Category Archives: Cycling

Hey everyone,

I haven’t updated in more than a month so I won’t have the most accurate race report available. The second stage of Fort Davis Hammerfest consisted of a short 16 mile out and back time trial on the outskirts of town. The course went uphill for the first half into a headwind, then downhill for the second half with a tailwind. The start times would go in reverse order of the general classification, so the riders who finished last during the hill climb would go first at the time trial.

Meanwhile, after the hill climb, Clay, Daniel, and I rested for about an hour at the cabin before heading out to lunch. We stopped by a local deli and got a few sandwiches, while Clay got a salad for himself. The 17% gradient at the hill climb certainly took a beating out of our legs, and the four hour interlude between the two stages gave us a small respite before we had to go full blast for the TT. For those of you who aren’t familiar with time trials, time trials test the athlete’s ability to go nearly all-out at a heart rate slightly below lactate threshold for an extended period of time without the benefit of drafting behind anything. Strong riders who can push through the wind and sustain a large power output tend to do well during time trials, while lighter riders may get pushed around by the wind and may not have the ability to generate enough power. Knowing this, I knew I would have a disadvantage to the larger riders during this stage. Equipment would play a role, too, since the wind would favor those who had time trial bikes made especially for these types of stages. As a new rider, I did not at the time, and currently still do not own a time trial bike, but I plan on getting one eventually. Riding the stage with a standard road bike would probably put me behind 5-7 minutes on the stage. Nevertheless, I told myself that I would just have to try my hardest.

Dalton's Cervelo P2 TT Bike.

After lunch, we headed back to the cabin to let Clay and Daniel prepare their TT bikes. Clay had recently gotten a fit on his new Cervelo P2, a bike from a company that has a good reputation for aerodynamic bikes, while Daniel had a Blue T-14. Daniel also brought along a 100mm deep section front wheel along, but he feared that the cross winds wouldn’t allow him to ride with it, since they might’ve blown him over. For those of you unfamiliar with bike equipment, a 100m rim means that the depth of the rim is 100mm. Cross winds will alter the handling of the TT bike since the increased surface area of the front wheel will create a greater amount of wind resistance to a cross-wind, adversely affecting handling (you’d get blown sideways).

Varela's Blue T-14.

You can notice from the pictures that TT bikes have different handlebars. If you look closely enough, and compare the handlebars to those of a standard roadbike, you should also notice that the handlebars are in a much lower position as well. This allows the rider to obtain a good aerodynamic position on his bicycle, since wind resistance plays a large role in the force a cyclist must overcome.

After we got the TT bikes ready, we headed out to the other side of town to the race course. As soon as we stepped out of the van we could feel the strong winds blowing against us. I held out Daniel’s Blackwell wheel in front of me to see how it would move in the wind – it moved like a sail, so Daniel opted for a shallow rimmed wheel instead. After we looked at the start times, we saw that Clay would go first, Daniel second, and I last. We took out the equipment and Clay warmed up on his trainer, while I sat in the van and waited for my start time to come up.

The waiting area for the stage.

After Clay and Daniel started, I used the trainer to warm up myself. My legs felt dead tired from the hill climb earlier in the day, but I knew I would need to put in a hard effort to keep up with everyone else. In a little less than an hour, Clay came back and told me that he put in a hard effort into his ride, and had hopes of taking the stage. A few minutes later Daniel came back and told me he had passed five people, but unfortunately got passed himself by the leader of the GC, putting him further behind. However, with Daniel’s strong ride, he would likely remain in second place and in contention for the overall GC.

Varela in his skinsuit.

When my start time came up, we lined up in reverse order of the GC. There were about fifteen people in front of me, and I would be starting in the first third of the start order. Fortunately, most of the people came without TT bikes so the race would mostly be fair. However, I did see a few riders decked out with TT bikes and they would definitely have an advantage. Why would Cat 5 riders have $2,000-$10,000 bikes just for time trials? It could be the case that some of them came from triathlons and were new to road racing, or maybe they had TT bikes for some other reason. I had my own clip-on aerobars but I’ve never ridden with them so I decided not to use them.

Dalton warming up.

As soon as I started I could feel the crosswind blowing my bike to the left so I had to try to keep myself upright lest I be blown over. So, I kept my hands on the hoods of my levers instead of in the drops, which in retrospect I should have kept in the drops as to maintain an aero position. Before I made the first left hand turn into the headwind I happened to be passed by my 30-second man…he would go on to have a respectable ride.

