Sterling - Cat 4

Well, that didn’t go according to plan. Dave Andersen may have said it best, “Well, we’d have been better off sleeping in.”

Miserable weather. Miserable race. Bailed after one lap. Totally soaked and shivering.

50’s, raining, solid clouds, thunder, aerial lightning. Rain was light at the start – it’d been raining overnight, then picked up to full white-out rain about 20 minutes into the race. Prior to that, I was doing OK.

Prepped for everything yesterday. Got the bike cleaned, tweaked, lubed. Packed all my gear in the car – realized that I left a few things in Tucson that I thought I had here, like water-proof gloves and shoe covers. Didn’t think that’d be a huge deal. Had everything else all set to go.

Got to bed on time. Felt comfortable and confident about the race. Had mentally reviewed the course. Went over my coach’s notes. Knew what I needed to do. Woke up at 5 from the thunder – about an hour earlier than planned. Stayed in bed to get rest and any extra sleep. Stayed relaxed as the thunder rolled. Got up, got stretched, ate, etc. Was just about heading for the door when the fire alarm went off. Thought it was just my unit, but it was the whole building. Checked to make sure nothing was burning in my place. Grabbed my bike and headed out, past the neighbors gathering in the courtyard outside. Didn’t want to get boxed in by any fire trucks on our one lane dead end. Could hear the sirens. Didn’t see any smoke. Threw the bike in the car and hit the road.

A bit wired from that li’l bit of excitement, but got on the Pike and settled in. Only an hour, door to door. Rolled into the parking lot dead on time. Parked. Pulled on my rain jacket and headed into the school for registration. Checked in. Chatted briefly with Dave & Mat. Kitted up. Headed back to the car and had about 15 min. to kill before hopping on the trainer. Dozed in the car, then set up the trainer under an overhang at the school, along with half a dozen other guys. Got in a 20-min. warm-up, with a couple short steady state to power intervals. Felt good, loose, focused. Hopped off, put the trainer in the car, and pulled on what I thought I’d need.

The rain was barely a drizzle, and the temps seemed to be warming up. So, I opted to go with just base layer, jersey, and arm warmers, skipping the vest and rain jacket. In retrospect, a bad idea. I was concerned about wearing too much and being overly warm – and not feeling totally comfortable in peeling off layers while on wet roads (not something I’ve practiced).

Rolled to the start area, said “Hi” to Julian and Steven, moved up to the second row. However, when the called the group to the line, about 20-30 riders filled in in front of us from the sides. Not thrilled about that, especially with the two-mile neutral start, but didn’t let it get to me. Knew I’d move up on the first hill at the actual start.

Moved to the left, about six inches inside the yellow lines, during the roll-out. This gave me a good sight line and put me in a good spot for the two-lane climb to the start (end of neutral). Held my ground here, even as guys tried to move up. Knew they couldn’t (or at least shouldn’t) pass on my left, so I felt I had a good spot.

At the base of the climb to the line, I moved left and up – moving up, not moving back, and got to about the third or fourth row as the pack went back down to one lane. Stayed near the line, but moved up to fill spaces and gaps when I could. Was definitely focused on moving up, and felt pretty good. Getting spray from the wheels, and feeling a bit coolish, but OK. (Was thinking maybe Steven was right about wearing knee warmers.)

At the first right turn, I pushed down on the bars and outside pedal, but it was decent enough to pedal through. Slipped a few places, but picked back up and settled back into the fourth or fifth row. Handled things OK on the first couple rollers – didn’t have the right gearing coming off one descent and lost a couple rows. Noted that for next laps, and climbs. Was on wheels and feeling OK. The speed started picking up on the descent, and there were some wobbles of guys around me. I tried to stay on wheels. Had to slow a few times. Tried to stay off the paint and dodge the rough spots. Eased up and lost a few spots.

Was hoping/planning to make up those spots on the next climb. Got to the bottom of the long hill and had to dodge as something was going on on the right side. Started up the next climb, and the skies opened up. Soaked through and through nearly instantly. Had trouble seeing through the rain. Could hear tires sliding around me. We hit the downhill patch to the left turn and it was pretty sketchy. Had to use the brakes due to the pack, and the brakes didn’t feel like they were doing much.

Some guys surged past me, or, more likely, I slid back. We hit the right turn onto 112, and I pretty much hydroplaned right though. Pushed down. Had to use the brakes. Kept it up, but decided enough was enough. Thoroughly soaked. Puddles had drenched the shoe covers, sox, and shoes. Kit, warmers, gloves, and cap were saturated, and I was starting to shiver. Eased up. Mat and the rest of the riders went past, and then I headed back to the school at the end of the first lap…along with about 10 other guys. I saw no good coming from doing another four laps of that, even if the rain was easing.

Dried off. Changed. Got in the car and shivered for about 10 min. Had the heat cranked for the whole ride back, felt totally wiped out, had the head bobs a couple times, and it wasn’t until I’d been sitting in Starbucks for about 20 minutes, chugging down a venti latte (thrilled to be inside and not our racing) that I began to feel warm again. If I ever think about wanting to ride in Belgium, this will be a good reminder of why I shouldn’t.

Bottom line: not prepared for the weather; picked the wrong gear; wet-cold and I don’t get along; didn’t feel comfortable on the rainy/wet descents. Even if I’d had the right gear, I’m not sure I’d have done much better – the conditions – once the heavy rain came in – for that 10 minutes – put me well out of my comfort zone. Kudos to the guys who stuck it out – and over half the field did. Today was definitely beyond me.

Prior to the slick descent & the heavy rain, I was feeling pretty good. Yeah, it was only 1/2 a lap, but I knew what I was supposed to be doing, and was executing, without any issues. After that, though, complete fail & bail. Will put this one behind me. Learn lessons on dressing better, and will try to be more mentally prepared next time there’s bad weather. I clearly picked the wrong week to leave the southwest to come home and race. So much for ripping the legs off anyone.