So after completing our first collegiate road race weekend it was back to business as usual. We have three weeks off between races this year which gives us a chance to recover train hard and then recover again between races. While other more well funded teams race every week end only getting in hard rides during races we can continue to train hard and grow between every race. I have convinced myself this is an advantage.
I had to tell myself something to keep from getting to bummed out about missing race weekends…
After returning from the race we took an easy recovery ride Monday but the team was itching to get back at it.
You have to remember that this club was started last spring and at that time it was just me and Marshall our vice president. Neither of us had been in a race or done any type of training. We just had our entry level mountain bikes and liked to go out and ride any trail we could find at a relaxed pace and just enjoy riding. Sometimes I miss just riding for the fun of it with no training in mind or no average speed to keep. However we are both very competitive and the idea of racing and competing at a collegiate level was just to good to walk away from.
So here we are a year later not only racing mountain bikes but somehow racing road bikes (one of which I didn’t even own until last November). I think we both expected to hold out in mountain biking but when I lined up for the first race of road season I expected to never see the field again until we were loading up the bikes to leave. However I guess the hard work has paid off over the last few months and my midpack finish may not be much to some but to me it was solid and I felt I just missed the lead group by some tentative racing strategy. All that being said I think we all feel now that we aren’t that far off and if we push harder than ever we can be up there in the front of the race by the end of the season.
So Wednesday of last week we hit it hard. Marshall and I headed out to the back parking lot of our convocation center for some interval training mix with high speed corning training in a mini crit type training session. We would ride a few laps around the quarter mile loop and then sprint a copuple at full speed. At first we would both get on the brakes going into the corners but after a few of these intervals I noticed we were both getting more comfortable and really diving into the corners. After a half hour of these on off intervals the inevitable happened. We were on the last lap of a on set and had just taken the last turn before our finish line and I was on marshalls wheel. I stood and sprinted putting my head down and cranking up up over 30 mph to pass Marshall. When I looked up I saw a car backing out of its spot right in front of us blocking the whole road. I locked up the brakes and left a 30 or 40 foot skid any hipster on his fixie would be proud of. When I saw there was no way I was going to stop in time I steered the bike toward the guys front tire where I figured I wouldn’t leave a dent and hit the asphalt. Luckily by the time I hit the car I had almost come to a stop so I wasn’t hurt at all I just popped back up and lit into the guy. He rolled his window down and I started yelling “don’t you even look before you back into the road!!” along with a lot of other things I regretted saying later. He apologized and in the end I told him I was sorry as well for getting so upset but I got a little flustered after seeing my life flash before my eyes.
The next day I got my bike out to do another ride and as I was leaving I always check the pressure in my tires and today the rear one was completely flat. Im not sure if it had anything to do with my near accident ( as I did have a nice flat spot on my rear tire) or what but I had to take the time to change it while Marshall went on without me. I set out alone a few minutes later already a little upset at the inconvenience and about three miles down the road I took a pedal stroke and the crank arm came off still attached to my shoe. I decided it wasn’t meant for me to ride that day as I had no tools on me to fix the problem. I tried calling for a ride but of course got no answer so I started walking back. I attempted to wave down a few trucks thinking I could hop in the back but no one stopped. Eventually I got tired and pedaled the last mile back with one leg.
After Missing my ride Thursday and not riding on the weekend I knew I needed to make up some ground so as Marshall, Luke and I met up for our Monday group ride this week I announced we were going to go for fifty. They were hesitant at first but couldn’t back out. I guess having the weekend off made them feel fresh because right off the bat we were pacelining keeping the speed up at 21 or 22 mph. After riding the first 15 miles at this pace I got on the front and pulled over to the side of the road. I asked them if they knew how far we were riding today and they responded correctly 50 miles. I then proceeded to tell them that I know everyone wants to feel like the fastest guy on the road and the only chance they have to prove it is when they get off the front, but this is a long ride and they would regret this high pace later. After my speech we slowed to 18 or 19 for the next mile before turning into one of the worst headwinds iv ever rode in. We were taking turns on the front pushing a wopping 14 or 15 miles an hour in a full out effort. It was a fun ride though and the most miles I had put in on one day with my road bike so far.
So As you can see the push is still on and we hope to be in the front of the field at Duke next weekend…
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