A rider on the course.

Even though the wind was blowing at 25mph into my face, I was able to maintain 16mph and I decided to keep the rhythm until the u-turn. Looking back, I probably could have done 17 or even 18, but since it was my second time trial, I hadn’t yet fine-tuned my pacing for these types of races. Anyway, after about a mile I saw another rider over the horizon and I used him as a carrot. At first I thought it was the rider who caught me, so I didn’t think I would catch him. However, as I got closer it appeared to be my 90-second man and I passed him easily. As soon as I passed him I saw another rider on the horizon and it seemed that he was going even slower than the rider I passed, so I passed him about a minute later. After that, I immediately saw another rider so I paced myself to catch him before the tailwind, as I knew that I would probably lose a lot of time in the tailwind.

As we took the roundabout at the u-turn, I passed my third rider…so I knew that I at least wasn’t in last place! At the halfway point I had been passed by one rider with aerobars, and I passed three riders, which exceeded my expectations (my goal was to pass one). The wind was so strong that I was able to ride at about 34 mph on the way back! I maxed out my gears and was spinning at a cadence of about 100 so I really couldn’t go any faster (my max gear was 53/12. Immediately I knew I would lose time to those who had higher gear setups, such as 50/11, 53/11, or even 55/11 on TT bikes.

On the way back I was flying, but the riders on TT bikes were flying even faster, and I got passed by four more riders on the way back…all on TT bikes. I was puzzled at first, but after a little thought the situation became clear. Air resistance increases exponentially with the velocity of the rider. Therefore, at higher speeds (such as in the tailwind), the aerodynamic benefits of aero equipment are much greater. Anyways, I didn’t get passed by any riders on normal bikes, to my relief. One of the positive things about the race is that I recorded my fastest ever solo 16-mile effort at 19 mph. The only bad thing about the race is that I stayed in the hoods the whole time and I could have done better if I had stayed in the drops. However, I know that I am getting better through looking at my data. Thus, so far I seem to be on track.

After the stage I was a little giddy that I actually passed a person, though a little dismayed at getting passed. I talked to one of the guys who finished near me on the Hill Climb and he told me that he had also gotten passed by all the riders on TT bikes, to his astonishment. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t show up at tomorrow’s road race. After I said goodbye, we drove back to the cabin to clean ourselves up before dinner.

For dinner we ate at a place called The Chuck Wagon, and I got a full barbecue plate with brisket, roasted chicken, sausage, ribs, Texas toast, and fries. It had to have had more than 2,000 calories in it. However, it was the best barbecue that I have ever had and it was rich and smoky in flavor. After eating dinner we went back to the Cabin, hit the hay, and awaited the results that would be posted the following morning.

Hey,

This is a race report of the first stage of Hammerfest, the hill climb up Mt. Locke to the McDonald Observatory. This route would take us up the highest paved road in the state of Texas! This would be a real test of my climbing abilities since it’s the only race in Texas that has a climb longer than five miles in length (the hills in Austin are more like “bumps,” nothing much longer than half a mile). Today had two stages of racing. First was a 16 mile hill climb that went uphill the entire way. The second stage would take place later in the day, a 16 mile time trial that went uphill for the first half, and downhill for the second half.

So, the morning of the race, Daniel, Clay, and I woke up at 5:30 to catch breakfast at the Ranch mess hall. I hadn’t slept well that night for a number of reasons, mainly due to the excitement of the next day, but also because I drank a lot of coffee to keep me up the while I drove the day before. I ate a big breakfast, and came back to our cabin to see Clay warming up on his trainer and Daniel getting dressed, as the two of them would start about an hour earlier than I would. After about half an hour Daniel and Clay both left the room for the starting line, which would happen in town about five miles away. After they left, I got ready, spent about 20 minutes warming up on Clay’s trainer, and then left.

Clay warming up before the hill climb.

As I worked my way downhill, it was quite chilly since it was still about 8:00 in the morning. Since I was heading east, the sun was shining very brightly and it was kind of hard to see. This was actually one of my favorite parts of my time at Fort Davis since the ride to town was quiet, peaceful, and the landscape was beautiful. About halfway to town I saw Daniel’s group, Category 4, headed uphill on a small roller. Daniel was in front and looked good.

