Waterford Hills Wednesday Night Race Series - May 8
This would be my first of many trips over to Waterford to race on the Waterford Hills Road Racing track. This little series is pretty neat as the races take part on an auto racing track. As a Cat 4 I took part in the B races here which consisted of an hour around the track. I ended up taking 5th as the race came down to a final bunch sprint at the end. I kicked way too late and wasn't able to catch the leaders.
Das Tour de Frankenmuth - May 25
A road race in and around the Bavarian themed city of Frankenmuth. The topography was pretty darn flat during our race of 3 laps around a ~16 mile course. The race was pretty uneventful with the guys at the front keeping a pace high enough to discourage any big attacks. Eventually a guy got away in a solo break, but the field caught him a few miles from the finish. I ended up getting boxed in with around a mile to go, so I was only able to finish in 15th.
Waterford Hills Wednesday Night Race Series - June 5
Back at it for another night of racing at Waterford. This race went a bit better as I was more comfortable with the format of racing on the track. Again it came down to a bunch sprint and I grabbed 2nd. Plus I got paid $55 for my efforts, which was my first time ever winning cash for a bike race.
Le Tour de Mont Pleasant Road Race - June 8
The course suited me quite well as it was pancake flat, but sadly I never got to see the finish line. I ended up flatting 25 miles in and had to wait on the side of the road for the broom wagon to come pick me up and take me back to the finish line since I didn't have a set of spare wheels in the follow car. Even if I did have wheels, I probably wouldn't have been able to get back up to the group as they were laying down an average pace just shy of 25 mph. From what I've heard the final sprint was somewhat of a disaster, so maybe its for the best that I flatted out.
Le Tour de Mont Pleasant Crit - June 9
My first Cat 4 crit. Ouch. The pace was high and I got shuffled to the back after getting to the line a bit late. It quickly became a struggle just to hang on as I had to sprint out of every corner to compensate for the accordion effect going through the field as we averaged 25.5 mph. I blew up on the last lap and ended up just mailing it in and crossing the line way back in 26th. Overall a really disappointing weekend.
 |
| A photo my cousin snapped while waiting to line up. |
Cherry Roubaix Time Trial - June 14
My first individual time trial! This weekend of racing would take place up in Traverse City, MI. I didn't really know what to expect (besides pain), but it ended up being a highly enjoyable experience and I'll definitely do more TT's in the future. It was a bit intimidating rolling up and seeing everyone decked out in full TT gear from head to toe with TT helmets, skinsuits, shoe covers, and of course TT bikes. My expectations weren't very high since long efforts aren't my strong suit and the course featured 2 pretty good climbs, which are even less of a strong point for me. I ended up crossing the line with an average speed just shy of 23 mph and a 10th place finish. It was fun though!
Cherry Roubaix Crit - June 15
Well, it was bound to happen at some point. My first crash. I was doing a decent job keeping myself positioned in the field, but all of that went down the drain in one corner. I was trying to take the corner quickly to carry as much momentum as possible, but that sure came back to bite me. Strava says I was doing right around 24 mph when my tires went out from under me and I slid across the road. I ended up destroying a pair of bibs and my rear derailleur in the process. Luckily I had packed 2 pair of bibs and there was a bike shop within riding distance so I was able to get my bike fixed up and ready for the road race on Sunday.
Cherry Roubaix Road Race - June 16
I had known all along that this race was not going to be a fun one for me due to its hilly course, but all of the road rash from the previous day made it an even worse time. I ended up getting dropped about 2/3 of the way through the first lap and really really wanted to DNF at the end of the first lap, but I figured that I paid for the race and might as well finish it. I spent a long while riding by myself through the scenic Traverse City countryside before getting passed by the Cat 5 field and eventually by some other Cat 4's that had gotten shelled out the back. Eventually the race was finally over and I crossed the line in 39th.
Waterford Hills Wednesday Night Race Series - June 19
I was a bit hesitant to make the drive over to Waterford since I was all covered in bandages and holding the handlebars was still pretty painful, but boy am I glad I made the trip. I decided to be more active in the race than usual, following breaks and what not, so that was pretty fun. The prime sprint was great as 3 of us finished within a bike length. Sadly I was 3rd in that group, but it ended up helping me strategically as I was able to identify the other sprinters out there. This came in handy for the final sprint as I now knew who's wheels I should be looking for. I kicked hard out of the final corner and was able to hold off everyone else and take the win. This was a massive moral boost coming from the disappointing weekends at Mt Pleasant and Cherry Roubaix.
 |
| Winner winner chicken dinner. |
Holy cow it was hot out there. I decided to go with one bottle as a bottle per hour usually works for me, but today it wasn't enough. I won the prime and gave Tim the gas card since he drove and lead me out perfectly, but that's where the successes ended. I started cramping up with 15 minutes to go, but managed to hold it all together going into the final lap. Tim pulled me to the front for the final sprint, but my legs went zub zub. I managed to get about 2 or 3 pedal strokes in before I cramped up hard. I had to sit up and had to settle for 25th.
Milford Criterium - July 28
July was a busy month as I was working my normal job during the day and as a camp counselor at night. This left me without much time to ride and even less for racing. I was finally able to get back out there and racing at the Milford Crit. I more or less just sat in the whole time and got overly complacent. Before I knew it I was sitting on the back of the field. Zack made a huge move on the final lap and pulled me with him right up into the top 10. However, this move proved to be too much as I suddenly got light headed and even let out a dry heave or two. After this I had no desire to push it any further and sat up, crossing the line in an embarrassing 30th.
And that's it for races I really participated in. I did make one additional trip over to Waterford for the last race of the summer, but flatted on the start line and only ended up riding 0.6 miles.
Keep an eye out for my 2013 Cyclocross Season Wrap Up, which should be coming soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment