started after a stop sign re-group. Sperry asked the Pro, cat 1, 2 and 3 riders to hold back so the rest of us could have a go at the sprint zone. He led us out for about 1.5 miles along a road that was about 4 miles long. I had grouped up with my fellow Greenville Spinners Racing team-mates Randy and Kirk and we talked a little about some strategy.

We didn't want to lead the pack when Sperry released us, but we did want to be near the front. When Sperry released us, we were the only team that was in the front but there was a couple of independents in front of us. There was not a big rush as Sperry pulled to the side. I was leading Randy and Kirk, but I knew we didn't want to push too early at the beginning, so I just maintained pace with the other riders on the front.

It wasn't long before the Globalbike team came up on our left. Randy warned me and I felt a little stupid as I had put myself behind one of the other riders and slightly to his right. This left me with very little room to do anything, but I saw him drifting towards his left side thus opening a small gap between him and another rider (which happened to be Eric Christophersen on his fixie). I decided to move through the gap and Randy cautioned me in making this tight move. We made it through and just started to close the small gap that Globalbike was starting to open when I heard a crash behind. I think it split the field pretty well. I don't think anyone got hurt, but I did talk to a guy whose front wheel had gotten bent. He was still riding, so it must not have been too bad.

Globalbike was pulling hard off the front and we had two other riders between us and them. It quickly became apparent that the two riders between us and them were not holding the pace. Since I was leading our small contingent of Spinners, I made the move to bridge the gap before it got too big. They were pushing the pace, but bridging was not difficult. It did drive up the heart rate, and their pace was definitely keeping it high.

There was about 4 (maybe 5?) of the Globalbike guys up there and as their lead rider tired, he would drop off. In they days of group riding (not racing), I would have let him join his team by pulling in front of me. I made a concerted effort to keep him out of there. No way I was going to give him an opportunity to recover and become another rider on the front. As the Globalbike contingent got smaller, the Spinners got closer to the front.

A couple of other riders came up on our left to make a move and I followed. At this point, I knew Randy and Kirk were still back there. I was doing my best to make sure we were on the wheels of those in front of us. I kept an eye out for the finish and held on.

I saw the sign marking the finish a fraction of a second after an independent rider came up and passed us on the left. I made the move to keep with him, but he really had a slingshot effect and pulled a small gap. I passed one other rider in my chase and there was only two in front - one guy from the Piedmont Orthopedic Associates team (I think) and this independent who got the slingshot.

I was reeling both of them in as I watched the POA rider reeling in the independent. I was feeling good and I could sense other riders behind and to my right and left - I could hear them too as they worked to hold the pace. I was pushing hard, but I think I was in the wrong gear. Had I chosen to stand up and sprint, I know I would have lost ground. I needed to be at least one more gear harder and maybe two. So I kept in my saddle expecting at any moment to see Randy or Kirk come flying past me.

Despite remaining in my saddle, I continued to gain ground against the attack. Unfortunately, at the sign I was one bike's length away from the win. The POA rider was about a half bike length from the win. Of course, that means the independent took it. He had a great jump and a strong sprint to the finish. Although I missed out on the leader's vest, I was pleased to have been in the mix.

I was surprised when I turned around and saw Randy and Kirk rolling easy towards the intersection. I had thought them on my wheel the whole time. I'm not sure when I pulled the gap. The group took a few minutes break at the Possum Kingdom store while the Sprinter's vest was awarded. Sperry and Big George made the presentation. It's a cool vest despite it's pink color!

We continued on our route and George got out front and pulled the group for quite a while. I was sitting on his wheel for a long time. Kind of cool. Shortly after that, I found myself out front pulling alongside Boyd who I met not long ago on a mt bike ride at Dupont. I worked pretty hard on the front trying to hold the pace. I think I worked a little too hard as I started to tire around the time I got up front and pulled alongside George.

After dropping off the front as we approached the Piedmont Hwy, I decided it was best for me to just sit in and do my best to stay with the pack. I managed to do so and we pulled back in to Carolina Tri with an average of about 20.4mph showing on my computer.

A few things I learned out there:
1. I need to carry some nutrition with me on these rides. I had nothing but water. My breakfast was a bowl of cereal that wasn't quite enough to carry me through the 3 hour ride. Despite this, I managed to stay with the pack. Next week they are targeting a 4 hour ride - I won't make it without some nutrition.
2. I need to anticipate the sprint a little more and get myself in a better gear so I can stand up and go for it. Had I been in a better gear, such that I could have stood up to sprint - I may have taken the vest.
3. I don't have terrible instincts when it comes to watching the other teams work around me. I managed to keep with the lead team throughout the sprint zone. However, I made a bad choice early on when I put myself on the wrong side of a rider who I knew would be dropping out of the sprint. Thankfully, we managed to get past that cleanly to stay with the Globalbike team.
4. UWBL is a killer fun time!