Daniel getting ready to leave.

When I reached town, there were a lot of cyclists there warming up. Most of them were Cat 5 like me, and there were some Masters and Juniors wandering around as well. When I lined up, I chatted with another Cat 5 rider who had a Pinarello Prince, one of the bikes I was looking to buy for my graduation (I ended up getting a Gary Fisher Cronus Ultimate, if anyone’s curious).  He asked me if I had done the Texas 4000, to which I responded that I hadn’t. I asked him if he had done it, but he told me that he hadn’t and that it was his girlfriend who had ridden it. It turns out that he had gone to UT and graduated four years ago, and now works as a real estate consultant. He told me that before he rode his prince, he had a Galileo and an FP2, so I guess he was a Pinarello fan. Since it’s only been 4 years since he’s graduated, this gives me hope that I’ll be able to buy a fancy bike in four years time, too.

My numbers.

When the race started, I tried to make sure to do most of the things that Daniel and Clay told me before the race: stay in front, and react appropriately during selections (selections are when some riders get dropped for various reasons). The entire 16 miles would be uphill, though the first 10 miles would be at a shallow gradient. So, as we headed out we reached a few rollers. Unfortunately, some people tried attacking on the first little hill and the pack reacted by accelerating and chasing them down. Stupid move! If people hadn’t chased them down, we would have conserved our energy and the people in the lead group would tire themselves out, as 45 people working together are better than 5 people working together. It’s typical for a Cat 5 race, however, as most people are on edge and unaware of pack dynamics.  Thus, I was already somewhat uncomfortable after the first acceleration.

After the pace had calmed down somewhat, I noticed that the pack was only taking up a fraction of the road, so I went down the left side of the pack and made my way towards the front of the peloton. A rider let me in and I was in a perfect spot in about 5th position. It was about that time that I saw Clay heading back downhill as he had already finished his race. He was smiling and I took that as a good sign. A few minutes later, we in the front were taking turns doing work and I made sure I didn’t do any pulls that lasted longer than thirty seconds.

I noticed that racing at the front had several advantages. First of all, it’s much smoother at the front and the accelerations and decelerations are much less dramatic. I’m not sure if this were the case because we were taking it easy before the gradients got tough, or because I was in front. Nevertheless, being in the front was a pleasant experience and I’ll be sure to stay up there in my other races.

About 2 miles before the big hill, I saw Daniel coming back after he had finished. As I took my final pull I didn’t really up the pace much (I kept it at about 21 mph), but I looked back and I had accidentally gapped the peloton. They had slowed down! So I waited for them to come back up and the guy who caught me said that he thought I was attacking. I laughed and I got behind his wheel.

About 200 meters before the big hill, a small rider charged away from the pack and climbed up the hill at a very fast pace. He looked as if he were 16 years old, and I’m guessing he came from one of the youth squads. Unfortunately for him, however, he had a pedal malfunction and pulled over as we crested the first hard section of the climb. The pace was intense. I had lost about 10 places after the first hard section, and we regrouped during the false flat (a section of pavement that’s not flat, but has a shallower gradient that riders use to recover). However, during the second hard section I cracked and I found myself dangling off the back. I knew I had enough energy to stay with the pack, but if I had gone into the red zone, I was scared that I would blow up.

So, I slid back and took a breather, and climbed the rest of the way at my own pace. A group of about four riders caught me and I got on their wheel so they could pace me. The rest of the way was absolutely grueling. If any of you are familiar with the hills in Austin, it’s like putting 10 Mesa climbs back to back, and then adding two Jester climbs on top (For those of you from where I’m from, it’s like multiplying Kemah bridges 15 times, with the last two at twice the gradient).

I was hoping that the four of us would work together, but that really wasn’t the case. Aerodynamics don’t play as much of a factor uphill, so most of us were just swapping places in an unorganized fashion. To be honest, my legs really weren’t hurting at all in terms of fatigue. Most of the riders I was with had compact cranks and they were spinning with a higher cadence than I was. I was in the lowest gearing on my bike and I was spinning at a cadence of around 60 rpm. I could have spun at a higher cadence, if I actually had the gears to do so. If I had a compact crank, I probably would have been able to go a little faster.  Excuses aside, I told myself that I only had a few miles left and that I’d be done in no time.

