UCI3 #1: Darkhorse Racing's Cyclo*Stampede
I was dreading this race. The weekend before I sprained my right calf muscle and thought I wasn't going to be able to race. But thanks to some great therapy from Dr Yost and Dr Brodeur from Norwood Chiropractic and an easy rest week I felt miraculously recovered! I was still scared of a re-injury so I woke up early and bike commuted to the race with leg warmers and compression socks on to get my legs flushed and warmed-up.
Totally didn't hear my call up on the starting line! My name was announced earlier than I thought and I ended up back row and that was fine. I was a little scared to push that right calf. So we set off in a whirlwind of buzzing nobby tires on asphalt. I got stuck behind a pile up at the end of the first off-camber section but I stayed calm and just kept pedaling keeping my nose clear of wrecks.
Well, it was a tough course and everybody was suffering. But I still found it quite fun and my legs actually felt great so I started passing! I probably started in 70-sumthin place and by the end of the last lap I was fighting for 21st. But I pushed my luck trying to keep my speed up and slid out in a dusty corner. I lost the spot to the guy just behind me but kept it together to come in 22nd. I had a really blast and was pretty disappointed in another bad start but excited about my strong finish.
So I helped out at a course crossing for the pro races and spent the next two hours with my jaw dropped watching how it is really done. Bjet crushed it in a tough field of Women. She looked really strong on the hilly course. Blown away Trebon popped Jpow on the uphill run and was impressed with the Tree Farm finishing 1 & 2.
UCI3 #3 United Dairy Farmers BioWheels Harbin Park Worlds
I felt horrible after not getting much sleep helping set up the race course. My head was pounding and I didn't feel like racing. I was still proud to be part of one of the largest and most well-run Cat 1 UCI races in the mid-west. It's like being a wedding planner for the dreams of a thousand weekend warriors!
On the startline I lined up but immediately felt like picking my bike up and walking to the side and waving goodbye to everyone. But I said "shut up headache" and went off in another blur of motion with over 150 racers. It was another day where I started from the back line.
But today was worse than Friday, I pretty much kept going backwards for a few laps. I tried to accomplish little goals to keep me going: ride the uphill sandpit, ride the roots, sprint through the sand. This is kind of cheesy but the fans really push me to excel beyond what I thought I could do. Just know there are people screaming at me kept me motivated and I wanted to entertain them. Thanks to Jdog Roosen the Mountain Biking Queen and superglam sunglass homie Ryan for keeping me going. I felt lame sucking in front of them during the first few laps! The good blood flowed to my brain and I finally woke up! I started passing again. You can tell from my lap times that I woke up halfway through the race: 02:44 (prologue), 9:36, 9:29, 9:14, 9:02, and 9:08.
At the end I caught up with teammate Mott Sauce and he glued his wheel to mine and we finished strong. We came in 34th and 35th. Glad I raced! It was hard to see my main man Nate lose a potential win with a mechanical. That guy is going to crush it this year! Teammate Jaden also raced well. He also had a mechanical on Friday, I see him doing really well in the 3's this year.
Another day watching the pros. Teammate Gerry "Ole Chappy" battled for a strong finish in the Women's field with Bjet behind her. Can't wait to post the video I shot of the pro races.
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