After about 15 miles, 5 miles of uphill suffering, I had reached the final mile, which was the climb to the McDonald observatory. The gradient was a whopping 17%. This is the same as Jester Hill in Austin, of which I did repeats in training, but I had never done a climb of this gradient on top of a much longer climb of a slightly less gradient.

There was a shallow section right before the climb, so I took a drink of water and dug into my suitcase of courage. I was surprised that some racers actually gave up and started walking! I told myself that I did not come to Fort Davis to be walking my bike in a race, so I used the opportunity to gain a few spots on the GC (the “General Classification,” which is the competition to have the least cumulative time over all the stages).

As I worked my way up with a ridiculous cadence of 40 RPM, the spectators on the side of the road were cheering and telling me that it was worth it. So, I just kept telling myself that it’d be over soon. When I reached the final 200 meters I knew I would make it, but that was the hardest 200 meters in my life. I saw another rider about to finish so I dug deep and sprinted past him to gain another spot on the GC, and finished.

At the top of the hill I took a few minutes to catch my breath, and then headed back 16 miles to Prude Ranch. It turns out that I finished 34th of about 50 starters, so I did finish in front of a handful of people. I was kind of dismayed as I wish I had stayed longer with the pack. However, I knew that I had two stages left and had I blown up, I might have been out of commission for the other two stages. I’m suspecting that I may not be a pure climber, but since I’m light I’m sure that as I get stronger I will find myself to be one of the better climbers during races. Of the things that I did poorly, I can’t really say I did anything wrong race-wise. It was simply a matter of conditioning. I’m just not that strong of a rider…yet. Of the things I did well, I stayed in the front for a good amount of time, so my positioning was very good for the beginning of the race. Also, I felt much more comfortable riding in a pack, so my handling skills have improved. As for the others, when I got back to the cabin, Daniel told me that he got 2nd, and Clay got 10th, not bad for a 180 lb. rider! Daniel and Clay were both about a minute behind on the GC, so they were in a very good position to make up time in the TT, since they’re both strong while racing against the clock.

Hey everyone,

I’m doing a special report on my first stage race, Fort Davis Hammerfest out in the Texas hill country. In my opinion this was probably one of my favorite races – I made some new friends, ate some great food, and had some experiences that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Anyways, today I’m writing about the 10 hour drive to Fort Davis. I usually don’t do race reports without racing, but I thought the drive there was important enough to merit its own post.

About a week before the race, Daniel was coordinating two races simultaneously: Fort Davis Hammerfest, which is a non-Collegiate USCF stage race, and the Baylor Collegiate Race which happened to be on the same weekend. Since Daniel’s strengths were both climbing and time trialing, he opted to go to Fort Davis because it featured both types of events. Likewise, I thought that as a light rider I would be good at climbing, and if I had gone to Baylor instead of Fort Davis, I would be racing much of the same stuff as I had at the other collegiate races – a fairly flat road race along with a technical criterium. I figured that going to Fort Davis would give me a good amount of variety in my racing portfolio.

The rest of the team opted to do the Baylor race. However, one alumnus of the team, Clay Dalton, decided to go with us to test out his climbing legs. As a 180 pound racer standing over six feet tall, you wouldn’t at first glance call him a climber. However, he’s super powerful, and we figured he would do well at Hammerfest.

There was one logistical problem, however, which was that we had to transport three riders and five bicycles, along with spare wheelsets by using one car. Since my van had the most cargo space in the back, I volunteered to drive us all the way across Texas. The ride would take us roughly nine hours so I was somewhat anxious since I had never driven that distance before. However, it would be good driving practice for me so I didn’t mind so much. When Clay arrived at my apartment the Friday before race weekend, he lent me his bike rack to help out with the transportation. However, my vehicle didn’t have the correct mounts on the back so the rack was a no-go. We were stumped for a few minutes until Clay told me that we could probably fit all bikes in the back of my car. It was a stretch, but we could do it.

After loading up my van with Clay’s two bikes and my bike, along with spare wheels, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up supplies for the road trip. It was a long trip so I brought a few gallons of emergency water along with some rations in case we got stranded. I also bought some instant coffee, which I wouldn’t normally drink but I brought it along with me just in case I needed it. After getting a cup of joe, we headed out to UT campus to pick up Daniel at his dormitory.

Daniel came down with his luggage and two bikes, and I was quite impressed with his time trial equipment, which consisted of an aero bike with a disc rear wheel, and a 100mm deep rim carbon front wheel. It took us about ten minutes to figure out the right configuration of luggage, but we made it all fit, with Daniel sitting in the back to make sure everything was secure. There was a lot of expensive equipment back there so it would’ve been a shame if any of it would get damaged.

We managed to fit all five bikes, spare wheels, and luggage in the back of my van.

After leaving UT campus we stopped by Mellow Johnny’s for some race supplies, then headed out to Johnson City, which would be our last stop before the long ride to Fort Davis. It took us about an hour to get there and we stopped by a fast barbecue joint at which I ordered catfish and shrimp, which was excellent. I also stopped by Whittington’s Jerky and bought half a pound of turkey jerky and half a pound of beef jerky, of which I believe was one of the best jerkys I have ever had, rivaling the Woody’s beef jerky  that I had at Centerville.

Clay tries on his aero helmet.

After we ate, we went on our long drive. After about one or two hours of driving we his Fredricksburg. I vaguely remember the town from the last time I went through it but not really. It was a tourist town with a long German immigrant history, but when I rolled through it it looked as if it were specifically catered to tourists. There’s actually a road race held there in the summer, and I’m currently thinking about doing it. Anyway, we quickly rolled through the town and hit the Texas hill country.

Taking a break at Junction, Texas.

There’s not really much to say about it because there isn’t really anything out there but pasture. Once we hit I-10 the speed limit jumped up to 80 mph! I had never seen speed limits like that and it was pretty crazy. I could really feel the crosswinds rocking the van as we went along. We stopped by Junction to stretch our legs and get ice cream. After about 4 more hours on the road, and seeing nothing but chaparral along the way, we made a stop for gas and we got food at an Ihop in Fort Stockton.  An hour and a half later, we arrived at Fort Davis.

The views were great.

We stayed at a place called Prude Ranch. We were originally listed to share a cabin with ten other people, but there were some safety issues with the bunk beds so Clay, Daniel, and I got to share our own cabin, which was a great deal. One of the interesting things to note were that the staff didn’t lock the doors at the ranch. I guess since the location was so remote there was little chance of theft. Anyway, Clay did some maintenance work on his bike while Daniel and I prepped for race day. We had to wake up at 5:30 AM so we hit the hay, anxious for the next day.

Hey everyone,

This is a race report of Ronde von Manda, which was held the day after Manor. The race was mainly characterized by the intense winds which would shatter the peloton. At the end of Manor, I had asked the rider with whom I had ridden at both the Driveway Crit and Manor if he would be racing Manda the day after. He said that he probably wouldn’t ride the next day as the current day was hard enough, and the following day would be even harder. He gave me a fist bump for encouragement and then went his own way. It wasn’t until I arrived at the Manda course that I realized what he was talking about…

One of the main differences between Manor and Manda is that the Manor race went through a fairly wooded area and the wind wasn’t too bad to ride through. However, with Manor, the race was held on an open field with no protection from the wind. I realized how strong it was the moment I stepped out of my car at the course. When I tried to open the door to get my gear, it closed immediately and I had to prop it open with a weight. Likewise, my teammate Daniel told me that when he tried to get out of the car, the door slammed shut on him and he had to go out the other way. Thus, today would present a new challenge: the wind was forcasted to gust between 25 and 35mph so it would be intense.

When I arrived at the starting line I noticed that the field was significantly reduced from that of the day before. About 50 riders started Manor, whereas today there were only about 25, and perhaps only 5 riders, including me, had raced at Manor the day before. As we waited for the start, Mark Heady, one of the riders with whom I worked at Manor, rolled up to his teammates after he had finished the 4/5 race. He looked utterly exhausted and recognized me from the day before and wished me luck. Before we started, the race official said that the winds were so strong that they would surely split us apart into echelons, and went on to explain the usual rules with bicycle racing.

When we started, we could immediately feel the pressure put on by the crosswinds. Most of the riders in my pack were inexperienced Cat 5 riders, so we didn’t know how to properly form an echelon. Thus, we pretty much strung out in a single file line and I found myself completely exposed to the crosswind. One of the guys who wanted to gain pack position came up next to me so I found some shelter against the wind. However, he had so much difficulty in controlling his bike he was weaving back and forth like a drunkard, which made me extremely nervous while riding next to him. I had learned earlier that he was responsible for one of the crashes the day before, which didn’t add to my confidence.

I dropped back behind him to find a better rider to ride with, but the pace was so relentless at the front that I couldn’t hold the wheel, and I dropped back in the crosswind after the fifth mile. I can’t really say much about the rest of the race except that I rode it entirely alone. I saw another rider in front of me but at some point of the race he disappeared and I never caught up. The wind was definitely the most intense wind I’ve ever ridden against but I know I’ll face something similar in the future so I’ll have to learn to cope with it the next time. I was quite exhausted from the race before so I suppose that I simply haven’t developed the level of endurance to race multiple days in a row, as well as ride for long periods of time against the wind. I had learned later on that the race officials in the follow car would give the pack tips on how to form echelons, but since I wasn’t there at the time I guessed I missed out on a crucial lesson.

Since I had paid my race entry fee, I felt like I might as well have made the best of it and decided to turn the race into a 38 mile workout, rather than quit. so I trudged my way until the end of the course, where I was caught by a pack of professional riders, of which contained former Texas Cycling member Peter Carey, who now rides for the Bahati Foundation, a professional team.

So, it turns out I finished last out of the finishers. The good news is that a handful of riders abandoned the course, so I suppose I get a leg up on them, morally. However, there aren’t really any good things I can say about this race, other than the fact that I mainly rode it to work on my endurance and gain experience from racing. As for the things I did badly, I couldn’t find a good position in the crosswind, and I just didn’t have enough energy to keep up with the pack. When I finished I saw Ken receiving medical attention from a crash. He wasn’t seriously injured, but he received a lot of nasty road rash and was bleeding quite a bit, and his bib shorts looked as if they were torn beyond repair. He told me he had got stuck in a crack in the road and couldn’t get out, and then fell over. He had a very good top-10 result at Manor and I’m sure had he not fallen over that he would have gotten a very good result at Manda as well. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a very good day for Texas Cycling as Hogan, Day, Dalton, Varela, and Dodson all abandoned the race. Kearns stuck it out and got 12th in the Mens’ 3/4, while Carey had a very good result and finished 4th in the Pro Competition. Hammerfest race report coming up next…

Carey stayed in the break for 4th place. Photo courtesy of Velossimo Racing.

Hey everyone,

This is a race report of Ronde von Manor, a single-day race hosted by Velossimo Racing on the 27th of March. It’s been a while since I last posted, so my memory is kind of hazy with this one. My participation in this race was pretty much on a whim, especially since the Texas State collegiate race, which would have coincided with this race, was canceled the week before. This was the first USCF race that I’ve participated in besides the Driveway series, so this would be a pretty good way to test myself against the more serious racers participating in the Texas Cup and regional competitions.

The race was held at J. Lorraine Ghost Town

I entered the race as a Category 5 rider, which is the lowest possible level rider you can be at these races. In order to move up to Category 4, you need at least 10 mass-start races, but most people chose to move up after they’ve done reasonably well in Category 5. When I was at the Texas Cycling meeting a couple of days prior to the race, my teammate Ken said that in his experience, all of the Category 5 races started out really fast, slowed down in the middle, and then picked up speed towards the end. So he told me that if I felt like I was hurting during the beginning, all I had to say to myself was “just a little longer, just a little longer…” and eventually the pace would slow down so I could take a breather.

The P/1/2 pack contained Peter Carey.

So, on Saturday morning I headed out towards Manor and arrived a little later than I would have like, 15 minutes before the start line. When they called out the Cat 5 field, I lined up and scoped out the riders. I was very surprised at the equipment they had, as I seemed to be the only rider who wasn’t riding on a $5000 all-carbon bike with deep-rimmed wheels. Thus, I was a little intimidated but I would have to learn how to keep up nonetheless. The race officials told us the usual rules, such as no crossing the center line, and what to do if we needed mechanical service. Then, the race was off. The field was neutral for maybe a couple of miles but the pace picked up quickly. I would say that once we hit the fourth mile, the field was going very fast, about 28 mph.

Riding in the pack was incredibly intense. For the most part, I was in the rear and it was very hectic as the pack kept speeding up and slowing down for some strange reason, and at one point of the ride I even had to unclip my pedals since we came to a full stop. Also, the pack always accelerated through each turn in order to lose inexperienced riders. I managed to stay in contact through each turn, thanks to the practice I had at the Driveway the Thursday before.

After about 5 or 6 miles we hit a small hill and everybody seemed to be in a rush to get over it and drop a few riders. A couple of riders were dropping back so I just maneuvered out of their way and stayed in contact. I could tell that there were a lot of riders that were very inexperienced, and they couldn’t handle their bikes smoothly so I was a little nervous riding next to them, in case they bumped into me. Anyways, after we finished riding up the hill we turned right into a crosswind, so I made sure that I was on the right side of the pack. We took another right-hand turn to the finishing straight on the lap, which was mostly downhill. The front of the pack must have been charging downhill as I recorded speeds of over 40 mph easily, and I wasn’t even pedaling on my bike on the way down a not-too-steep slope.

I finished the first lap without any problem, and the pack seemed to take it easy the second time through. We crested up the hill a second time, but a few riders crashed which caused a split in the peloton. I reacted by accelerating hard and I inadvertently ended up at the front of the pack exposed to the crosswind. Since it was as crosswind, riders started being aggressive and every time someone tried to break away the pack chased them down hard. In my opinion that was NOT smart racing. If you let a few riders get away instead of chasing them down, you’ll save a lot of energy. Plus, we would soon hit a downhill section and a tailwind so it would be very easy to catch them then. I think maybe 5 or so riders tried to break away successively and I think we were going about 24 mph into a crosswind, and since I was on the left side of the pack this time I was completely exposed. I suddenly ran out of steam and dropped from the front to the back, and then off the back.

It was at this point that I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch back on. After about 5 miles of riding solo, I saw a couple of stragglers behind me and I sat up to wait for them to catch me. As soon as they caught up, we formed a paceline and we tried to catch up to another guy riding solo about 15 seconds in front of us. As soon as I saw the gap closing, I upped the tempo until we caught him. Unfortunately one of the guys in my group couldn’t hold the pace and he dropped back. Incidentally, the new guy we caught happened to be the same guy I ended up with at the Driveway! What a coincidence. We worked together for the rest of the race taking turns pacing each other. When we crested the hill we saw a spectator dressed in a Death costume, which I found mildly amusing.

I dropped the two riders on the climb unintentionally so I waited for them to catch back up to me as I didn’t want to finish the race alone. It was then that I realized I would probably be able to beat the two riders once we headed to the finish line. The rest of the race was uneventful and consisted of us taking turns in the front. When we reached the downhill we called the alliance off as we would be trying to beat each other at the line. The Driveway guy opened up the the sprint, so I responded, but at the finish line I saw a whole group of guys walking their bikes and I was quite perplexed and I didn’t want to hit them while I was sprinting, so when I was dashing down the street I yelled, “watch out!” and easily outsprinted the other two riders.

It turned out that in the sprint to the line, there was a huge crash and maybe 10 or so riders went down. I don’t think it affected my placing as I think there’s a rule saying that if you go down at the line you’re accredited the same time as the bunch you finished with. There happened to be several crashes that day. I witnessed one of them, but I heard a more serious crash happened off the front soon after I dropped back where three riders went down, one breaking his femur and another breaking his hip…since the crash happened near where I was riding in the pack, I’m kind of glad I got dropped as I didn’t get involved, but it would have been a valuable lesson had I witnessed it. As for the things I did badly I think I shouldn’t have overreacted at the time of the first crash to catch back on, and I should have positioned myself properly on the right side of the pack as we headed into a crosswind. Positioning makes a HUGE difference in the amount of energy you’ll spend and it just takes a little bit of mental calculation. Furthermore, I probably shouldn’t have spent so much time in the back of the pack and probably should have stayed in the front. As for the things that I did well, I stayed in contact for a longer period of time then at DFW, and I recorded the fastest ever 33 miles I’ve ever done at 20.2 mph, which was only slightly slower than that of the Criterium, but over a much longer distance. The pack riders recorded 23mph and I heard from another rider that it was a harder than usual Cat 5 race. Personally, I would have only expected 21 mph from the Cat 5 pack, and 23 mph is kind of ridiculous given that we’re beginner racers…that just goes to show how seriously they take bike riding here in Austin. Anyways, I had fun and I was looking forward to the race the next day…

Mens' 3/4 pack containing Dalton, Hogan, and Varela